Greater (song)

"Greater" is the second single by contemporary Christian music band MercyMe for their eight studio album, Welcome to the New (2014).[3] It was released as a single on March 25, 2014. The song peaked at No. 2 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart, blocked from the top by "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong United. It was their record-extending twelfth Christian Airplay chart topper. It lasted 49 weeks on the overall chart.[4] It also peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100.[5] The song is played in a D major key, and 116 beats per minute.[6]

"Greater"
Single by MercyMe
from the album Welcome to the New
ReleasedMarch 25, 2014 (2014-03-25)
FormatDigital download
Recorded2013-14
Genre
Length4:09[1]
LabelFair Trade/Columbia
Songwriter(s)
[2]
Producer(s)
  • Garcia
  • Glover
MercyMe singles chronology
"Shake"
(2013)		 "Greater"
(2014)		 "Flawless"
(2015)
Music video
"Greater" on YouTube

The song also appears the compilation album, WOW Hits 2016.[7]

Background

"Greater" was released on March 25, 2014 as the second single from their eighth studio album Welcome to the New.[8] Bart Millard, the band's frontman, revealed the meaning of the song in an interview with NewReleaseToday, "My kids have memorized the album already. Nothing warms your heart more than to hear your kids sing this message. The thing with 'Greater' is that my middle son Charlie is a lot like me. In fact, I went through a lot of grief counseling these past few years. My grief counselor said if I ever want to know what I'm like when in a healthy family to watch Charlie. One day I was trying to tell my son, because he has a stuttering problem, we were talking, and I said, "Buddy, people may make fun of you, but you have something inside of you that is telling you that you're something different, that you're stronger than that and that you're beautiful. We were at church one day and some kids made of him and he was kind of down. I told him, 'You know what I've told you. That's not them. The enemy may be using them, but these kids are good kids. They're not coming after you, it's just the enemy is taking shots at you. He's taking shots at you because you're something special and he's afraid of something you may do. I've always told him to set his mind on things above, and he started singing this song, 'You are holy, righteous and redeemed.' I just started bawling. From time to time I can hear him singing this song in the house and I've thought that's the reason to make a record."[9]

Composition

"Greater" is an Americana track with folk and country elements and some acoustic elements,[10][11] which has a "campfire sing-along" vibe,[12] and this takes a cue from Rend Collective's music.[13] It is originally in the key of D major, with a tempo of 116 beats per minute.[6] Written in common time, Millard's vocal range spans from D4 to B5 during the song.[14]

Commercial performance

"Greater" spent 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Christian Airplay chart,[15] and peaked at No. 2 on both the Christian Digital Songs chart[16] and the Christian Songs chart. It also appeared on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at No. 14 and Heatseekers Songs chart at No. 21.[17][18]

Track listing
CD release[19]
  1. "Greater"
  2. "Greater (Vocal Demonstration)"
  3. "Greater (High Key with Background Vocals)"
  4. "Greater (High Key without Background Vocals)"
  5. "Greater (Medium Key with Background Vocals)"
  6. "Greater (Medium Key without Background Vocals)"
  7. "Greater (Low Key with Background Vocals)"
  8. "Greater (Low Key without Background Vocals)"

Music video

The lyric video of "Greater" was published on YouTube on July 11, 2014.[20] As of March 2019, the video has received more than 40 million views. The official music video of "Greater" was released on November 21, 2014, through YouTube.[21]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Greater - MercyMe on Spotify". Spotify. Spotify. April 8, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  2. "Greater - MercyMe Sheet Music". PraiseCharts. PraiseCharts. April 8, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  3. "Lifer by MercyMe". March 31, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  4. "Hot Christian Songs September 6, 2014". Billboard. September 6, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  5. "Greater by MercyMe on Bubbling Under". Billboard. March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  6. "Key & BPM for Greater by MercyMe". TuneBat. March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  7. "iTunes (U.S.) - Music - Various Artists - WOW Hits 2016". iTunes (U.S.). September 25, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  8. AllMusic (April 8, 2014). "Welcome To the New – MercyMe | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Rovi. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  9. "#510 - "Greater" by MercyMe". Newreleasetoday.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  10. Andre, Joshua (April 7, 2014). "MercyMe – Welcome To The New (Review)". Christian Music Zine. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  11. Williams, Lindsay (April 16, 2014). "REVIEW: MercyMe, Welcome to the New". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  12. Levy, Piet (April 8, 2014). "CD Reviews: SoMo; Martina McBride; Manchester Orchestra; Carlene Carter; MercyMe; Nathaniel Rateliff; Saintseneca; Michaela Anne; Katie Herzig". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  13. Davies, Jono (April 18, 2014). "Reviews – Mercy Me – Welcome to the New". Louder Than the Music. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  14. "Greater by MercyMe". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  15. "Chart Highlights: Top 40 Clicks 'Like' on New 5 Seconds of Summer Remake". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 29, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  16. "MercyMe Album & Song Chart History – Christian Digital Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  17. "Greater by Mercyme Heatseeker Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  18. "Greater by Mercyme Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  19. "Search - MercyMe :: Greater [Accompaniment/Performance Track]". SwapACD. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  20. "MercyMe - Greater (Official Lyric Video)". YouTube. July 11, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  21. "MercyMe - Greater (Official Music Video)". YouTube. November 21, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  22. "MercyMe Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  23. "MercyMe - Christian AC History". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  24. "MercyMe Chart History (Christian Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  25. "MercyMe Chart History (Hot Christian Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  26. "Christian AC Indicator". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  27. "MercyMe - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  28. "Christian Airplay - Year-End 2014 - Billboard". Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  29. "Hot Christian Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  30. "Christian Airplay - Year-End 2015 - Billboard". Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  31. "Hot Christian Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  32. "Hot Christian Songs – Decade-End 2010s". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  33. "American single certifications – MercyMe – Greater". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 28, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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