MATTHEW WEST

Matthew Joseph West[3] (born April 25, 1977) is an american Contemporary Christian musician and actor from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released four studio albums and is known for his songs "More", "You Are Everything", and "The Motions". He was nominated for five Dove Awards in 2005, two of which were for his major label debut album Happy. First starting out as an independent musician in the late 1990s, he released three independent albums before signing with Universal South Records. With the release of his Dove Award-winning debut album Happy (2003) came the success of his first radio single "More", which stayed at No. 1 on Christian AC charts for nine weeks and received two Dove Award nominations. His second record History (2005) was followed by a 2006 re-release of the originally independent album Sellout. In 2007 he faced vocal issues which threatened his career with two months of prescribed vocal rest. His third studio album Something to Say (2008) also enjoyed chart success with No. 1 hits "You Are Everything" and "The Motions". In addition to his main solo career, West has worked as a songwriter for many Christian musicians and groups such as Point of Grace, Mandisa, and Natalie Grant, as well as mainstream country acts Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus and Vince Gill