Diante do Trono (; lit.: Before the Throne) is a Brazilian contemporary Christian music band formed in 1997 as a ministry of Lagoinha Church in Belo Horizonte. It is led by singer, songwriter and pastor Ana Paula Valadão. The group became popular in Brazil since the release of their first album in 1998: Diante do Trono. However, it was from the Águas Purificadoras and Preciso de Ti albums that it acquired international recognition, becoming the largest worship ministry in Latin America and one of the world's largest ministries of praise, worship and mission. It is also considered one of the most successful bands in Brazilian music.
In a single presentation, held on 10 July 2003, during the recording of the album, Quero Me Apaixonar, Diante do Trono gathered about 2 million people at Campo de Marte Airport, in São Paulo, being the largest public of a Christian event already registered in the world, and the second largest public of Brazil, losing only to the festival Rock In Rio. The band has also been a winner of Talent and Promises Awards, and was nominated for the Latin Grammy in 2012 with the album Sol da Justiça. The group has sold over 15 million albums, one of the record holders for music sales in Brazil.
For its first decade and a half, the band had brass and string sections. It has had several instrumental changes throughout its career, especially the period of the years 2011 and 2012, when the only members that remained from the initial group were lead vocalist Ana Paula Valadão and rhythm guitarist Elias Fernandes. The band's sound became noticeably more pop rock with the removal of its brass and string sections, and is characterized by congregational singing, with influences of pop rock, progressive rock and folk.
Diante do Trono, in partnership with the Lagoinha Church, has promoted over the years several social, humanitarian and missionary actions, having part of its profits from the sales of CDs and DVDs destined for initiatives such as India Project, which combats human trafficking, collecting and helping Indian girls in prostitution, as well as other occasional actions promoted during some of its live album recordings in Brazil and the Middle East. The group also has part of its discography entirely aimed at children, the Crianças Diante do Trono. The group also created the Ministerial Training Center Diante do Trono (CTMDT), a preparatory center for musicians and singers in the area of missions, as well as the Arts Factory, which is a partnership with Lagoinha Church, to train professionals in various areas such as singing, theater and dance.
History
1997–2001: The beginning
In 1997, the group was formed in the church in 1997.Tiago Melo, Diante do Trono comemora 15 anos com gravação de DVD em Manaus, globo.com, Brazil, February 8, 2012 The songs would be composed or versioned by Ana Paula Valadão herself, who would also take the lead in praise, while Sérgio Gomes would be responsible for the instrumental arrangement. The musicians responsible for this recording were Lagoinha praise ministers. To this end, rehearsals began later that year and the material for the album was recorded live on 31 January 1998, at a worship service at the Lagoinha Church in Belo Horizonte. Along with Ana Paula, the vocals were formed by other singers such as André Valadão, his brother, Nívea Soares and Soraya Gomes, wife of Sérgio Gomes. A few months after the recording, the musical work was released, having an initial print run only for members of the local church, but was later distributed throughout Brazil independently. The name of the album was called Diante do Trono. Many songs from that recording began to be performed on radio stations and churches in various parts of Brazil, especially "Aclame ao Senhor", "Deus de Amor", "Manancial" and "Te Agradeço".
With the positive repercussion and commercial success of the album, the ministry of praise decided to continue, taking the name of the first release: "Diante do Trono". In the following months, the members of the group began to consolidate, with the entrance of the couple Helena Tannure and João Lúcio Tannure, besides the vocal arranger Maximiliano Moraes. Thus, on 13 February 1999, again at Lagoinha Church, was recorded the second album of the series, entitled Exaltado, highlighting the songs "A Ele a Gloria", "Quero Ser" and "Amigo Fiel". From Exaltado, the Diante do Trono began to perform throughout Brazil and the band's popularity began to grow among evangelicals, the name of the group was consolidating with their trips to Brazilian states and their expressive sale of records.
In 2000, the First Conference of Praise and Worship Diante do Trono was held, also at the Lagoinha Church. This has undergone some name changes over the years, but continues to be held annually on Holy Week holiday in Belo Horizonte. For the recording of the group's third album, the Lagoinha temple no longer held the public interested in participating, so, on 15 July 2000, the album Águas Purificadoras was recorded at Parque da Gameleira, Belo Horizonte, gathering about of seventy thousand people and had the arrival of new band members, such as Graziela Santos and Mariana Valadão. This album had even more impact among the congregational praises of several Brazilian churches, with special success of the title song. That same year, the group had partnership with the American label Hosanna! Music, recorded two musical works: Aclame ao Senhor, Portuguese version of the album Shout to the Lord, by Hillsong Church, and Shalom Jerusalém, consisting of songs with Jewish rhythm featuring Paul Wilbur.
