Hillsong Young & Free emerged as one of the collectives tied to Sydney’s Hillsong Church, crafting pop-styled material aimed squarely at youthful believers. In contrast to the guitar-driven approach of their counterparts Hillsong United and Hillsong Worship, the ensemble draws from modern pop and electronic production values, yielding a radio-friendly Top 40 aesthetic wrapped around spiritual themes. Among multiple entries that reached the top two of the Christian albums chart, the 2016 release Youth Revival earned a Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Album category. Entering the 2020s the group maintained a consistent output that included the 2018 concert recording III (Live at Hillsong Conference) and the 2020 set All of My Best Friends, both of which later received acoustic and Spanish-language editions in 2021.
Formed in 2012, the act issued the 2013 singles “Alive,” “Wake,” and the Spanish-language “Vivo Estás.” Later that same year the debut album We Are Young & Free appeared, its dance beats and teen-pop anthems shaped by longtime Hillsong producer Michael-Guy Chislett. The project topped Billboard’s Christian Albums chart, peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200, and reached number six in Australia. Early 2015 brought another chart-topping Christian release with the EP This Is Living, whose title track featured Lecrae, followed before year’s end by the We Are Young & Free: The Remixes EP, which climbed into the top three of the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
Youth Revival, the second studio album, surfaced in early 2016 and attained number two on the U.S. Christian albums tally while landing at number three on Australia’s overall albums chart; it subsequently received the aforementioned Grammy nomination. An acoustic counterpart, Youth Revival: Acoustic, followed in 2017. Mid-2018 saw the arrival of the third live album, III: Live at Hillsong Conference, which again placed second on the Christian chart. After the 2019 companion projects III: Studio Sessions and III: Reimagined, the fourth live collection All of My Best Friends appeared in August 2020 and earned its own Grammy nomination. In 2021 the set was expanded via All of My Best Friends (Acoustic) and the Spanish-language counterpart Todos Mis Mejores Amigos.
