Citizen Way

Citizen Way is an American contemporary Christian music and Christian worship band from Elgin, Illinois.^[1] In 2015, Bass guitarist Ben Blascoe announced his departure from the band as Ben Calhoun and his family moved from their home base at Judson University in Illinois to Nashville, Tennessee so that Ben Calhoun could focus and invest in the group’s new record. In 2016, Josh Calhoun left the band and eventually started working on a solo music career. In December 2019, David Blascoe announced on his social media that he was departing from the band. Daniel Olsson also left the band around the time of David Blascoe's departure.

Citizen Way
Background information
Also known as	The Least of These
Origin	Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	2004-2012: Indie rock, Christian rock, Christian alternative rock, Christian pop rock 2012-2019: Contemporary Christian music, Christian pop rock, worship 2019-Present: Christian pop, Contemporary Christian music, worship
Years active	2004 (2004)–present
Labels	Generosity Rocks
Members	Ben Calhoun
Past members	David Blascoe Ben Blascoe Josh Calhoun Daniel Olsson
Website	citizen-way.com

Background

The band originally formed in 2004 when Ben Calhoun and Ben Blascoe met one another at Judson University. "As a freshman, Ben Blascoe was playing his bass in the dorm one day when the Ben Calhoun poked his head in. There was a connection and so when Ben Calhoun was ready to record some songs he had composed, he asked the other Ben to join him in the studio. He also recruited his brother Josh, on drums then, who had been playing with Augustana (band) while in college. After the project was completed, the trio continued to play together."^[2]

The band originally went by "The Least of These". In 2004, they released their self titled debut album. On August 11, 2009, They released their second album, also self titled. The album was produced by Joel Hanson, member of Christian rock band PFR (band). The tenth track on the album titled "No Matter What" was inspired by PFR's song "Fight" on the album "Them" released in 1996.^[3] Sometime in 2010 David Blascoe joined the band as the new Drummer. This resulted Josh Calhoun switching to the keys.

In 2012, the band decided to change their name to "Citizen Way". At that point, other bands going by the name "The Least of These" were increasing, so the group decided to change their name to avoid confusion. The group was signed by the label Fair Trade Services. The band released their debut single under their newly formed band name titled, "Should've Been Me", on the Fair Trade Services label on June 26, 2012.^[4][5] Their second single, "Nothing Ever (Could Separate Us)", was released in June 2013.^[6] Their third single, "How Sweet the Sound", was released on September 27, 2013,^[7] and has gone on to become their first No. 1 single. It has charted on Christian AC Indicator and Soft AC/Inspirational, reaching No. 1 on the Christian Soft AC/Inspirational chart on April 3, 2014.^[8] The single spent four weeks atop the Christian Soft AC/Inspirational chart.^[9]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions
		US [10]	US Christ. [11]	US Heat. [12]
2013	Love Is the Evidence Release date: April 23, 2013 Label: Fair Trade Services Formats: CD, digital download	—	22	4
2016	2.0 Release date: March 11, 2016 Label: Fair Trade Formats: CD, Digital download	—[A]	9	—
2019	Love Is a Lion[13] Release date: October 18, 2019[14] Label: Fair Trade Formats: CD, digital download	—	—[B]	—

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions					Album
		US Christ [15]	US Christian Airplay [16]	US Christ Digital [17]	US Christ AC [18]	Christian AC Ind. [19]
2012	"Should've Been Me"	14		—	10	4	Love Is the Evidence
2013	"Nothing Ever (Could Separate Us)"	13		—	16	7
2014	"How Sweet the Sound"	11	5	10	2	3
	"Evidence"	23	20	—	16	17
2016	"When I'm with You"	22	12	17	10	16	2.0
2017	"I Will"	46	39	—	—	23
	"Bulletproof"	9	7	4	4	1
2018	"WaveWalker" (featuring Bart Millard of MercyMe)	35	38	—	25	17	Love Is a Lion[13]
2019	"The Lord's Prayer"[20]	—	41	—	—	22
2021	"Love Has Won"	—	46	—	—	—

Promotional singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Album
		US Christ [15]
2019	"Love Has Won"[14]	—	Love Is a Lion

Notes

1. 2.0 did not chart on the Billboard 200, but peaked at No. 94 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart.^[10]
2. Love Is a Lion did not chart on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart, but peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Christian Album Sales chart.