Michael W. Smith

Michael W. Smith is an American singer, songwriter and pianist born in Kenova, West Virginia, who became one of the defining figures of contemporary Christian music from the 1980s onward. Starting out as a songwriter and touring keyboardist for Amy Grant, he launched a solo career that blended pop and rock songcraft with worship and gospel themes, quickly becoming a genre standard-bearer.

His biggest mainstream crossover came in 1991, when «Place in This World» reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, proving Christian pop could compete on secular radio. Beyond the charts, he became one of the most influential writers and performers of modern worship music, with songs and worship-set staples like «Above All», «Agnus Dei», «You Are Holy (Prince Of Peace)» and «Open the Eyes of My Heart» becoming fixtures in churches worldwide, often performed and recorded live in concert and worship settings.

Over a career spanning decades and dozens of albums, Smith has moved fluidly between polished adult-contemporary pop, rock-inflected arrangements and instrumental and orchestral worship music, cementing a reputation as both a hitmaker and a worship leader. He remains an active recording and touring artist and a central figure in the history and identity of contemporary Christian music.