SCOTTSDALE (AZ)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
June 23, 2025
By Jessica Morris
The Newsboys, a top contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, has been dumped by their record label due to scandals involving former lead singer Michael Tait, which TRR was first to report.
Capitol Christian Music Group’s decision comes just three weeks after the Newsboys’ latest album “World Wide Revival (Deluxe)” was released.
The announcement was made by lead singer Adam Agee to a sold-out crowd Sunday night at Elevate Music Festival at Highlands Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. Agee took over as lead singer of the Newsboys after Tait unexpectedly departed the band in January
“As a result of all this and the things that have come out that (Tait’s) done and he’s confessed to, we’ve been dropped from our record label,” Agee said, as the crowd groaned in sympathy.
“We’ve had radio stations pull our music. We’ve been cancelled by promoters and venues all over the world.”
In a video later shared on social media, Agee and his three bandmates took to the stage before their set for the announcement.
“As a lot of you guys know, our former singer the last 15 years played his last show with us in November of last year,” Agee said to the crowd. “In January, he came to us and confessed he’d been living a double life, and he wanted to get help. . . .
“We asked ourselves, you know, what’s next? (We ) prayed about it and we all felt that God wanted us to move forward. And we felt like we still had a ministry and a mission to do,” as the crowd applauded.
According to Agee, while the band was aware Tait was having “personal struggles,” they never imagined he was complicit in certain situations, so were shocked by the findings published by The Roys Report (TRR) and The Guardian.
“It was so shocking to us, because that’s not the guy we knew,” said Agee, who choked up several times during his talk. “The guy that we knew, that we’ve been on the road with, he was our family. He was our brother, and a friend to our families, to our kids. . . .
“It just has been devastating to us, and our families have felt like our names (have) been dragged through the mud because of all this, and it’s really, really hurt our kids.”
The Newsboys had already been removed from Capitol Christian Music Group’s website following the announcement. It was yet another blow to the band since TRR’s report about Tait’s alleged sexual abuse and substance abuse. Stories have since emerged about the alleged drugging and assault or harassment of seven more victims, including two minors.
The scandal has led to a swathe of radio cancellations and fans calling for promoters to cancel the Newsboys upcoming tour dates. Last Saturday, the Kingdom Bound Festival near Buffalo, New York, announced they had pulled Newsboys from their July 28 schedule, replacing them with Passion Music.
The industry-wide backlash against the Newsboys continues to mount, with increasingly more artists speaking up about the Tait allegations publicly. Haley Williams of Paramore called for the industry to “crumble.” And Christian country singer Cory Asbury conceded “everyone knew” about Tait, when asked by a fan on social media to address the fallout.
Yet in a statement to TRR, Chris Llewelyn, lead singer of Rend Collective called for reform. “I want to see an end to the parts of CCM that tolerated and incubated this abuse. I’d gladly see those parts die,” he said. “But if I’m honest, I’m torn because I also want people to continue to hear good news about a God who loves them no matter what, and to experience the joy of singing about that together.
Two days ago, independent Seattle based musician LOVKN called the incident “tragic” on social media.
“It’s (sic) just solidifies why I have no interest in the CCM industry,” he said. “The problem is Christian consumerism and capitalizing faith. For years we have built rockstar worship leaders and nice pretty, marketable whitewashed, unrealistic Christian products.”
He called for artists to continue to make Christian art but, “Don’t fall into the machine of the CCM industry,” he said.
“Just be real, talk about the mess, talk about the struggle, and get accountability and help. Don’t hide yourself behind a one-dimensional expression of faith. (Michael Tait) was trapped in a that system. . . . denied real help and hid away going on to cause years of irreparable damage and a trail of victims.”