SALES HISTORY
•Over 4 million albums sold
•Undone scanned 55,805 units its first week.
•ALMOST THERE remained on the Billboard Top 200 album charts for over 100 weeks!
• ALMOST THERE RIAA Double Platinum Certified
• SPOKEN FOR RIAA Gold Certified
• UNDONE RIAA Gold Certified
PRESS COVERAGE
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BOOKS
“ Homesick ” - Integrity Publishers, June 2005
“ I Can Only Imagine” - J Countryman, June 2004
Story behind “I Can Only Imagine ”
When my father died of cancer in 1991, he left me with the assurance that he was headed to a better place. He used to always tell me that I was getting the raw end of the deal because I had to stick around here. For several years following his death, I would find myself writing the phrase, I can only imagine, on anything I could find. That simple phrase would give me a peace and a hope thinking about what my dad was finally experiencing.
As the history of modern music unfolds, certain albums are obvious landmarks. Those are the times when vision meets talent in a divine appointment that produces a collection of songs that help define an artist's career, such as Whiteheart's "Freedom," Amy Grant's "Lead Me On," dcTalk's "Jesus Freak," Michael W. Smith's "Eye 2 Eye," and U2's "The Joshua Tree," among others. MercyMe's new INO Records release, "Coming Up to Breathe," is one of those albums.
"INO was really supportive about us making the kind of record we've always wanted to make," says MercyMe frontman/lyricist Bart Millard. "Our last three records are nothing to complain about because they've always done really well for us, but I've always said in every interview, they are a step in the right direction and getting closer to who I've always wanted us to be. When we were talking about making this record, I said 'I don't want it to be just a step in the right direction, I want it to be exactly who we are and the kind of music we play.'"
The result is a powerful collection of songs that in some places rocks harder than MercyMe ever has during their dozen years together. "We just wanted to make the album we love and it definitely came across a little more rocking than any other music we've ever done," says Millard, adding enthusiastically, "We love it. We really focused on up tempo songs. It's definitely way more energetic than anything we've ever done before. I don't think we are trying to reinvent the wheel, it's just trying to put a little more edge into what we are creating."
The journey toward self-discovery has been a winding, often bumpy road, for Millard and his bandmates. Along the way, it yielded some incredible music, including the poignant anthem "I Can Only Imagine." The song transcended musical barriers to become a multi-format smash, pushing sales of MercyMe's INO debut, "Almost There," beyond double platinum and earning them numerous accolades, including the Gospel Music Association's Song of the Year. The band has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Fox & Friends, applauded in Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, The New York Times and other prime media outlets, as well as touring extensively and launching a successful organization to aid young people entering the mission field called The Go Foundation.
But along with the mountaintops come the valleys and the band went through a painful time in which several people close to them died in a matter of weeks. "Making the last record was so intense," says Millard. "We had so much tragedy we had to deal with. It was just a very draining experience, and in the next year or two we were kind of reliving that through the live show and explaining what happened. It was very exhausting."
That's why the title "Coming Up to Breathe" holds special significance for Millard and the band. "We just want to take a break and surface and take a gasp of air," he says. "We just wanted to stop for a second and kind of let our hair down."
What emerged is a veritable kaleidoscope of sounds and emotions from the exuberant celebration of the title track and the absolutely infectious song of surrender "So Long Self" to the sweeping epic "Hold Fast," which reminds us all of the strength to be found in God's presence. "There is no huge consistent theme," Millard says of the songs on the new album. "It's really just everything that was on our hearts at the time. There are some songs that reflect where we've been like 'Hold Fast.' It's just talking to people about when you feel like you are going to give up, just hang on because help is on the way. That's definitely based on what we've gone through and how we've made it."
Millard says there was definitely a lighter mood in the making of this album. "We danced half way through making the record because we hadn't had any major tragedy," he confesses. "So it was really just a blast to go through something like this and not have something real heavy lingering over our heads. I think that every song definitely has a message within itself and they can minister to people in different ways."
