Lead Single 'Write Your Story' Debuts at No. 3 on iTunes' Christian & Gospel Chart

Contact: Montine Felso, Warner Music Group / Word Entertainment, 615-726-7947, Montine.Felso@wmg.com

NASHVILLE, Jan. 15, 2014 /Standard Newswire/ -- GRAMMY®-nominated artist and 42nd Annual Dove Awards' "Artist of the Year" and "Female Vocalist of the Year," Francesca Battistelli, is prepping for the April 22 release of her third studio album, If We're Honest, with an iTunes pre-order available here today. With the pre-order, fans will also receive an instant download of her current single, "Write Your Story," which debuted at No. 3 on iTunes' Christian & Gospel chart today and has skyrocketed to No. 15 at Christian radio after just two weeks.

In the coming months Battistelli will be touring in support of If We're Honest commencing with the "Hands of God Tour" with Sanctus Real on February 7 in Decatur, TX. "Hands of God" is also the title of a newly-penned track on her album co-written by and featuring Sanctus Real's Matt Hammitt. Launching on March 20 at Saddleback in Lake Forest, CA, she'll be featured on the Word Entertainment / LightWorkers Media (Mark Burnett and Roma Downey) partnership "The Bible: Son of God Tour 2014." Battistelli also has songs on the companion CD to the upcoming 20th Century Fox feature film and LightWorker's Media production "Son of God," SON OF GOD: Music Inspired by the Epic Motion Picture, and on the companion CD, The Bible: Music Inspired By The Epic Mini-Series, to the massive History channel mini-series "The Bible." For more information and a complete listing of dates please visit: www.francescamusic.com.

Since her debut in 2008, Francesca Battistelli has earned a Grammy nomination (Best Gospel Performance), six Dove Awards including 2011 "Artist of the Year" and 22 Dove Award nominations. Both her debut album, My Paper Heart (certified gold in 2012), and her 2011 sophomore release, Hundred More Years, took the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Christian Album chart. With over 978,000 in album sales to date and over 1.8 million single downloads, she is the best-selling new artist in the genre in the past decade. Her music has also been featured on TriStar Picture's "Soul Surfer," Columbia Picture's "Julie and Julia," TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8," ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," NBC's "The Biggest Loser," Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance," and several other television and movie outlets. In addition, this past fall she was featured on over three million Diet Pepsi Cans throughout the U.S.