Matthew West

Matthew West has a God-given talent of singing and songwriting and took it to the next level with his newest album The Story of Your Life.

As Matthew thumbed through thousands of listeners' stories, he emerged a changed man. "I was face to face with the real stories of people's lives," Matthew reflected on an interview with K-LOVE's Scott and Kelli. "It made me take a look in my own life, and I realized that a lot of times, I stay safe in the confines of My Own Little World.

The latest song off the album, "Strong Enough," was based on the story of a 19 year old named Haleigh who was severely injured in an auto accident. After 11 surgeries and countless doctor appointments, her Mom encouraged her that the Lord will never put anything on us that we're not strong enough to handle.  "He must think that I'm pretty strong if I was going through all of that," was Haleigh's response.

Matthew stepped outside of the studio this spring to bring hope and gifts to children in Panama through Operation Christmas Child. "Operation Christmas Child is going to great lengths to reach these children and show them love through these shoeboxes," reflected Matthew. "I felt like God was saying, 'That's just a glimpse of the great lengths that I go to, to search out each and every soul and let them know that they are loved.'"

Matthew West has also used his talents on Valentine's Day every year to bless one K-LOVE listener with a personalized love song. Every February, you have the opportunity to tell Matthew your love story, and Matthew writes a song based on a story submitted. You can see the past "Next Great Love Songs" below, as well as read the stories that inspired them:

• Wouldn't Change a Thing (2011)
• When Love Comes Home (2011 - supplemental)
• Hold You Up (2010)
• When I Say I Do (2009)
• Waiting For You (2008)

Singing and songwriting was not always Matthew West's career of choice. Growing up only a stone’s throw from Wrigley Field, playing for the Cubs was the dream profession for future singer/songwriter Matthew West. As Matthew spent many nights in the dugout during high school, even serving as his team’s captain, his major-league dreams felt closer than ever. As it came time for college, however, he received a four-year music scholarship from Millikin University, instead of the baseball one he really wanted.

During his college breaks, he wrote most of his first songs in the sanctuary of his father’s church, and after graduating from college, a friend suggested that Matthew attend the annual the Gospel Music Association Music in the Rockies event for aspiring musicians.

Eventually making the final round of the songwriting competition, Matthew was offered a songwriting deal. Then after writing songs for established artists including Billy Ray Cyrus, Rascal Flatts and Natalie Grant, Matthew continued writing his own songs and eventually signed with Universal South Records.

His first radio single “More” held on to the #1 position on the Christian adult contemporary charts for nine weeks and his second album, History, scored him two more hit radio singles, “Next Thing You Know” and “Only Grace.”

In 2007, however, it was no longer smooth sailing when his career took a rather turbulent turn. Turns out, Matthew was on the verge of losing the very voice that endeared him to fans. Instructed to undergo vocal rest for two months by not talking at all, the future of Matthew’s singing career lay in the balance. As it turns out, the treatment worked and God wasn't quite finished using Matthew’s voice after all.

Matthew resumed his singing career and went on to write two more hits, “The Motions” and “You Are Everything” to firmly establish Matthew as one of the industry’s premiere songwriters. Nowadays, you can find him on his The Story of Your Life Tour throughout the Midwest and East Coast.