Millard's muscular, emotion-laded voice has never sounded better than on "Coming Up to Breathe." There's a sense of passion and freedom in his delivery that draws the listener into each song as if he's singing just for them. That's the mark of a great communicator, and Millard has honed his skills even more over the past few years. "Coming Up to Breathe" is the third record Millard has released in less than a year. In 2005, he made his solo bow with the critically acclaimed "Hymned," on which he reinvented some of Christian music's timeless hymns, making them new for today's generation. He and his MercyMe cohorts also recorded "The Christmas Sessions," sure to become a perennial favorite of Christmas celebrations for years to come.
"It's been a real exhausting year," says Millard, who worked with veteran producer Brown Bannister (Amy Grant, The Afters, Steven Curtis Chapman) on all three projects. "We said 'Man, you've made three albums with us in one year which proves that we are insane.'"
"After such an amazing experience working with Brown on the Christmas Sessions, we knew we wanted to work with him even more," says Millard. "Brown pushed us to make the music we have always dreamed of making." For the new album, Millard says the songwriting is all MercyMe. "There's just such a pleasure knowing that when we finished this whole record, it came from MercyMe," says Millard. "There wasn't any outside influence. We wrote it. Whether it's good or bad, it's completely us. Brown would keep telling us, 'You know what? You are going to make your bed. You are going to lie in it, whatever that is. Whatever comes out of you, this will be MercyMe's record.'" For "Coming Up to Breathe," Bannister and the MercyMe guys traveled to upstate New York to record at the famed Allaire Studios used by Tim McGraw, Norah Jones and other luminaries. "We wanted to get away," says Millard. "If we do an album in Nashville, it means half a day spent either on the phone or in an office doing something other than recording. If we do it at home in Dallas, it is hard to be motivated to work because we would rather be at home with our families. So we had this dream of going away for three or four weeks, just turning our cell phones off to just eat, sleep and make music. We knew that's what we needed to do."
Allaire fulfilled their artistic hopes. "We were not disappointed," Millard says. "We just fell in love with the place, escaping everything and getting in that environment. At one point it rained for 11 days straight. It never let up. It was great music-making weather, watching it rain over the mountain. You had no desire to go outside or take a break and you get a lot done. The day it started raining, we literally locked ourselves in and didn't look back. We worked, worked and worked."
Millard is pleased with the success of MercyMe's previous albums, but admits there's a special satisfaction in this one. "We've always joked about wanting to make our Whiteheart 'Freedom' or our Amy Grant 'Lead Me On,' and time will tell if that is ever the case," Millard says, "but we just gave it everything we had. There was no holding back on this record."
The result is a record destined to stand as a milestone in an illustrious career, but what matters most to MercyMe is the impact the music will have on others. "Regardless of what you are going through in life, regardless of what you are consumed with, regardless of what fills up your everyday life," says Millard, "there are times you have to stop and surface and take a deep breath and remember what's important. That's what this album is for us. It's addressing everything we've gone through and realizing the one common denominator in all this Jesus. That's what is worth taking a breath for."
Propelled into the mainstream spotlight by the smash hit I Can Only Imagine, MercyMe
is conquering unchartered areas for a Christian rock group.
The soaring song I Can Only Imagine delivered an unabashedly strong message about
what heaven might be like. It quickly became apparent that it was a message the post-
September 11 nation needed desperately to hear. The No. 1 song, which nabbed
several Dove Awards including the prestigious Song of the Year, garnered heavy airplay
at pop, country and adult contemporary radio stations nationwide. Millions of radio
listeners who may not have ever considered themselves fans of Christian music
suddenly found themselves singing along to the song’s irresistible chorus. The millionselling
album Almost There on INO Records took its rightful place along such pop acts
as Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez on the Billboard Top 200 pop charts for
months.
