Idolator

Carman Dominic Licciardello, more simply known as Carman, possesses one of the strangest careers of anyone making music. Lacking any sort of talent that might break him through to a secular audience, and largely too tacky for even the most diehard Christian music fan, Carman appeals to the same sort of person who watches the Trinity Broadcasting Network on a regular basis... sold out for Jesus, and lacking any sort of connection to modern culture. There was a time when it was difficult to avoid Carman in evangelical churches, with his epic spoken-word piece "The Champion" (about an epic boxing match between Jesus and Satan) regularly lip-synched at youth events across America and his "love gift"-funded concerts filling arenas. Now, however, if you take the time to search for Carman on the Internet, you're just as likely to find an message board argument about his love life as you are the tracklist for his newest album.

At the 2006 EMP Pop Music Conference, Idolator Pop voter Josh Langhoff presented a paper on the Carman track "A Little Less Conviction" which he then posted on his long since abandoned blog Charts and Graphs.

Then, the story gets weird.

A few responses (one by me), and then a barrage of remarks about Carman and his supposed array of illicit lovers. While this was a little surprising to me, especially since I had long assumed Carman was gay, that there would be 2,600 comments in the two years following about some woman named Oksana, evangelist Mario Murillo, and Carman is strange, to say the least.

A few highlights:

CARMAN AND OKSANA HAD A LONG SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WHILE PARTICIPATING IN MINISTRY.

THE MEDIA MEGA MINISTIES WITH MANY OTHERS KNOW ALL ABOUT IT.

Satan isn't worried about taking out too many people on this blog, because they are already doing his bidding. However, if the liars, manipulators, and users posting think for one moment that God is pleased with their actions here they are very wrong. He will hold you accountable for the things you are doing.

These words are written for posters 7:32 PM & 7:38 PM There is more to life than showing off your stinky "scandalous" underwear!

someone prove the thing about carman and ok or stop it right now!!!!!!!

you don't have the right to accuse him like that because you claim to be CHRISTian!!!!!

prove that carman has been fired.
he has plenty of appearances on TBN as far as we can see and especially in the month of May.

all the way through August. so you are SO wrong.

do you honestly think that he would sleep with someone out of marriage? REALLY DOUBT IT.

A message board, this time on a site dedicated to cults, seems to be entirely dedicated to this nuttiness, but, as far as I'm concerned, there's still not enough media coverage of this story. Could it be that the star of the long-form music video "Mission 3:16" is the type who breaks up marriages? I need to know!

Carman's "A Little Bit More Conviction" as Guilt Rock [Charts and Graphs]
Carman [homepage]