The group was formed in 1983 out of Sydney, Australia, where they were located at Hillsong Church, while now they are spread across the globe.[2][3] Their members have gone on to individually successful careers, the likes of Darlene Zschech, Marty Sampson, Brooke Fraser, Reuben Morgan, and Joel Houston.[3] The group was called Hillsong Live until June 2014, when they took the name Hillsong Worship.[1]
History
Hillsong Worship released its first album, Spirit and Truth, in 1988.[4] In 1996, Shout to the Lord was their first album in partnership with Integrity Music as part of the Hosanna! Music series.
All of the group's albums since 2004 have been charted in Australia and two albums, For All You've Done and Open Heaven / River Wild, have reached number one on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. The group has also seen twelve albums chart on the Billboard magazine charts, where there have been placements on the Christian Albums and the Heatseekers Albums charts (those were For All You've Done, God He Reigns, and Mighty to Save).[5] Their albums Saviour King, This Is Our God, Faith + Hope + Love, A Beautiful Exchange, God Is Able, Cornerstone, Glorious Ruins, No Other Name, and Open Heaven / River Wild have charted on the Billboard 200 and Christian Albums charts.[5]
It was reported in 2008 that Michael Guglielmucci, pastor of the church and former bass player in the Planetshakers band, had fraudulently claimed he was dying of cancer.[7][8] He wrote "Healer", a song of encouragement for believers who were suffering from cancer, for the album Saviour of the World, which was released in June (2007).[9] Guglielmucci performed the song regularly over a two-year period, often with an oxygen tube attached to his nose,[10] and during this time received money from supporters who believed his illness was real.[11]
Guglielmucci later explained his actions as being a result of a long-term pornography addiction.[12] The track had also been added to the Hillsong album This Is Our God (2008),[13] but later removed from the album.[14] Representatives of churches with which Guglielmucci had affiliations told the press they were totally unaware of this situation. In an email sent to Hillsong members, the church's general manager, George Aghajanian, said the news was even a shock to Guglielmucci's own family and that the suspended pastor was seeking professional help. Guglielmucci was stripped of all credentials by the Australian Christian Churches, who promised that all money donated by listeners inspired by the song would be returned or donated to charity and Guglielmucci's bank accounts would be audited to determine the amount of funds raised.[15][16][17]