MercyMe’s Bart Millard Shares the ‘Awkward’ Conversation That Led to His Favorite Collaboration
By Movieguide® Staff
MercyMe’s newest album, “inhale (exhale)” features significant collaborations with Gloria Gaynor, Rascal Flatts, and Gary LeVox. However, the band’s lead singer Bart Millard said that his favorite collaborative effort on the album is with his 19-year-old son, Sam, on the song “On Our Way.”
“We’ve got a few cool features on the album, but that one really means the most to me,” Millard said during an interview on the Charisma Podcast Network.
Sam was writing a song with a group of friends when his father first recognized that his son had created something special.
“My son was writing with some friends of his… they actually got some publisher that was out there looking for songs for AMERICAN IDOL where they pay a couple hundred dollars, flat rate and no royalties or anything; it feels like a little bit of a scam,” Millard explained. “But they heard about the opportunity; they wanted to try to do it. And he played me the chorus, and I said, ‘Buddy, this is really good. I don’t know if you should be giving this to the publisher. You should hold onto it for another opportunity.’
“And so I was playing it for the band and the label, just bragging on my son, and the label said, ‘Man, you should consider this for the album. It’s really good,'” Millard added.
Millard admitted that talking to his son about using the song on the album was awkward, but they agreed to record it together.
“So we ended up recording it, and Sam just kind of sang the back half of the demo because I was sick that day,” Millard said. “He wasn’t meant to sing on it, but everyone said, ‘Man, we should leave him on there.’ It was a huge proud moment for me for sure.”
Many people learned about Millard’s testimony through the movie I CAN ONLY IMAGINE.
Movieguide® previously reported on the release of the album:
After the tumultuous 2020, the multi-platinum Christian band MercyMe released the album “Inhale (exhale),” their first album since the I CAN ONLY IMAGINE movie hit theaters in 2018.
The song “Say I Won’t” is already No. 4 on multiple Billboard Christian charts and is based on the inspiring story of faith and perseverance of Gary Miracle, who had all four limbs amputated.
Their 10th studio album consists of 16 tracks.
The band’s lead singer, Bart Millard, said that the box office success of Movieguide® Award-wining I CAN ONLY IMAGINE opened doors for their newest album.
“A couple of the people singing on this album, Gloria Gaynor and Gary LeVox, are people that I met because of the movie, so it’s crazy,” Millard told The Christian Post in an interview. “I don’t think we still even [comprehend] the reach that it had.”
Millard and the band are grateful for the continued support from fans after 27 years in the business.
“We’ve been in the band for 27 years, we’ve definitely seen the highs and lows, and we just can’t believe that people still remotely care that we make music and that we’re still able to avoid hard labor. So it’s been a win-win all the way around,” Millard said.