Matthew West’s long-awaited double album, My Story Your Glory, out on February 17, is half a record of songs inspired by stories told to West by others, and half a worship record. The project includes a collaboration with Granger Smith on “Greatest Hits,” which West wrote as he began reflecting on what is most important in his own life, and how everything else pales in comparison to what he values the most.
“I’ve just admired him from a distance,” the father of two tells Everything Nash of Smith. “I know his story and his family, He’s been touched by grief. I know he’s a family man. I know he loves God. And I just knew the theme of this song was about rediscovering what the real greatest hits in life are. The song’s called ‘Greatest Hits.’
“It’s about how we spend so much of our time in music, in our lives chasing a hit song,” he continues. “And then, you come home from tour, you walk in the door of your house and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is what really matters.'”
The video for West’s “Greatest Hits” collaboration with Smith shows fan-submitted photos of their own greatest hits: their families. It was a way for West to illustrate what he is learning about what is — and isn’t — important in life, an idea that Smith agreed with whole-heartedly.
“The idea is that someday when it’s all over, God’s idea of what our greatest hits were in our life are way different than what we thought we were chasing,” West reflects. “So, I felt like that would be a song that Granger would react to. It was cool. He hit me right back. He’s like, ‘I”m in, I love this song. Let’s go.'”
My Story Your Glory also includes collaborations with both Jenn Johnson and David Leonard, two artists and songwriters West deeply admires.
“I want community to be represented in my records, because so many artists let me be part of their community,” West explains. “I get to write songs with so many different artists for their projects. And so, as I made this album, especially on the worship side, I wanted voices. I think one of the beautiful things that you hear in worship music now is this collective of voices, hearing a lot of voices singing together. And that was one of the reasons why I sought out Jenn and David, just this idea of these duets. It was almost as if I was leading worship at the church.
“It was very intentional, the collaborations I chose,” he adds. “I chose them because I have a respect for what they do. I felt like their voice would be perfect on a certain song.”
West will embark on his My Story Your Glory Tour on February 23 in Decatur, Illinois. Order My Story Your Glory and find tour dates at MatthewWest.com.