Matthew West

Matthew West is a contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter and actor. His musical style has been described as "spiritual pop."

Before becoming an award-winning CCM artist, West began his professional career penning hits for other artists, including Billy Ray Cyrus, Point of Grace, and Rascal Flatts.

A high school baseball star, he'd originally hoped to attend college on a sports scholarship; instead, West accepted a four-year music scholarship from Milliken University, where he wound up recording several solo albums before graduating in 1999. On the strength of the spiritual pop songs that appeared on September Sun (1997), Every Step of the Way (1998), and Sellout (2002), he began landing work as a songwriter for hire.

West also drew interest from Universal South Records, who signed the artist and released his major-label debut, the Dove Award-winning Happy, in 2003. His sophomore album, History, followed in 2005, and West supported the album's release with the first headlining tour of his career. Excessive use of his voice led to severe medical problems, though, forcing West to undergo throat surgery in 2007 to remove multiple polyps.

Following a period of vocal rest, West returned in 2008 with Something to Say. The album's lead single, "You Are Everything," became the most-played song on Christian radio in 2008.

West's 2015 album, Live Forever, was another landmark album for West, reached #1 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. In 2017, West returned with his seventh studio album, All In, which featured the single "Broken Things." In 2018, West won the Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year.