Plus One

Emerging as a boy band distinguished by its blend of Christian themes with youthful charisma, magnetic grins, and fluid vocal layers, Plus One quickly captured attention. The lineup—Gabe Combs, Jeremy Mhire, Nathan Walters, Jason Perry, and Nate Cole—drew members from separate corners of the United States after an extensive search among numerous hopefuls. Their sound drew inspiration from the polished pop of Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, springing from a creative vision realized through producer and songwriter David Foster, a chairman at Atlantic/143 Records who has collected over a dozen Grammy Awards. Additional production credits went to Eric Foster White, Buster & Shavoni, Chris Farren, and Bradley Spalter, each of whom had previously collaborated with artists including Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Whitney Houston, Brandy, and Backstreet Boys.

The Promise arrived in 2000 as the group’s debut album and moved more than 19,000 copies during its opening week, establishing a new single-week sales mark on the contemporary Christian charts. It topped the Christian Soundscan ranking and crossed into Billboard’s 200 alongside releases from other genres. Standout cuts included “My Life,” “Run to You,” “Soul Tattoo,” and “My Friend,” while the single “Written on My Heart” climbed into the Top Ten within weeks of issue. Following the release, Plus One completed a month-long promotional tour, finished a new music video, and scheduled further dates, among them a fall 2000 run with Jaci Velasquez. After multiple television spots, the members returned to the studio alongside leading CCM producers and contributed to songwriting themselves; the resulting album, Obvious, appeared in March 2002.