Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith

It’s just as well that Grant is specifically one of the most successful Christian singers of all time because there is most definitely a higher power at work when it comes to her career. This is absolutely not to say that she’s not good enough or that she hasn’t earned it, mind you, but the story is pretty fairy tale-esque.

I mean, to get your first record deal by having a song, the very first song you’ve ever written for that matter, played over the phone to the head of a record label before your sixteenth birthday? That’s some God given talent right there.

The year after that, she recorded her debut album “Amy Grant”. The year after that, a single month before her high school graduation, it was released and before she’d even performed her debut ticketed concert, it charted in the top twenty of the Billboard Inspirational Albums chart.

Arguably, this would be more than enough for most seventeen year olds of the time to put the music on hold until at least after college, but this wasn’t to be the case for Grant. She chose both, enrolling at Furman University and starting work on her second album, “My Father’s Eyes”, an album which would go on to give her a Christian number one hit with the title track and her first Grammy nomination.

This success, combined with her and her co-songwriter and first husband Gary Chapman’s growing touring schedule, made her drop out of college to focus on music full time. She’s since gone on to release many more studio albums and countless singles, including a slightly baffling top five hit on the Hot Club Dance charts in 2014 with a remix of her song “Baby Baby”.

Clearly, to pigeonhole Amy Grant as a “Christian” singer does a disservice to her appeal and her talent. Her music might be inspired by her faith, but it can go on to inspire anyone open minded enough to listen.

Born in West Virginia, Smith developed his interest in music through his interaction with the church, learning piano and singing in the choir at an early age. After a 'spiritual experience' at the age of ten, he became a devout Christian, becoming heavily involved with bible study groups.

Developing his songwriting skills during his time at High School and College, Smith decided to move to Nashville in order to pursue a career in music, gaining support from his friend Shane Keister, who was an established session musician there.

In 1981, he signed to Meadowgreen Music, writing gospel hits and worship songs for various artists. After performing as the opening act for Amy Grant, he signed to Reunion Records to release his debut album, titled "The Michael W. Smith Project" in 1983. The album brought him huge success, including a Grammy nomination.

In 1990, Smith achieved a crossover success with the single, "Place in This World," from the album, "Go West Young Man," which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1992, he went even further and managed a number one hit with "Change Your World." His success continued with his following releases, creating 22 albums by 2014.

Smith also created an entirely instrumental album, titled "Freedom," released in 2000, featuring a vary of instrumentalists to create its epic sound. Following this, he moved towards christian worship music with his two albums "Worship" and "Worship Again" in 2001 and 2002. Smith wrote a song inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks, titled "There She Stands" at the request of then president George W. Bush. He has also released four Christmas albums, reinterpreting the traditional Christmas songbook with his own inimitable style.

Michael W. Smith is definitely one of the biggest names on the American Christian music scene and his success has been awarded with several awards throughout his career. He has achieved three Grammy Awards for Best Gospel Performance in 1984, Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 1995 and Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2002. As well as the Grammys, he has won a whole host of awards from the Dove Awards and the American Music Awards.