Diante do Trono

Diante do Trono (IPA: [dʒiˈɐ̃tʃi du ˈtɾonu]; 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.

In 1997, the group was formed in the church in 1997. 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.