Mary Mary The Sound Live Tour

New York - The platinum-selling chart-topping R&B/gospel duo Mary Mary have announced dates for a North American tour beginning April 8 in Annapolis, Maryland, and ending April 29 in Sacramento (please see itinerary following).

The Mary Mary The Sound 2009 tour mark the pair's first evening's length live shows since the influential gospel singers took home this year's Best Gospel Performance Grammy for "Get Up," one of the key tracks on the #1 Gospel album, The Sound .

Heralded as "Praiseworthy" by People magazine, The Sound peaked at #1 on a variety of Billboard Christian and Gospel albums charts shortly after its release in October 2008.

That same week, The Sound entered the Billboard Top 200 at #7, giving Mary Mary their highest charting -- and second Top 10 -- album on that chart (2005's Mary Mary peaked at #8 on the Top 200). Mary Mary and The Sound achieved one of the highest chart debuts on the Top 200 of any gospel album released in 2008. A bonafide crossover smash, The Sound made a "Hot Shot" debut on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at #2.

"Get Up," the Grammy-winning lead single from The Sound , garnered massive crossover radio play on Urban, Urban Adult Contemporary, Rhythmic, Gospel and Dance radio formats while charting in a number of formats including #5 Hot Gospel Songs, #12 Hot Adult R&B Airplay, #32 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, #4 Hot Dance Club Play, and #6 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. "That song embodies what the whole album is about," says Mary Mary's Erica Campbell. "It asks people, 'Why are you waiting? Why do you care what other people think?' It reminds us that your beginning can be whenever you want it to be."

Beyond the music, Mary Mary recently started the Paint A Smile foundation and have launched BE U, a bath, body and candle line designed to inspire young women to celebrate their natural beauty and inner uniqueness through four basic principles : be honest, be beautiful, be intentional, be you. To further expand the BE U brand, Mary Mary have inked a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster to pen a devotional collection of inspirational stories, anecdotes and helpful hints.