"Ever Be" is a song by
Bethel Music
Bethel Music is an American Christian music label and publishing group. Beginning as a local music ministry, it became a global outreach collective of songwriters and musicians.
History
Between 2009 and 2013, Bethel Music developed a record la ...
and Kalley Heiligenthal. The song was released as the second track on Bethel Music's seventh live album, ''
We Will Not Be Shaken (Live)'' (2015), on January 26, 2015. The song was written by Bobby Strand, Chris Greely, Gabriel Wilson, and Kalley Heiligenthal.
"Ever Be" peaked at number 22 on the US
Hot Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...
chart.
It has been certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
by
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA).
"Ever Be" was nominated for the
GMA Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...
Worship Song of the Year at the
2017 GMA Dove Awards.
"Ever Be" has been covered by several notable artists such as
Natalie Grant
Natalie Diane Grant (born December 21, 1971) is an American singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She received the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year four consecutive years, 2006–2009, and ...
,
Aaron Shust
Aaron Michael Shust (born October 31, 1975) is an American contemporary Christian music artist formerly on the Brash Music and Centricity Music labels, and now on his own label. Shust was named the Songwriter of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards o ...
,
Shane & Shane
Shane & Shane is a Texas-based contemporary worship music band known for acoustic Contemporary worship music, praise and worship music. The band consists of Shane Barnard (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Shane Everett (vocals). They are often joined ...
, and
Anthony Evans. Aaron Shust's version is the most commercially successful cover, having peaked at number eleven on the Hot Christian Songs chart.
Background
Kalley Heiligenthal shared the story behind the song, saying:
Composition
"Ever Be" is composed in the key of
D with a tempo of 69 beats per minute, and a musical time signature of .
Reception
Critical response
Timothy Yap of JubileeCast described the song as "a turbo-charged power ballad that leaves one breathless with all the high octave soaring notes." In a ChurchMag review, Michael Ernest listed "Ever Be" as one of his album favourites from ''We Will Not Be Shaken'' (2015), saying Kalley Heiligenthal's voice is "daring, yet soulful."
Accolades
Commercial performance
Following the release of the ''We Will Not Be Shaken'', "Ever Be" debuted at number 22 on the US
Hot Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...
dated February 14, 2022. The song spent a total of twenty weeks on the chart.
Music videos
The live music video of the song was released by Bethel Music on January 26, 2015, having been recorded at
Shasta Lake
Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth-tallest dam in the US.
Sh ...
and is part of the concert film ''We Will Not Be Shaken'' directed by Nathan Grubbs and Luke Manwaring.
The official lyric video of the song was released on January 26, 2015, also on Bethel Music's YouTube channel.
Charts
Certifications
Aaron Shust version
Aaron Shust
Aaron Michael Shust (born October 31, 1975) is an American contemporary Christian music artist formerly on the Brash Music and Centricity Music labels, and now on his own label. Shust was named the Songwriter of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards o ...
released a multi-track EP titled ''Ever Be'' on January 29, 2016 in digital format.
Background
On January 27, 2016, Aaron Shust announced that he will be releasing a new EP titled ''Ever Be'' on January 29, 2016, while also publishing a devotional. Prior to that, Shust had announced on December 2, 2015, that his version of "Ever Be" will impact
Christian radio
Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...
on February 5, 2016.
The ''Ever Be'' EP has three songs: two songs which are produced by Ed Cash (the title track and "Fear Not"), and one song produced by Christian Paschall ("God Evermore"); "God Evermore" being the only song co-written by Shust. Shust spoke about his version of the song, saying:
Critical reception
Jonathan Andre of 365 Days of Inspiring Media praised Shust's rendition of the song, saying "Aaron's imaging of this fan favourite has been nothing less than powerful and poignant."
Commercial performance
Aaron Shust's version of "Ever Be" debuted at number 36 on the US
Hot Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...
dated February 14, 2022. The song peaked at number eleven and spent a total of thirty weeks on the chart.
Music videos
The official lyric video of the song was released on January 26, 2015, also on Aaron Shust's YouTube channel.
The live music video of the song, recorded in Nashville, was released by Aaron Shust via YouTube on April 7, 2017.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
Other versions
* Bethel Music released an instrumental remix of the song on their instrumental album, ''
Without Words: Synesthesia'' (2015).
*
Natalie Grant
Natalie Diane Grant (born December 21, 1971) is an American singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She received the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year four consecutive years, 2006–2009, and ...
released her cover of "Ever Be" on her studio album, ''
Be One'' (2015).
* Bethel Music Kids released their version of the song on their debut album, ''Come Alive'' (2015).
*
Anthony Evans released an
R&B-infused rendition of "Ever Be" on his album, ''Back to Life'' (2017).
*
Shane & Shane
Shane & Shane is a Texas-based contemporary worship music band known for acoustic Contemporary worship music, praise and worship music. The band consists of Shane Barnard (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Shane Everett (vocals). They are often joined ...
released their cover of the song on their album, ''The Worship Initiative, Vol. 12'' (2017).
References
External links
* on PraiseCharts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ever Be
2015 songs
2016 singles
Bethel Music songs