Phil Wickham
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Philip David Wickham (born April 5, 1984) is an American
contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...
singer, musician and songwriter from
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. He has released ten worship albums: '' Give You My World'' in 2003, a self-titled album in 2006, ''
Cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...
'' in 2007, ''Singalong'' in 2008, '' Heaven & Earth'' in 2009, ''
Response Response may refer to: *Call and response (music), musical structure *Reaction (disambiguation) *Request–response **Output or response, the result of telecommunications input *Response (liturgy), a line answering a versicle * Response (music) o ...
'' in 2011, ''Singalong 2'' in 2012, '' The Ascension'' in 2013, ''Singalong 3'' in 2015, '' Children of God'' in 2016, '' Living Hope'' in 2018, '' Hymn of Heaven'' in 2021, and ''I Believe'' in 2023. He has also led worship at Soul Survivor. His single " This is Amazing Grace" has been
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Platinum by the
RIAA 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 ...
and it topped the 2014 year-end Christian Airplay chart.


Early life and education

Born Philip David Wickham on April 5, 1984, Phil Wickham was raised in a Christian home, the second of three children—with brother
Evan Evan is a Welsh language, Welsh masculine given name, derived from ''Iefan'', a Welsh form of the name John (name), John. Similar names that share this origin include Euan, Ivan (name), Ivan, Ian, and Juan. "John" itself is derived from the ancie ...
and sister Jillian—of parents John and Lisa (née Irwin) Wickham. The context for Phil Wickham's early musical and religious pursuits was his parents' commitments; Wickham's father John played in early bands for the early
Maranatha! Music Maranatha! Music is a Christian music record label which was founded as a nonprofit ministry of Calvary Chapel in 1971. The label is distributed by Capitol Christian Music Group, a division of Universal Music Group, Universal Music. Background ...
label, and met Evan's mother, Lisa, in the band
Parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whe ...
; consistently since 1981, they served as worship leaders in their congregation. Phil Wickham began leading worship for his youth group at Maranatha Chapel at 13 years old; his parents encouraged him to learn popular praise songs and to write his own. In 2002, he graduated from Calvary Christian School in
Vista, California Vista (; Spanish language, Spanish for "view") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is a medium-sized city within the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, V ...
.


Career


Albums

Wickham began a full-time music career by touring California and recording his first album, ''Give You My World'', in 2003. After that release Wickham signed with Simple Records. Wickham released his self-titled label debut in 2006. Wickham's second release with Simple/
INO Records Ino or INO may refer to: Arts and music * I-No, a character in the ''Guilty Gear'' series of video games * Ino (mythology), a queen of Thebes in Greek mythology * INO Records, an American Christian music label * Ino Yamanaka, a character in the ...
, ''Cannons'', was released in 2007. ''Cannons'' was partly inspired by cannon explosions and
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...
' book, '' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' from ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...
'' series. Wickham stated in an interview with ChristianityToday.com, "The album is about how the universe is exploding with the glory of God, and we are compelled to join in with its song." The 10th track from ''Cannons'', "Jesus Lord of Heaven", has been translated into seven different languages. On August 8, 2008, Wickham released a live worship album, ''Singalong'', recorded at Solid Rock Church in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
with 3,000 in attendance. The album was released as a free download, only available from his website, and received over 8,000 downloads within a week of being released. After the release of ''Singalong'', his self-titled album hit No. 25 on iTunes Store Top Christian Albums sales, two years after its initial release. '' Heaven & Earth'', Wickham's third studio album, was released on November 17, 2009. His Christmas album '' Songs for Christmas'' was released as a digital download available on his website on October 29, 2010. Wickham's fourth full-length studio album, ''
Response Response may refer to: *Call and response (music), musical structure *Reaction (disambiguation) *Request–response **Output or response, the result of telecommunications input *Response (liturgy), a line answering a versicle * Response (music) o ...
'', was released on October 4, 2011. On October 30, 2012, Phil Wickham released his second live acoustic album, ''Singalong 2''. '' The Ascension'', Wickham's fifth studio album, was released on September 24, 2013. The album peaked at No. 39 on the ''Billboard'' 200, making it Wickham's highest charting album on the chart. The lead single off of this album, " This is Amazing Grace", became No. 1 on the 2014 year-end Christian Airplay Songs chart. In February 2016, Wickham released the first single, "Your Love Awakens Me", from his album, '' Children of God,'' which was released later that year. '' Living Hope'', Wickham's seventh full-length studio project, was released in August 2018. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart, his first album to do so. On October 4, 2019, Wickham's 10-track holiday album ''Christmas'' was released along with the music video for "Joy to the World (Joyful, Joyful)". Wickham toured both Texas and California with
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 ...
that same December on their annual Christmas tour. ''Christmas'' would go on to spend 12 weeks on the Billboard Christian Albums chart, peaking at No. 24. In June 2021, Wickham's eighth studio album '' Hymn of Heaven'' was released. Featuring a guest appearance by
Brandon Lake Michael Brandon Lake (born June 21, 1990) is an American contemporary worship music, Christian worship singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He writes songs at Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina and he is a former member of Bethel Music ...
, its releases included " Battle Belongs" (No. 2 on the
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), " House of the Lord" (No. 1) and " Hymn of Heaven" (No. 2), along with It's Always Been You released as a promotional single. Debuting at No. 1 on ''
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 ...
''s Top Christian Albums Chart in the United States, it also entered at No. 6 on the
Official Charts The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...
'
Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart The Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart is a music chart based on sales of albums of Contemporary Christian and gospel music in the UK. It is compiled weekly by the Official Charts Company (OCC), with each week's number one being announced ...
in the United Kingdom. At the 2021 GMA Dove Awards, "Battle Belongs" was nominated for the GMA Dove Award for Worship Recorded Song of the Year. The album was nominated for the ''Billboard'' Music Award for Top Christian Album at the 2022 ''Billboard'' Music Awards. At the 2022 GMA Dove Awards, ''Hymn of Heaven'' won 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 ...
for Worship Album of the Year, the title track won the GMA Dove Award for Worship Recorded Song of the Year, and "House of the Lord" was nominated for two GMA Dove Awards: Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year.


