By Andy Argyrakis

PHIL WICKHAM FOR FREE

When Phil Wickham invited fans to join him as the background choir for the live worship album SINGALONG, he also decided to give them all a free download copy of the disc. Actually, everyone can now grab it at no charge on philwickham.com, which has already found 8,000 fans clicking away after a mere week! Momentum from the project also propelled his self-titled debut to re-enter iTunes Top Christian Albums Chart at No. 25 (the same place where his sophomore CD, Cannons (INO), peaked at No. 10).

HEATH’S DOWNLOAD FEAT

Also in digital download news, Brandon Heath is currently celebrating a record of his own with the brand-new single “Give Me Your Eyes,” which reached the top spot on iTunes and Amazon.com in the Christian category. With almost 6,000 clicks, the track became the spiritual scene’s highest first week sales thus far in 2008, beating out even Chris Tomlin’s recent “Jesus Messiah” and Third Day’s smash “Call My Name.”

THREE TIDBITS FOR 3D

Speaking of Third Day, “Call My Name” recently spent its tenth week at No. 1 on Christian radio, fueled by the new album release, Revelation (Essential), hitting the top spots for the Nielsen Christian SoundScan Chart and iTunes’ Christian Albums Chart, not to mention No. 6 on Billboard’s prestigious Top 200. Not only can the band claim those feats, but members recently expanded their mainstream reach by performing on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

SANCTUS ON STAGE

Perennial live favorites Sanctus Real just announced a marathon trek supporting the current We Need Each Other (Sparrow) album, bringing along several special guests for the ride. Outside of seeing the band blast through that February release, expect sets from Tenth Avenue North and VOTA, along with speaker Sammy Adebiyi in a trek that runs from the top of September through early November.

Check out this week's ! Album Alert. For more headlines, visit the news feed at CMCentral.com.