Matthew West has topped the Christian radio charts again - but this time, the milestone comes with a confession.
"Good," his latest single, hit No. 1 last week, marking his 39th chart-topper as an artist and songwriter. It's also his fastest-rising single since 2013. The number alone is remarkable for any artist. What makes this one different is what the song is actually about.
West spent years treating God's grace like something he had to earn. More good deeds, more effort, more striving - as if enough of the right things could finally make him worthy. "Good" is the song he wrote when he stopped.
He's been open about where it came from. "I spent a long time treating grace like a ladder I had to climb," West shared. "He keeps showing me that grace isn't a reward or something I have to earn - it's a gift freely given. That powerful truth did more than inspire this song. It changed my life."
Co-written with longtime collaborator AJ Pruis and drawn from the Book of Romans, the track builds around one simple, liberating idea: God is good whether you are on top of the mountain or falling off it. You are no more and no less loved either way.
For someone with 275 songwriting credits - writing cuts for Casting Crowns, Amy Grant, Anne Wilson, and Rascal Flatts among others - that kind of honesty is exactly why his audience keeps coming back. West doesn't write from a position of having it all figured out. He writes from the same place the rest of us are sitting.
The No. 1 lands in the middle of a full season for him. He's nominated for Male Artist of the Year at the 2026 K-LOVE Fan Awards. His latest book, Don't Stop Praying: The God Who Hears Is Just a Breath Away, has already sold more than 10,000 copies since its February release. And this fall, he takes the Jesus Is King Tour to 17 cities, including a sold-out stop at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on August 4 alongside Chris Tomlin.
Thirty-nine No. 1s. A song about finally letting go of the ladder. That's a good place to be.
"Good" is on Christian radio now. The Jesus Is King Tour kicks off September 10, 2026. Tickets at matthewwest.com.
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