Newsboys is perhaps the most long-standing Christian band of all time. Created in Australia in the 1980s, Peter Furler and George Perdikis started the band in their garage, quickly adding two new members to the mix. The band would come to the United States in 1987 after being signed by Refuge Communications.

Their first album Read All About It would come shortly after their signing, which would be followed up by two more albums: Hell is for Wimps and Boys will be Boyz in 1990 and 1991, respectively. The first three albums found little success, however, their release of Not Ashamed in 1992 would change that. Following the album’s release, Steve Taylor would join the band as a songwriter, and Peter Furler began splitting vocal duties with John James.

Going Public would be their breakthrough album, released in 1994. The album would be nominated for a Dove Award and included their smash hit “Shine” which would be selected as #9 on CCM Magazine’s 100 Greatest Songs in Christian music in 2006.

1996 would feature their sixth album release as well as the release of their first movie, a musical titled Down Under the Big Top. These would be the final releases for John James, who stepped down from the band in 1997 due to problems with alcoholism.

Albums seven and eight would follow in ‘98 and '99 respectively, Love Liberty Disco being a unique style change for the band, leaning into disco instead of their normal pop-rock sound.

2000 would bring Newsboys first greatest hits album: Shine: The Hits featuring four new songs. Thrive would arrive in 2002, with two #1 hit songs: “Million Pieces (Kissin' Your Cares Goodbye)" and “It Is You.” The later song transitioned the band into a praise and worship style band, detouring from their previous pop rock sound. Adoration and Devotion would follow in ’03 and ’04 respectively. They would return to their pop-rock sound with their 12th album GO which would be the last album Phil Joel would be part of. The band would face several lineup changes leading up to lead singer Peter Furler announcing that he would be stepping down as lead singer to focus on songwriting. Michael Tait, formerly of DC Talk would take his place a few months later. In the Hands of God would be released in 2009, afterwards Furler would step away entirely from the band, being the last of the original members to leave.

Their fourteenth album would be released the next year, being Tait’s first album as the lead singer. Born Again was extremely successful, reaching their highest Billboard Debut in history. Restart would follow in 2013; Hallelujah for the Cross was released in 2014. Their album Gods Not Dead which was released in 2011, became a huge hit due to the movie series based on the song. The first movie featured the band performing live. The film would earn a whopping 64.7 million in the box office, paving the way for three sequels to follow.

Love Riot and United would follow in 2016 and 2019. United is a collab album with Tait, Furler, and Phil Joel. The album would be accompanied by a massive tour, which would be recorded for the Live rendition of the album. The 20th Newboys record would follow in 2021, titled Stand. A two-part album was announced in 2024 with the first part being released in 2024: World Wide Revival Part 1.

In 2025 with a cryptic message, the band announced that lead singer Michael Tait had parted ways with the band. Further details would surface later in the year, with Tait being accused of sexual misconduct by several different men. Tait would release an apology via Instagram which led the band to release a statement on the incident. The Christian music world was shaken by the graphic details of Tait’s behavior since the 1990s, many radio stations, including K-Love removing Newboys’ catalogs entirely from their stations. In June, the band was dropped from Capitol Christian Music Group and band manager Wes Campbell resigned as board member of the Gospel Music Association.

The band has remained silent since being dropped. Adam Agee (formerly of Stellar Kart) was made lead vocalist once Tait originally stepped down in January.