Aaron Michael Shust (born October 31, 1975) is an American

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and ...

artist formerly on the Brash Music and

Centricity Music Centricity Music is an American contemporary Christian music record label that was founded in Washington. The label's roster includes artists such as Lauren Daigle, Jordan Feliz, Jason Gray, North Point Worship, Andrew Peterson and NEEDTOBREATH ...

labels, and now on his own label. Shust was named the Songwriter of the Year at the

GMA Dove Awards of 2007 The 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 25, 2007 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2006. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Brian Littrell, Natalie Grant, and Donn ...

, and his song, "My Savior My God", received the Song of the Year award.

Biography

Shust was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up near

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

. He studied music theory at

Toccoa Falls College Toccoa Falls College is a private Christian college in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. The campus occupies , bordering the Chattahoochee National Forest and is home to Toccoa Falls, a high waterfall. It is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary ...

in Georgia. While there, he studied

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

. He also became influenced by U2 and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. He began performing at churches and coffeehouses while attending college. Shust began leading worship at

Perimeter Church Perimeter Church is a megachurch in Johns Creek, Georgia. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), ...

Duluth, Georgia Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United States Census Bureau estimated the po ...

in 2000, and recorded his album, ''Anything Worth Saying'', in 2004 with producer, Dan Hannon, who delivered the album along with a stack of others to Brash Music for consideration. Brash Music signed Shust shortly thereafter. The song "My Savior My God" peaked at No. 1 on six charts simultaneously by April 17:

Radio and Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

(R&R) Christian adult contemporary (AC) radio chart as played on the Weekend Top 20, R&R Christian AC monitor chart, CRW's AC radio chart, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Christian songs radio chart and ''Billboard'' Hot Christian AC chart. The song spent 30 weeks in the Top 5 on the R&R Christian AC chart in 2006.Biography
at 1cubed.com. Retrieved January 8, 2007 Digital downloads of the song have topped 75,000 copies. The single was the second most played song of 2006 on Christian CHR radio as played on the Weekend 22. It was the No. 1 song of 2006 on 20 The Countdown Magazine. The song was awarded Song of the Year at the 2007 Annual GMA Dove Awards in Nashville. According to the Nielsen Soundscan report, '' Anything Worth Saying'' was the 5th best-selling "Praise and Worship" album of 2006. However, it only sold 300 copies its first week. At the

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, Shust was awarded three

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 are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

s: Song of the Year ("My Savior, My God"), Songwriter of the Year, and New Artist of the Year. Shust's second studio album, '' Whispered and Shouted'', was released on June 5, 2007, and sold 5,000 copies its first week of release. In 2009, Shust's third album, ''Take Over'', was released, including the Christian radio hit, "To God Alone". On October 21, he released a ''Christmas EP''. In August 2011, Shust's fourth album, '' This Is What We Believe'', was released. The album was produced by

Ed Cash Edmond Martin Cash (born August 6, 1971) is a producer, songwriter, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. AllMusic/ref> He was named the "Producer of the Year" at the Gospel Music Awards for four consecutive years (2004–2007) and gains recogn ...

. On March 10, 2017, Shust released his first live album, ''Love Made a Way'', which was produced by Nathan Nockels. Four singles released from the album were a studio version of "You Redeem", "Belong", a live version of his 2004 song "My Savior My God", and a radio version of "Resurrecting". The album failed to chart, but "You Redeem" peaked at No. 37 on the Hot Christian Songs chart.

Personal life

When he is not recording or touring, Shust lives outside of

with his wife, Sarah and their sons, Daniel, Nicky, and Michael. He also leads worship at his home church in

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Aliquippa is the largest city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located on the Ohio River about northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,238 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Formerly the loc ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

GMA Dove Awards

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shust, Aaron 1975 births 21st-century American singers American performers of Christian music Centricity Music artists Living people Musicians from Chicago Musicians from Pittsburgh People from Toccoa, Georgia Performers of contemporary Christian music Performers of contemporary worship music Toccoa Falls College alumni