The laid-back band from Greenville, Texas, quickly evolved from being Christian music’s
fastest-selling new act in 2001 to one of the most successful bands in all musical genres,
selling more than 2 million records in only three years and earning an American Music
Award nomination. MercyMe followed Almost There in 2001 with 2002’s Spoken For,
which was certified gold and produced two more No. 1 hits. Now the band, which has
been together for about ten years, has grown beyond its label as “a Christian band” and
become nationally known as a great rock group that tackles such serious themes as God
and love. Their music is appealing to both devout Christians who study the Bible and
young teens who devour Rolling Stone.
And now comes Undone, the most anticipated Christian release in recent memory. “The
best way to describe it is that it’s a new progression for us,” says bassist Nathan
Cochran. “It’s not a sharp left turn; it’s a step beyond what we’ve ever done. We feel like
our message and calling are the same,” he says. “We’re still worship leaders; we’re just
on a different scale.”
Says drummer Robby Shaffer, “It’s titled Undone and that’s exactly what it is. This is
very different for us as far as music goes. It challenged us, it pushed us and I think it
ultimately made us better musicians.”
The album’s debut single, Here With Me, is a catchy rock worship song with a Coldplay
vibe. With the recent addition of second lead guitarist Barry Graul, Undone unveils a
more textured, passionate sound. “We’ve been a rock band for 10 years,” says lead
singer Bart Millard. “Before we ever signed, it’s what we wanted to be. Then we became
known as the band of ballads when I Can Only Imagine came out. On Undone, we
focused quite on bit on some of the up-tempo songs on this record to make sure we’re
still enjoying what we do.
“We’ve been freed up to be a little more creative,” he says. “If you see any kind of
success, then you have freedom on the next record to do your own thing a little more.”
As the band toured nationally, radio DJs constantly peppered them with the question,
“What’s next?” Although MercyMe greatly appreciated the excitement, they didn’t want to
rush anything and refused to release a new CD until they were satisfied that they’d
created the best music they could possibly make. “We’re trying to be responsible enough
to send them something that has meaning,” Millard says. “We don’t want to water down
anything. They’ve told us, ‘If you say it, we’ll play it.’ What an incredible responsibility
and privilege to have.”
Undone is much different than what would be expected following such monster success
as Almost There. Rather than attempting to recapture the highly appealing magic of I
Can Only Imagine, MercyMe’s newest guitar-driven studio effort is more mature,
thought-provoking and musically experimental. Obviously, each member has grown a
tremendous amount, both personally and professionally, in the last year. All six are
married and three are now fathers. “Musically, we’ve grown probably twice what we grew
between Almost There and Spoken For,” says guitarist Mike Scheuchzer. “And none of
us expected it.”
Indeed, Undone includes a few songs the band hoped they would never have to make.
Although the band has experienced success beyond their boldest dreams, the last year
has also delivered some of the worst blows of their lives. For instance, Millard had nine
close friends and family members, including his 20-year-old brother-in-law, his uncle
who was like a second father to him, and Bryson’s father, pass away between December
2003 and March 2004. The result is the most personal album of MercyMe’s career.
One of the album’s most poignant songs is Homesick, one of eight songs on the album
written by Millard, who penned I Can Only Imagine after his father died of cancer in
1991. “I Can Only Imagine took the focus off of what you are going through and was
comforting because it put the focus on where they were going,” he says. “Homesick is
the opposite because it completely addresses us that are left here. I don’t think as a
Christian that it’s right for me to say, ‘I wish you could’ve stayed here,’ because truthfully,
we’re getting the raw end of the deal if we really believe what we say that heaven is as
great as we want it to be. The whole idea is that we’re the ones who have to wait.”
The CD’s title track, Undone, describes our never-ending quest for self-improvement.
“We get so many different meanings out of it,” says Shaffer. “We’re undone from our
freedom side of it or you could say we’re undone as far as we’re not quite to where we’re
going yet. We’re constantly striving to get where God wants us. I don’t think that we’ll
ever become ‘done’ until we’re in heaven.”
