Hillsong United

About

Australian worship band associated with the Hillsong Church. Commonly branded as "Hillsong UNITED", or referred to as "UNITED". Early albums were often branded as "United Live" or "Hillsong United Live". The group was not initially considered a band. The use of the phrase "Hillsong United" was in relation to youth events hosted by the church's youth ministry in which all of the different age groups (junior high [known as 68s], high school [known as Wildlife] and college-aged [known as Powerhouse]) would unite for a single youth service. These large youth events were called "United" nights and the early worship albums were recorded during these types of events, hence the phrase "Hillsong United Live". These early albums were conducted in a similar fashion to the Hillsong live worship albums where members of the worship team from the Hillsong youth ministry would be rostered to sing on the album, along with the youth choir, which would have also been staffed with team members who were not rostered to sing that night on a mic or play an instrument. Early configurations of the group often featured different singers and players from album to album. As the recordings evolved, Hillsong United formed into a more permanent band with a consistent roster and eventually official band members.