Latest Release
- NOV 1, 2024
- 1 Song
- Surrounded (Fight My Battles) - Single · 2017
- The Spirit of Christmas · 2014
- The Spirit of Christmas · 2005
- Christmastime · 1998
- Haven't Seen It Yet · 2019
- Christmastime · 1998
- Christmastime · 1998
- Waymaker (feat. Vanessa Campagna & Madelyn Berry) - Single · 2019
- Christmas · 1989
- Valentine · 1999
Essential Albums
- By the early ’90s, Michael W. Smith had already released a clutch of CCM ballads that shimmer like gemstones. I’ll Lead You Home, from 1995, also delivers the goods, especially the gospel-kissed title cut that yearns for the promised land. But it’s also clear that Smith is bucking expectations: Both “Breakdown,” a moody political number that rides tight funk rock, and “A Little Stronger Everyday,” an inspirational with finger-snapping beats echoing Paul Simon, upend his reputation as a pop balladeer.
- From the start, Michael W. Smith sought to bring his Christian message to a wider audience. Change Your World was a notable milestone toward achieving this goal, consolidating the crossover success of his ’91 pop hit “Place In This World.” Supple dance grooves and arena-rock guitar gestures dominate the sound, with high-profile assistance from the likes of Amy Grant and dcTalk. “Picture Perfect,” “Love One Another,” and “I Wanna Tell the World” match body-grabbing tracks with God-informed lyric content. As on earlier albums, Smitty returns to issues of faith in the real world, touching upon themes of personal identity (“Cross of Gold”), interracial brotherhood (“Color Blind”) and worldwide compassion (“Give It Away”) in nonsectarian terms. The inclusion of his elegiac signature ballad “Friends” in revamped form provides a link to Smith’s early work. Change Your World’s sparkling production and nuanced spiritual approach still have the power to uplift today.
- 2020
- 2020
- 2020
Artist Playlists
- Powerful and poignant songs of worship from this CCM superstar.
- A blend of sacred and secular topped off with loads of holiday cheer.
- The patron saint of CCM artists is blessed with crossover appeal.
- A gospel undercurrent ripples throughout the singer’s catalog.
Live Albums
Appears On
More To Hear
- Michael on reimagining 'Worship,' "Rocketown," and more.
About Michael W. Smith
Michael Whitaker Smith is a self-motivating workaholic with a powerful voice, movie-star looks, and a roomful of Gospel Music Association Dove awards. The singer/songwriter parlayed his successful contemporary Christian music of the '80s into pop and adult-contemporary success in the '90s—peaking with his crossover hit "Place in This World"—before returning to the worship fold more or less exclusively since. Born in West Virginia in 1957, Smith received his big break from Amy Grant, who hired him as her featured keyboardist in 1981 and then tapped him as her opening act. Beginning with his 1983 solo debut, Michael W. Smith Project, Smith punctuated his big-voiced balladry with jazz-funk, techno-pop, jittery New Wave, and other sounds new to the CCM field—most notably on 1986’s The Big Picture, an innovative, hard-edged gem influenced by Talking Heads, U2, and Peter Gabriel. Smith's recordings of live, high-energy worship music became his bread and butter; he augmented those with a handful of Christmas albums, instrumental albums displaying a keen appreciation of Hollywood film-score styles, and Lullaby, the musical accompaniment to a children's book he co-wrote. In 2020, Smith enjoyed a non-holiday Christian Airplay hit with his cover of Nigerian gospel singer Simcha’s hit "Waymaker," a tune fans found hugely soothing during the global pandemic.
- GENRE
- Christian