MercyME

Texas-based CCM outfit MercyMe secured enduring presence on both mainstream pop and Christian rankings once their platinum-certified crossover single “I Can Only Imagine” arrived in 2001. Their inspirational rock foundation has moved fluidly across roots rock, worship, contemporary pop, dance, jazz, and R&B palettes, yielding strong results with releases such as the 2004 Dove Award-winning Undone, the more assertive 2006 set Coming Up to Breathe, and the 2010 narrative album The Generous Mr. Lovewell. After departing longtime home INO for Columbia’s Fair Trade Records imprint, the band maintained its commercial footing in both Christian and pop arenas via 2014’s Welcome to the New, 2021’s inhale (exhale), and 2022’s Always Only Jesus. A fresh recording cycle opened in 2025 when the standalone single “Oh Death” appeared.

Before MercyMe formed in 1994, frontman Bart Millard endured the loss of his father to cancer during his freshman year at college. At his youth pastor’s urging, Millard relocated to Lakeland, Florida for a new beginning and soon took leadership of a local worship ensemble. Keyboardist Jim Bryson entered the picture in summer 1994; the pair journeyed to Europe together on a praise-team tour, after which both ministry and a professional music path gained greater priority. By year’s end, Millard and Bryson had settled in Oklahoma City, recruited guitarist Mike Scheuchzer, and launched MercyMe at Henderson Hills Baptist Church. A short Nashville residency in 1997 gave way to a permanent move to Dallas, Texas, where bassist Nathan Cochran and percussionist Robby Shaffer completed the lineup now averaging more than 200 annual performances.

In August 2001, after six independent albums, MercyMe inked with INO Records and introduced Almost There as its first official release. Powered by the Dove Award-winning track “I Can Only Imagine,” the project topped Christian charts, cracked the overall Top 40, and later achieved platinum status. A more organic follow-up, Spoken For, surfaced in 2002, again charting solidly while collecting three additional Dove Awards. Veteran Christian rocker Barry Graul, formerly of Whitecross, joined as second guitarist in 2003 and made his studio debut on the band’s third album, Undone, the following year.

Airplay on adult contemporary radio arrived through the singles “Here with Me” and “Homesick,” opening another market for the group. The Christmas Sessions emerged in fall 2005, followed in April 2006 by Coming Up to Breathe, whose harder-edged approach earned stronger critical notice and reached number 13 on Billboard’s album chart. The church-oriented All That Is Within Me appeared in 2007 and also entered the Top 20. After the 2009 retrospective 10, MercyMe crafted the concept album The Generous Mr. Lovewell; issued in 2010, it debuted at number three on the general album chart and delivered three Christian number-one singles—“All of Creation,” “Beautiful,” and “Move.”

Nearly a decade with INO ended when MercyMe signed with Fair Trade and issued the straightforward worship project The Worship Sessions in 2011. The more reflective The Hurt & the Healer followed in 2012, peaking at number seven on pop rankings. Welcome to the New returned in 2014 with an upbeat, dance-oriented stance that folded in jazz, rock, and roots elements. A holiday collection, MercyMe, It’s Christmas, arrived for the 2015 season. Lifer surfaced in 2017, supplying another energetic batch of faith-driven, hook-heavy material highlighted by the hit “Even If.”

A cinematic dramatization of the story behind the 2001 crossover smash “I Can Only Imagine” reached theaters in 2018. To mark the film’s launch, the band released the career-spanning anthology I Can Only Imagine: The Very Best of MercyMe, which included a newly recorded version of the title track created for the movie. Early singles from the subsequent album surfaced in 2019 with “Almost Home,” followed in 2020 by “Say You Won’t” and “Hurry Up and Wait.” The tenth studio album, inhale (exhale), finally emerged in April 2021, featuring guest turns from Rascal Flatts vocalist Gary LeVox and disco legend Gloria Gaynor. Early 2022 brought the single “Then Christ Came,” preceding the eleventh long-player Always Only Jesus later that year. The standalone track “Oh Death” appeared in early 2025 ahead of a spring tour shared with Zach Williams and Sam Wesley.