Matthew West

Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs " More", "You Are Everything", and " The Motions". He was nominated for five Dove Awards in 2005, two of which were for his major-label debut album, '' Happy''. West won the 2013 American Music Award for Best Contemporary Inspirational Artist.

Starting as an independent musician in the late 1990s, he released three independent albums before signing with Universal South Records. With the release of his Dove Award-winning debut album, ''Happy'', released in 2003, his first radio single, "More", stayed at No. 1 on Christian Adult Contemporary charts for nine weeks and received two Dove Award nominations. His second album, ''History'', was followed by a 2006 re-release of the originally independent album ''Sellout''. In 2007, his career was threatened by vocal issues that required vocal-cord surgery followed by two months of prescribed vocal rest. His third studio album, '' Something to Say'', also enjoyed chart success with No. 1 hits "You Are Everything" and "The Motions".

In addition to his main solo career, West has worked as a songwriter for many Christian musicians and groups, such as Point of Grace, Mandisa, Natalie Grant, and Casting Crowns, as well as mainstream country acts Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Vince Gill. In 2013, his second single, "Hello, My Name Is", from the album '' Into the Light'', was released and reached No. 1 for a career-best 17 consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' Christian Songs chart.

Early life

Matthew West was born on April 25, 1977, in Downers Grove, Illinois. As a child he was a fan of his hometown baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, and wanted to eventually have a career in baseball. He played baseball throughout high school at Downers Grove North High School, becoming team captain as a senior; he also performed in the school's Chamber Choir. He was hoping for a college baseball scholarship but instead ended up receiving a four-year music scholarship at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois where he was a part of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter. He graduated from Millikin in 1999.

Musical career

West wrote most of his first songs in the sanctuary of his father's church while he was at home during college breaks. According to a statement by West at the 2013 Winter Jam (March 23, 2013), at a 1997 Steven Curtis Chapman at the Assembly Hall in Champaign-Urbana, West was crying profusely, prompting his friends to ask him what was wrong. He said that he was being led by Jesus to pursue a career in singing and
songwriting.
He was a songwriter and independent musician from 1997 to 2002, releasing three albums: ''September Sun'' (1997), ''Every Step of the Way'' (1998), and ''Sellout'' (2002). In October 1997, he went on a three-city tour to support the release of ''September Sun''.

Just before West graduated from Millikin University in 1999, someone from the college recommended that he attend the GMA Music in the Rockies event for aspiring musicians. Although West was not interested at first, he attended after learning that other people signed him up and paid his entrance fee. He met a representative from Word Publishing at the event who took interest in him and kept in contact until he graduated. West landed in the finals of a songwriting competition and was offered a songwriting deal in July 1999, five weeks after graduating. After penning songs for well-known musicians like Billy Ray Cyrus and Rachael Lampa, he began touring the United States as an independent artist in 2000 and 2001.

On July 26, 2002, only a week or two before signing a record contract with Universal South Records, West had an injury to his left arm which jeopardized his musical career and guitar playing. He says, "I locked myself out of my house. But I'd done that before, and I had a way of breaking in through a window. But this time, I had a really hard time getting the window open. I started pushing up on the window really hard and my hand broke through the glass. Blood starting spewing out of my left arm everywhere and I ran down my street screaming for help. After seeing so much blood, I went into shock and just blacked out in the middle of the street. The next thing I can remember is some construction workers praying over me in Spanish and then being taken to the hospital." West was told that the chances were low of regaining the full use of his left arm, a major artery having come very close to being severed. He recovered after the accident, however, and was able to continue playing guitar and record for his first studio album.

''Happy'' (2003–2004)

After signing with Universal South Records on August 23, 2002, West released his first non-independent studio album, '' Happy'', on December 26, 2003. The album's producers Kenny Greenberg and Jason Houser co-wrote the song " More" with West. The track was his first and most successful radio single to date, staying at No. 1 on R&R's Christian Adult Contemporary chart for a record-breaking nine weeks. It was the most played Christian AC song of 2004 and went on to be labelled the Christian Song of the Year by ASCAP. Two additional songs, "The End" and "You Know Where to Find Me", were also released as singles off the album. Beginning in late September 2004, West joined Avalon and Mark Schultz on a 40-city fall tour, which concluded at the end of November. In 2005, he was nominated for five Dove Awards, including "New Artist of the Year" and "Song of the Year". He won the "Recorded Music Packaging of the Year" Dove Award for his debut album ''Happy''.

In early 2005, he was on the WinterJam 2005 tour, hosted by NewSong, with tobyMac, Building 429, Tait, and Rachael Lampa.

''History'' and vocal problems (2005–2007)

With Kenny Greenberg and Jason Houser once again as producers, Matthew West began recording for his second studio album in early 2005. ''History'', co-produced by West, was released on June 21, 2005, on Universal South Records. The first single off the album, "Next Thing You Know", was released June 20, a day before the album's release. The theme of the title track "History" was inspired by a R&R music news headline "Matthew West Makes History", in reference to his first album, ''Happy''. "It's not every day you read a headline like that with your name in it that calls you a history maker," he said. Beginning on September 14, 2005, he kicked off the 30-city ''History 101'' tour, his first headlining tour, which included guest musicians Shawn McDonald and Paul Wright. He then joined tobyMac's Winter Wonder Slam tour, beginning on December 1, 2005, along with John Reuben, BarlowGirl, GRITS, and DJ Maj. Two additional songs were released off ''History'' as singles: "Only Grace" and the title track "History".

His independent album ''Sellout'' was re-released in 2006 on Universal South Records.

West said that he began to experience "some vocal fatigue" in April 2007. He said, "I had lost some of my vocal range, staying on higher notes and lower notes. I even began having a hard time speaking." At a vocal check-up in response to the issue, West's doctors at the Nashville Vanderbilt Voice Center discovered "hemorrhaging caused by some polyps". He was told by his doctors that vocal surgery was the only option, since a few weeks had passed. The surgery took place on May 17, 2007, a process that he said was "career threatening." Afterward, he was prescribed a two-month period of silence for vocal rest.

A video documentary titled ''Nothing to Say'', directed and produced by Benjamin Eisner, was released in early 2008, highlighting Matthew West's time of silence and vocal recovery in 2007. In February 2008, the documentary was available exclusively in Family Christian Stores

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