Louder Than The Music

GRAMMY nominated Hillsong Young & Free and GRAMMY award-winning producer and recording artist Peter CottonTale announce the release of their special collaboration, 'As I Am' (with Peter CottonTale). The original chart-topping hit “As I Am” was a standout track off the band's GRAMMY-nominated album “All Of My Best Friends,” released in August 2020. Produced by Young & Free members Michael Fatkin, Ben Tan, Michael Guy Chislett, Aodhan King, and Laura Toggs, the track features Peter CottonTale as the co-primary artist, with lead vocals from Young & Free’s singer/songwriter Melodie Wagner. “As I Am” (with Peter CottonTale) is available today across all streaming platforms via Capitol Records.

The original track “As I Am,” appeared on Hillsong Young & Free’s GRAMMY-nominated hit-album, “ALL OF MY BEST FRIENDS,” which includes many chart-topping hits including “Uncomplicated,” “World Outside Your Window,” “Lord Send Revival,” “Best Friends” (which peaked at #1 on the Hot AC chart with more than 15 MILLION global streams), and breakout single “Never Have I Ever” which hit #1 at Hot AC for four consecutive weeks. The full-length album earned the group a 2021 GRAMMY nomination for “Best Contemporary Christian Album” and marked their second career nomination. Since its debut, “ALL OF MY BEST FRIENDS” has garnered more than 55 MILLION global streams and over 13 MILLION combined YouTube views.

Peter Wilkins, better known as Peter CottonTale, is a highly sought-after music producer and composer that came to prominence alongside Chance The Rapper and The Social Experiment. Widely recognized for his work with Chance and other artists including Justin Bieber, he released his first solo project “CATCH” in 2020 to rave reviews. Peter’s soulful sound breaths new life into his latest collaboration with Hillsong Young & Free featuring freshly crafted instrumentation and additional Gospel components he is most widely recognized for.

Hillsong Young & Free band members Aodhan King and Melodie Wagner said, “In celebration of the anniversary of All Of My Best Friends we’ve put together a very special version of our song As I Am featuring the incredible Peter CottonTale and team. We love his work and what he's brought to this release. We pray that it lifts you up and reminds you that God loves you unconditionally, just as you are.”

“As I Am” (with Peter CottonTale) follows the release of the band's latest seven-track live EP, “Out Here on a Friday Where It Began.” Written over the course of just one week and recorded live at Hillsong Youth on a Friday night in Sydney, Young & Free enlisted collaboration from several of their very own youth ministry members to help produce the compilation. “We couldn’t wait to introduce the new songs to our youth, so we recorded them LIVE on a Friday night barely three weeks later,” says Young & Free’s Laura Toggs. Since the EP’s release on July 30, the project has received over 6 MILLION global streams, with the lead single, “Phenomena” receiving 2.5 MILLION global streams and 1 MILLION YouTube views to date. “Freedom Is Coming,” another hot track off the record, impacted Hot AC radio on September 3 and has counted more than 1.5 MILLION global streams.

Since forming in 2013, Hillsong Young & Free has released a number of highly successful albums and more than 20 singles, acquiring over 545 MILLION YouTube channel views and 1.4 BILLION global career streams (with a 1.1M global unit career consumption). With a combined social following of 3 MILLION plus fans, Young & Free has seen eight No. 1 career singles and ten Top 10 singles at Hot AC radio. Their debut album “We Are Young & Free” landed in the Top 25 on Billboard 200 while “Youth Revival” garnered the group its first-ever GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album (2017). Their recent single “Every Little Thing” hit #1 at Hot AC radio for eight weeks, making it the longest-running #1 for the band.