With a string of crossover hits on the Christian charts as well as the mainstream A/C and
CHR charts, MercyMe defies categorization.
Since the Texas sextets’ 2001 debut, Almost There was certified double platinum –
thanks to the popularity of the poignant anthem, “I Can Only Imagine” – the band has
released a string of gold-certified hits including two studio albums: Spoken For (2002)
and Undone (2003) plus the DVD MercyMe Live (2004). Beyond the record sales,
MercyMe has also garnered critical acclaim with awards from the Gospel Music
Association and the American Music Awards. Meanwhile, the group’s inspiring and
theatric live shows continue to draw sell-out crowds across the country.
MercyMe returns this spring with its fifth studio album and Columbia Records debut,
COMING UP TO BREATHE. For the band, the making of the album fulfilled the promise
that a cloudburst doesn’t last all day.
MercyMe’s last tour and album were both saddened when several people close to the
band died only weeks apart. “Recording our last record was intense because of all the
tragedy we were dealing with,” says vocalist/lyricist Bart Millard. “When you’ve been
together for 12 years like we have, a loss for one of us is a loss for all of us. What made
it worse was that we had to go out on the road for almost two years and relive that pain
every night under the spotlight. It was emotionally exhausting.”
It’s fitting then that the band returns with COMING UP TO BREATHE, an album that
celebrates life and the small joys that are brought into sharp relief by the loss of a loved
one. “The pain you feel makes you realize what’s important in your life,” Millard says.
“But in the end, the pain was ultimately liberating for us because it pushed the band to
make the record we’ve always wanted to make.”
To record COMING UP TO BREATHE the band – Millard, drummer, Robby Shaffer;
guitarists, Mike John Scheuchzer and Barry Graul; bassist, Nathan Cochran and
keyboardist, Jim Bryson – sequestered themselves at the famed Allaire Studios. Tucked
into the pastoral countryside of upstate New York, Allaire Studios was built inside a
mansion originally constructed during the Roaring ‘20s. In the past, the studio’s organic
vibe has drawn the likes of Norah Jones, Tim McGraw and David Bowie.
The bucolic location ensured a minimum of distractions, Millard says, which allowed the
band to quickly record all 13 of the album’s tracks in about a month. “We recorded in
what I think used to be the mansion’s grand dining hall. It’s an amazing room that has a
cathedral ceiling overhead. That room echoes for days – it was incredible the sounds we
were getting. This was also the first time we’ve ever recorded with everyone in the same
room. In the past we’ve been spread out all over the studio. You get a cleaner sound
that way but you lose the eye contact that you have when you play live.”
By setting the band up to play in a circle in the studio, producer Brown Bannister (Amy
Grant, The Afters, Steven Curtis Chapman) was able to capture the edge that MercyMe
regularly flashes in concert. “We’re proud of our previous albums but they never really
represented what we sound like live. What you hear on COMING UP TO BREATHE is
the band doing what it does best; plugging in and rocking out together,” Millard says.
“I’ve always said that if you only know MercyMe from our albums, you not getting the
whole story. This album tells the rest of our story.”
With the irresistibly bouncy first single, “So Long Self,” Millard slyly – and almost lightheartedly
– writes about death as a breakup song to himself. The song’s title, which was
almost the title of the album, was inspired by a serendipitous moment at home. “I was
watching television and thought I heard someone say, ‘so long self.’ I thought, ‘what the
heck does that mean.’ As I was reaching for the remote to rewind my TiVo, I was
thinking about what ‘so long self’ could possibly mean and the idea of dying to live just
hit me. It’s one of the few times I’ve had the lyric before the song.”
A potent mix of muscular rhythms, aching melodies and raw emotion, COMING UP TO
BREATHE is the sound of a band playing with its heart on its sleeve. The sweeping epic
“Hold Fast” sings about holding on when things look their darkest. “This song reflects
where we’ve been and what got us through,” Millard says. “It’s a song of
encouragement. Don’t give up, hang on because help is on the way.”