In 2000, the group founded a house for young girls in India to combat prostitution.Tadeu Ribeiro, Ana Paula Valadão conta que vendeu sua casa para manter obra missionária na Índia, portaldotrono.com, Brazil, April 16, 2017
In 2001, the group released the fourth album of the Diante do Trono's series: Preciso de Ti, recorded on 14 July of that year at the Mineirão Stadium in Belo Horizonte, bringing together about two hundred and ten thousand people, this was the record of public in the history of the Minas Gerais stadium. The work sold four hundred thousand copies in the week of release and subsequently surpassed the two million mark sold, making it an unprecedented success in the history of Brazilian Christian music, with all of its songs being performed on likes radios and churches all over Brazil. In addition to their commercial success, the band gained media recognition and criticism, winning the Talent Awards in 2002 in the Best Music category for "Preciso de Ti" and Best Group.
Still in 2001, the first album of the collection Crianças Diante do Trono was released, with its works directed to children. The eponymous work would become the first in a series of children's albums, and the song "Aos Olhos do Pai" became one of the group's biggest hits, also among the adult audience.
2001–2006: Vision "Brasil Diante do Trono"
In late 2001, Ana Paula Valadão said she received a vision from God that showed that the Diante do Trono should hold gatherings for Brazil, so that the nation in unity would pray and intercede for the country. To this end, the group, which had hitherto concentrated in Belo Horizonte for their live recordings, began to hold gatherings throughout all regions of Brazil, and as the beginning of this project, on 1 December 2001, in Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, with an audience of more than 180,000 people, was recorded the album Brasil Diante do Trono, which was a collection with recordings of songs released by the group in the first four albums.
On 13 July 2002, in continuation of the "Brasil Diante do Trono" project, it was recorded at the Ministries Esplanade in Brasília, Federal District, attended by over one million two hundred thousand people, from caravans from all over Brazil, the fifth album of the Diante do Trono's series, called Nos Braços do Pai. It was the first time that a musical event was held at that venue and to this day it was the largest stage ever built for the Diante do Trono's recordings, which brought together vocalists, band, orchestra, choir and dancers. The album contained songs with the theme of divine fatherhood and again was commercial and critical success. In 2006, the album also gained versions of the Diante do Trono itself in English and Spanish, but as of 2002, the group began making international trips showing their work in other countries, performing as in Guatemala and Japan.
In 2003, Nívea Soares decided to start a solo career and recorded her first album, Reina Sobre Mim, but without leaving the group. On 12 July 2003, the group recorded the sixth album of the Diante do Trono's series and the third of the "Brasil Diante do Trono" project: Quero Me Apaixonar, which featured a theme of love for God and repentance, as well as a remix version of the song "Manancial". The recording took place at Campo de Marte Airport, in the north of São Paulo, and had an audience of over two million people, a record for the group. In this event the band collected 35 tons of food, which were distributed in the north of Minas Gerais. At that year's Talent Awards, the band took two of their three nominations. Soon after recording the CD Quero Me Apaixonar in São Paulo, the Diante do Trono went through a period of change covering the entire internal and administrative structure of the group, which remained independent, with its own record label.
In 2004, André Valadão followed in the footsteps of Nívea Soares and began his solo career with the work Mais Que Abundante parallel to the group's work. That same year, the seventh work, Esperança, was recorded at the Bahia Administrative Center in Salvador, on 10 July 2004, bringing together about one million two hundred thousand people, according to data from the Bahia Military Police, and had the sound of the Bahian group Tambores Ungidos in the song "Quem é Deus Como o Nosso Deus?". In the recording Ana Paula shared with the audience her difficulty getting pregnant and brought a message of encouragement, faith and hope. At the Talent Awards, the band was the highlight, winning seven out of eight nominations. Also in 2004, Diante do Trono founded in Santa Luzia the Diante do Trono Ministerial Training Center (CTMDT), whose mission was to prepare people to work in areas such as praise and missions, in Brazil and around the world.
At the beginning of 2005 Maximiliano Moraes left the group, which, at Sérgio Gomes' request, still worked on the vocal arrangement of the group's next album, but was no longer part of the band's vocal. On 9 July 2005, the Diante do Trono recorded the album Ainda Existe Uma Cruz in Porto Alegre, on the banks of the Guaíba River, attended by over three hundred thousand people and marked by Ana Paula Valadão being pregnant with her first child, a year after she shared her difficulty getting pregnant. The theme of the album came against the Brazilian Christian market, bringing a message that the gospel of Christ brings responsibilities and that it is an arduous path, as in the title song, in addition to "Quero Seguir-Te" and "Coração Todo Teu". The work maintained its excellence of compositions and productions. During the Talent Awards, the group won in three categories.