Before becoming an award-winning CCM star, Illinois native Matthew West began his professional career penning hits for other artists including Billy Ray Cyrus, Rascal Flatts, and Point of Grace. By the mid-2000s, he'd secured a major-label deal and found widespread success in the Christian music market with a string of popular albums including 2008's Something to Say and 2015's Live Forever, the latter of which found its way onto the pop charts, earning him some crossover appeal. His output and work ethic remained consistent, and in 2020 he inaugurated his own label with the release of Brand New. The ambitious double LP, My Story Your Glory, appeared in 2023. A high school baseball star, he'd originally hoped to attend college on a sports scholarship; instead, he accepted a four-year music scholarship from Millikin University, where he wound up recording several solo albums before graduating in 1999. On the strength of the spiritual pop songs that appeared on September Sun (1997), Every Step of the Way (1998), and Sellout (2002), he began landing work as a songwriter for hire. West also drew interest from Universal South Records, which signed the artist and released his major-label debut, the Dove Award-winning Happy, in 2003. History followed in 2005, and West supported the album's release with the first headlining tour of his career. Excessive use of his voice led to severe medical problems, though, forcing West to undergo throat surgery in 2007 to remove multiple polyps. Following a period of vocal rest, he returned in 2008 with Something to Say. The album's lead single, "You Are Everything," became the most-played song on Christian radio in 2008, and West -- now fully healed and singing comfortably -- quickly returned to the studio to record 2010's The Story of Your Life, which also charted well. A holiday album, The Heart of Christmas, arrived in 2011, and was followed by another studio record, Into the Light, in 2012. Three years later, 2015's Live Forever would prove to be another landmark album for West, reaching number one on the Billboard Christian Albums Chart and number 51 on the Top 200. In 2017, West returned with his seventh studio album, All In, featuring the single "Broken Things," which earned him a Songwriter of the Year award at the 2018 Dove Awards. Launching his own imprint, Story House Music, West delivered his eighth outing, Brand New, in 2020. A deluxe edition of the Dove Award-nominated album was released in 2021, as was the holiday effort We Need Christmas. In 2023, West issued the expansive double album My Story Your Glory, which included appearances by David Leonard and Jenn Johnson and featured the hit single "Me on Your Mind." He notched another hit early the next year with his 2024 single "Don't Stop Praying," which reached number 22 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart. ~ James Christopher Monger & Andrew Leahey, Rovi

Higher Ground 2011

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