Steven Curtis Chapman

A songwriting trailblazer from Paducah, Kentucky, Steven Curtis Chapman is one of Christian music’s most prolific artists with 17 albums to his credit.

Steven's newest album, #1's, reflects back on the songs that have shaped his career as well as earned him 56 Dove Awards, five Grammy Awards and sales of more than 10 million albums. However in Steven’s world what really matters is his relationship with God and his family who are always a staple in the stories he tells from stage and the loves of his life.

Before he was the household name in Christian music, Steven Curtis Chapman grew up in a tight-knit family in Kentucky playing the guitar and singing. Given his early love of music, it really wasn’t a surprise when Steven traded in his pre-med major in Kentucky for a shot at pursuing music in Nashville.

After writing a track that was recorded by The Imperials, Steven eventually signed a songwriting deal and penned songs for other artists before releasing his first album, First Hand in 1987. Another project, Real Life Conversations, would follow a year later, and Steven officially had his breakthrough in the music scene.

It wasn't until back-to-back albums More to This Life and For the Sake of the Call that Steven truly became a household name. Not only did he score several #1 singles, but Steven won his first Grammy Award.

Over the years, Steven has continued to come up with fresh inspiration for project after project, and songs like “The Great Adventure,” “Dive,” “Live Out Loud” and “Let Us Pray” have been the soundtrack to many believers’ journeys.

An outspoken advocate for adoption awareness, Steven and his wife Mary Beth adopted three daughters from China, Shaohannah, Stevie Joy and Maria Sue. In 2008, Maria was tragically killed when she was accidentally run over in the family’s driveway. Steven channeled that pain and his ultimate hope in God into his album Beauty Will Rise, which featured "Heaven is the Face," a song written in remembrance of his daughter. Describing the songs as his “personal psalms,” Steven was able to share his and his family’s story of hope in the midst of sorrow in mainstream media outlets including “Larry King Live,” “Fox News” and "People."

His reflections continued in his following album Safe In The Arms, as Steven worked with fellow Christian artist Matt Redman. The release was coupled with a tour with his wife Mary Beth entitled "A Night with the Chapmans," where she showcased her new book Choosing to See. The book discusses the journey of the Chapman's over the past few years, and the role of their faith and hope in God to get them through.

Steven's most current project, Re:creation, brought the loss of his daughter full circle, as it represents a new chapter in the Chapman's life as they emerge from the heartache of their tragic loss. The album consists of many of Steven's old hits, in addition to new music written by Chapman himself, “As God has been really recreating new life in us -my family and I- as we’ve walked through this time, it just seemed like something that made sense for me to re-share those songs,” Chapman said to K-LOVE’s Scott and Kelli. “And there are some new songs that I’ve written along the process that feel like they kind of begin to bring us into a new season of hopefulness.”

Steven recently released a holiday album titled Joy (October 16, 2012), which features Christmas classics, as well as original song written by the singer himself. One of the more personal songs on the new album is "Christmas Kiss," a song Chapman wrote for his wife Mary Beth.“It’s a sweet song. Every year we turn the lights down low and put on the music and dance. It signals the beginning of Christmas," he said. "We can’t do it ‘til the day after Thanksgiving, but we put on the Nat King Cole Christmas song and as soon as that starts, I’ll take her and we’ll sway back and forth, just slow dance around the living room and then it’s like, ‘Alright Christmas can now officially start. This is the beginning of it,’ so this song was my way to express that.”