IGN!S
American contemporary Christian music and gospel music artist, Michael W. Smith, was recently in the news again as his cover of the song “WAYMAKER” becomes the world COVID-19 anthem.
His version of the song “Waymaker” has held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Christian Airplay Chart for the past two weeks. More than 19 million people have viewed YouTube videos of him performing the song. And fans all over the world have reached out to Michael W. Smith to tell him how much they appreciate him recording it.
The song, originally written by internationally renowned Nigerian gospel artist, Sinach, is a message of worship and adoration to God as well as an acknowledgement of His supreme prowess. However, upon the premise of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become the beacon of hope all over the world where it has been heard.
Talking about how he discovered the song, Michael W. Smith said the following:
“I didn’t write the song, a woman from Nigeria, an artist named Sinach, wrote it,” . “I discovered it through my daughter, Anna, who was going through a bit of a trial in her life. She asked me if I’d heard this song called ‘Waymaker’ and I said no. So, she played it for me and I ended up recording it.”
Much of the international reaction has come through Facebook during the live shows he’s been doing from his studio in Tennessee every weekend for the past nine weeks.
As a result of the massive feedback especially as a result of the massive airplay and live performances of the song, Mr. Smith decided to re-record the song in other languages, with the aim of taking the message of hope further to the ends of the world where it was much needed.
He stalked about his inspiration for recording the song in other languages:
“We obviously watched what was going on in Italy and I just woke up on night thinking what if we did this thing in Italian? And I immediately thought of Vanessa because her whole family’s from Italy. So, we brought in a coach and we did it. It was really a lot of fun.”
Plans are now in the works to do the song in both Spanish and Portuguese.
The live version has been available for a while, but then Mr. Smith was asked to do a radio version which tends to get more airplay. Instead of finding another well-known artist to record it with him, he asked Vanessa Campagna to do it, giving her the opportunity to showcase her “amazing” voice. That radio version the version now at No. 1.
For Smith, one of the most accomplished artists in Contemporary Christian music, this marks his 36th No. 1 song. He has three GRAMMYS, 45 Dove Awards and has sold more than 15 million albums. Last year, he was honored with a star-studded tribute marking his contributions to Christian music.
Check Out The Radio Version Here:
