Yet for this year’s jokes (which were in fact few and far between!), due to the health and economic crisis that the entire world is facing right now due to COVID-19, they seem…unfunny if you know what I mean. There are thousands of ‘news’ of years gone by archived on the internet (which I’m not going to list, because there are so, so many, however my favourite gags are of Switchfoot’s 11 th metal studio project, and the formation of the supergroup CCM Avengers!), with many sites such as TVLine, SpoilerTV, Jesus Freak Hideout and New Release Today all joining in on the yearly festivities and usually I’d be able to pick the jokes from the real stuff, because all of the jokes would be so outlandish and larger than life.
While I still am slowly accepting the fact that WOW Hits is gone, news of a new WOW Hits album surfaced a couple of days ago on April 1 st– which had me feeling nostalgic of the brand, as well as realising that I’m not as ‘over’ this album series as I once thought!Įvery year on April 1 st, the internet is flooded with jokes and semi-realistic news that’s actually fake- all in the name of a laugh for April Fools. Both these new compilations have their faults, making WOW Hits look like the best compilation series ever, and I was semi-resigned and semi-accepting of the fact that these new albums wouldn’t be as engaging. Last year the SOZO Playlist album released (which is in my opinion inferior in every day to any WOW Hits album- yes even the mediocre ones!), while Australia this year unveiled an alternative to SOZO Playlists- the Sounds Of Hits 2020 (although that’s only available in Australia!). The WOW series divided us but also united us too. Half the fun was predicting what TPTB (the powers that be) would place on the album and what they would deem worthy and acceptable- and the other half of the fun would be writing the review, where we’d most probably rip into the franchise once again, and tell them what they’re doing wrong, and which songs they completely missed which are just plain better, or ranked higher on the radio charts, in favour of others, maybe double ups from previous years. Yet even for all of its faults and nitpicks, I still missed the compilation around October last year. 2 from Third Day in 2007!), and the WOW brand was just moving on with the times. I guess in this day and age with Apple Music, Spotify playlists as well as Youtube Music, compilation CD’s aren’t relevant anymore (except for artist compilation CD’s with rare exclusive tracks such as demos and re-recorded fan favourites, sorta something like Chronology Vo. No statement, no press release, no reason why the publication was cancelled, nothing at all. And not just ‘delayed’ until 2020- I mean literally not made at all. Because WOW Hits 2020 was indeed something different…it wasn’t even made. Last year we all hoped and eagerly anticipated that WOW Hits 2020 would be different in a good way. We all grumbled and wondered when WOW Hits would get their act together and release a timely release and something worthy of me rating 4.5 or 5 out of 5. In 2018, when WOW HITS 2019 (Deluxe Edition) released, there were quite a few surprises (the presence of “Reckless Love” from Cory Asbury being a highlight!) as well as a few let downs (no space for Phil Wickham’s “Living Hope”, Sanctus Real’s “Confidence”, Hawk Nelson’s “He Still Does”, Plumb’s “Beautifully Broken”, Lauren Daigle’s “You Say” and Ryan Stevenson’s “No Matter What”).
If You’ll Let Me Love You (Smalltown Poets).Turn Up The Radio (Phillips Craig & Dean).The Great Adventure (Steven Curtis Chapman).I Wish We’d All Been Ready (Larry Norman) DELUXE EDITON.Holding On To You (Servant) DELUXE EDITION.In Christ Alone (Michael English) DELUXE EDITION.Friend Of A Wounded Heart (Wayne Watson).Sing Your Praise To The Lord (Rich Mullins).Various Artists– WOW BOOMERS (Deluxe Edition)( Spotify)