A driving, hook-filled tune that closes with a soulful coda, “No More No Less” addresses
the band’s Christian roots directly. “People have a lot of preconceived notions about
what we’re supposed to be and how we’re supposed to sound,” Millard explains. “We’ve
been explaining our faith for so long, I thought it was time to write a song about it. Like
the song says: I not trying to hide anything/I wear it on my sleeve. I’m not trying to be
something I’m not/This is all I’ve got.”
The album’s exuberant title track – a song of celebration – holds a special significance
for the band, Millard says. “It’s about coming to the surface, taking a deep breath and
putting everything in perspective. It’s about coming through the hard times and
refocusing on what’s important, which for us was the joy of making music together.”
The hardest song MercyMe has recorded to date, “Last One Standing” almost didn’t
make the album. “We thought about cutting it because it was too heavy,” Millard recalls.
“In the end, that’s why we kept the song – because it was us going for it all the way; no
pulling back. This song really is the realization of what we set out to do – make the
record we wanted to make; no compromises.”
The music is tailor made for playing live and MercyMe’s elaborate stage show, which
includes a spectacular light show and gigantic LED screens. “We have a tendency to
take things over the top on stage,” Millard says with a chuckle. “That sense of theatrics
goes back to our early days when we were trying to get noticed playing festivals and
church camps.”
Millard says he is pleased with the success of MercyMe’s previous albums, but admits
there’s a special satisfaction with this one. “We’ve always joked about wanting to make
our version of Amy Grant’s Lead Me On or U2’s Joshua Tree and time will tell if that is
ever the case, but we just gave it everything we had. There was no holding back on this
record.”
The result is a record destined to stand as a milestone in MercyMe’s illustrious career,
but what matters most to the band is the impact the music will have on others.
“Regardless of what you are going through in life, regardless of what you are consumed
with, regardless of what fills up your everyday life, there are times when you have to
stop, surface, take a deep breath and remember what’s important,” Millard says. “That’s
what this album is for us. It’s addressing everything we’ve gone through and realizing the
one common denominator in all of this is Jesus. That’s what is worth taking a breath for
• COMING UP TO BREATHE, INO Records, April 2006
• CHRISTMAS SESSIONS, INO Records, September 2005
• UNDONE, INO Records, April 2004
• SPOKEN FOR, INO Records, October 2002
• ALMOST THERE, INO Records, August 2001
•2005 Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for Undone
•2005 Dove Award for Special Event Album of the Year for The Passion of the
Christ: Songs
•2004 American Music Award for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist
•2004 Dove Award for Artist of the Year and Group of the Year
2
•2004 Dove Award for Song of the Year and Pop Contemporary Song of the Year for
“ Word of God Speak”
•2002 Song of the Year Dove Award for “ I Can Only Imagine ”
•2002 Contemporary/Pop Recorded Song of the Year for “I Can Only Imagine ”
•2002 Songwriter of the Year Dove Award for Bart Millard, writer of “I Can Only
Imagine ”
AWARD NOMINATIONS
•2006 Dove Nomination for Group of the Year, Country Recorded Song of the Year for
“ Mawmaw’s Song ” (Bart Millard, Barry Graul) and Inspirational Album of the Year
for Hymned, (Bart Millard)
•2005 Dove Nomination for Group of the Year, Artist of the Year, Pop/Contemporary
Album of the Year for Undone, Special Event Album of the Year for The Passion of
the Christ: Songs and Long Form Music Video for MercyMe LIVE
•2004 Dove Nomination for Songwriter of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year (Bart
Millard), and Children’s Music Album of the Year
•2003 American Music Award Nomination for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist
•2003 Dove Nominations for Song of the Year & Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year
•2003 Dove Nominations for Group of the Year & Artist of the Year
Artists Bios 
