"Courageous" is a song by

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as 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 Christianity, Chri ...

band

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band which began in Daytona Beach, Florida. The band was formed in 1999 by lead vocalist Mark Hall. They moved to Stockbridge, Georgia, and more members joined. Some members of the ...

, released by

Beach Street Records Beach Street Records is a part of Reunion Records, under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 2003, by Mark Miller, lead singer of the country band Sawyer Brown.Banks, Adelle M. (February 23, 2008). "Casting Crowns, in Tampa on Sunda ...

Reunion Records Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. It was founded in 1982 by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton. History The label was formed by Amy Grant's manager ...

, and

Provident Label Group Provident Entertainment is a division of Sony Music headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and focused primarily on Christian music. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity service. Provident Label Group ...

. Written by Mark Hall and

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician and singer-songwriter. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs "More (Matthew West song), More", "You Are Everything (Matthew West so ...

and produced by Mark A. Miller, it was released on July 19, 2011 as the first single from the band's 2011 album ''

Come to the Well ''Come to the Well'' is the fifth studio album by American contemporary Christian band Casting Crowns, released on October 18, 2011, through Beach Street and Reunion Records. The album, which has a predominantly pop rock and rock sound, was bas ...

''. Hall has said the inspiration for the song was at the

National Day of Prayer The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance designated by the United States Congress and held on the first Thursday of May, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". The president is required by law () to si ...

breakfast in 2008. A

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

and

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

song, it calls fathers to be better spiritual leaders. "Courageous" was received positively by critics, many of whom praised the song as one of the best off of ''Come to the Well''. It peaked at number one on the ''

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 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 ...

and Christian AC Indicator charts and also peaked inside the top five on the

, Christian CHR, and Soft AC/Inspirational charts. It peaked at number four on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart, which measures the top twenty-five singles that have not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number sixteen on the

Heatseekers Songs The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

chart.

Background and recording

According to lead vocalist Mark Hall, the inspiration for "Courageous" came at the

breakfast in 2008. Casting Crowns was performing at the event and Hall met with

Alex Kendrick Alexander Kendrick (born June 11, 1970) is an American pastor, film writer, producer, director, and actor. He is best known for directing and starring in notable faith-based films, including ''Facing the Giants'', '' War Room'', '' Overcomer'', ...

, who was also a part of the event. The two started talking about various topics until Hall told Kendrick about his church's Bible study program for fathers. Hall said that "our hearts just sort of joined on this passion to see men rise up and be the godly men of the house that God has called us to be". Kendrick mentioned that he wanted a song to be at the end credits of a movie and that "lit

all All or ALL may refer to: عرص Biology and medicine * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer * Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee * ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and pro ...

up". "Courageous" was written by Mark Hall and

and produced by Mark A. Miller. It was recorded and mixed by Sam Hewitt at Zoo Studio in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...

, with additional vocals recorded at Eagle's Landing Studio in

McDonough, Georgia McDonough is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 29,051 in 2020. The city is the county seat of Henry County. The unincorporated communities of Blacksville, Flippen, ...

. The song was

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Andrew Mendelson.

Composition

"Courageous" is a song with a length of three minutes and fifty-nine seconds. According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, it is set

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...

and has a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 82

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. Mark Hall's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of A₃ to the high note of F₅. A

, and

song, "Courageous" features "jangling" guitars and a "muscular" guitar riff. Lyrically, it calls fathers to be better spiritual leaders; the song's bridge quotes the

Book of Micah The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The book has seven chapters. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is ''Mikayahu'' (), meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet f ...

, calling the listener to "live justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God".

Critical reception

"Courageous" was received positively by music critics. James Christopher Monger of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

selected it as a 'Track pick' and felt it contributed to a strong opening for ''

''. Grace S. Aspinwall of ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is an online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music and media, published by Logan and Amanda Sekulow. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has been owned by Salem since 1999. O ...

'' felt "Courageous" was one of the best tracks on the album. Tom Lennie of ''

Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. His ...

'' was less positive, calling the song "one of the least melodic tunes on offer on 'Come to the Well'' Lindsay Williams of

Gospel Music Channel UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...

felt the song demonstrated how Matthew West's songwriting on ''Come to the Well'' made the album better. Alex "Tincan" Caldwell of Jesus Freak Hideout felt the song was an "apt challenge to men of God in this world who maintain spectator lifestyles and live vicariously through television shows and sports teams" and said the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

made the song "thought-provoking".

Release and chart performance

"Courageous" was released as a

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

on July 19, 2011 and to

Christian AC Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC, CAC, or Christian Adult Contemporary Airplay, is a form of radio-played contemporary Christian music, ranging from 1960s Jesus music and 1970s Christian soft rock music to predominately w ...

Christian CHR Christian contemporary hit radio (sometimes abbreviated as Christian CHR, also known as contemporary Christian hits, Christian hit list, current Christian hits, Christian hit music, Christian top 40, or Christian pop radio) is a radio format that i ...

, and Soft AC/Inspirational radio on August 13, 2011. It debuted at number thirty-eight on the ''

chart for the chart week of August 27, 2011. It advanced to number eighteen in its second chart week and to number fifteen in its sixth week. In its eight chart week, it jumped from number eleven to number four. In its eleventh chart week, "Courageous" advanced to the number one position, which it held for a total of four consecutive weeks. It dropped to the number two position in its fifteenth chart week but returned to the number one position the following week. In total, "Courageous" spent twenty-seven weeks on the Hot Christian Songs chart. Note: User must manually input the correct search information to obtain the sourced information. Type in Casting Crowns in the Artist category and Courageous in the Single Title category. Select the desired chart and click on 'All weeks' in the Date category. Then, press 'Submit'. It also peaked at number one on the Christian AC Indicator chart, number two on the

Hot Christian AC The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart, number three on the Soft AC/Inspirational and Christian CHR charts. It peaked at number four on the

chart, which ranks the top twenty-five songs that have not reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and at number sixteen on the

chart, which measures the top songs by artists who have never reached the top fifty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Courageous" was the twenty-ninth best-selling Christian song of 2011, also ranking on the 2011 year-end Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts at number thirty-one and thirty-three, respectively.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the digital booklet for ''

''. Casting Crowns * Hector Cervantes –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

* Juan DeVevo –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, electric guitar * Melodee DeVevo –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, background vocals * Megan Garrett –

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

, background vocals * Mark Hall –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Chris Huffman –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Brian Scoggin –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Production *Recorded at Zoo Studio in

. *Additional vocals recorded at Eagle's Landing Studio in

. *Submixed at ShinShack Studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Technical *Natthaphol Abhigantaphand - mastering *Shelley Anderson - mastering *Daniel Bacigalupi - vocal recording *David Davidson - string arrangements *Michael France - vocal recording *Eric Jackson - vocal recording *Terry Hemmings -

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

*Michael Hewitt -

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, digital editing *Sam Hewitt - recording, mixing *Billy Lord - vocal recording *Jason McArthur - A&R *Mark A. Miller - producer *Andrew Mendelson - mastering *Matt Naylor - recording, digital editing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release and radio history

References

External links

"Courageous" Music Video
{{authority control Casting Crowns songs 2011 singles Songs written by Matthew West Songs written by Mark Hall (musician) 2011 songs American pop rock songs American soft rock songs