Tours

Wickham visits churches around the world to play his music. From late 2006 to early 2007, he went on the "Coming Up to Breathe" tour with
MercyMe MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian music band founded in Edmond, Oklahoma. The band consists of lead vocalist Bart Millard, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran, and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul. The b ...
and
Audio Adrenaline Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio A ...
. In late 2007, he went on the Remedy tour with the
David Crowder Band David Crowder Band (stylized as David Crowder*Band and The David Crowder*Band) was a six-piece Christian rock and modern worship band from Waco, Texas. Their final album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian and No. 2 on the B ...
and
The Myriad Seattle alt-rock outfit The Myriad began in 2001 with university students Jeremy Edwardson and John Roger Schofield. The duo recruited Scott Davis (drums), Jonathan Young (guitar), and Steven Tracy (guitar, piano) to join them in the endeavor. ...
. In the summers of 2023, 2024, and 2025, Wickham embarked on the
Summer Worship Nights Tour The Summer Worship Nights Tour is a headlining tour by American Christian music artists Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham. The tour features three legs, one throughout 2023 that began on August 10 in Tampa, Florida, and ended on September 2 in San Di ...
with
Brandon Lake Michael Brandon Lake (born June 21, 1990) is an American contemporary worship music, Christian worship singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He writes songs at Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina and he is a former member of Bethel Music ...
.


Festival and other activities

Wickham has played Christian worship festivals, e.g., Creation Fest in 2008. In the mid-2010s, Wickham was one of the worship leaders for Soul Survivor week and Momentum Festival in the UK.


Personal life

Wickham married Mallory Plotnik in 2008; as of December 2023, the couple was living in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, with their four children. Wickham attends Light Church, a small chapel based in
Encinitas Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Di ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Wickham underwent surgery to remove a polyp from folds of his vocal cords on April 28, 2014, after which he was prescribed a month of silence to allow the surgical site to heal. He was uncertain that he would be able to sing again, leading to identity issues and self-doubt; spiritual insights from this period formed the basis for his 2016 album, ''Children of God''.


Discography


Filmography


Awards and nominations


American Music Awards

, - ,
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, Phil Wickham , Favorite Inspirational Artist , , -


Billboard Music Awards

, - ,
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, '' Hymn of Heaven'' , Top Christian Album , , -


GMA Dove Awards


Grammy Awards


Further reading

* *


Published works

* *


Notes


References


External links

*
Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickham, Phil 1984 births Living people 21st-century American guitarists American performers of Christian music Christian music songwriters Fair Trade Services artists Guitarists from California Musicians from San Diego People from Vista, California Performers of contemporary worship music Members of the Calvary Chapel