Chris August
Christopher August Megert (born March 20, 1982) is an American Contemporary Christian musician who performs under the stage name Chris August.[1]
Chris August
August began recording as a secular musician before switching to Christian music. His song "Starry Night" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart in 2010/2011. He was nominated at the 2011 Dove Awards in five categories, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year.
Music career[edit]
August began recording music in his early teens after his father built a studio in their home in Garland, Texas.[2] He became a Christian when he turned 15 years old and began to record music.[2]
August continued to practice and release his first self-produced album A Beautiful Thing as a 22-year-old under the name Chris Megert and the Love Jones.[1][2] The album was found by Ryan Cabrera who guided August to a new manager, Jessica Simpson's father Joe Simpson. August landed a contract with Geffen Records and he moved to Los Angeles in 2005.[2] He helped with producing records for Brian McKnight and Jessica Simpson as well as playing keyboards on Ashlee Simpson's tour;[2] he also played as the opening act on Ashlee Simpson's tour.[3] August's contract with Geffen fell through while they were renegotiating his contract so he went back home to Texas.[2]
While at home, August decided to stop working on secular projects and began to work solely on Christian music. August wrote the song "Starry Night" as a demo and he received a contract from Word Records. He recorded the album No Far Away in 2010 and the song was released as a single that year.[2] The album peaked at No. 15 on the Christian Albums charts and No. 9 on the Heatseeker Albums.[4]
The single hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and it reached No. 21 on Billboard's Heatseeker Songs.[5] When the song topped the Christian AC Monitored chart, it was the first debut single to reach No. 1 in over three years.[6] His second single was "7x70" which is a song about forgiveness following his parents' divorce when he was a fifth grade student.[7]
August toured to support the album, first opening for Point of Grace for a twelve-night tour.[8]
August joined the Winter Jam 2011 national tour along with Newsboys and Francesca Battistelli in 45 cities.[8]
August received five Dove Award nominations in 2011: New Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year,[9] subsequently winning New Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Album of the Year.