"Build My Life" is a song by American

contemporary worship Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many w ...

musician Pat Barrett, taken from his self-titled debut album (2018). It was originally released by American contemporary worship band

Housefires Housefires is an American worship band from Atlanta, Georgia. Forming in 2014, they have released five live albums. Background Housefires originated at Grace Midtown Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The church had released two prior worship albums ...

on their album, ''Housefires III'' (2016). The song was written by Barrett, Brett Younker, Karl Martin, Kirby Kaple, and

Matt Redman Matthew James Redman (born 14 February 1974) is an English Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter and author. Redman has released 16 albums, written 8 books, and helped start three church-plants. He is best known for his two-time Grammy Aw ...

, and was produced by

Ed Cash Edmond Martin Cash (born August 6, 1971) is a producer, songwriter, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. AllMusic/ref> He was named the "Producer of the Year" at the Gospel Music Awards for four consecutive years (2004–2007) and gains recogn ...

. "Build My Life" was released as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album on December 21, 2018. "Build My Life" was met with rave reviews and was picked as one of the best worship songs of 2018. The track peaked at number four on the US

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

chart. It was nominated for the

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

s for Worship Song of the Year and Worship Recorded Song of the Year at the 2019 GMA Dove Awards.

Background and release

On March 19, 2018, Pat Barrett was the first artist signed to Bowyer & Bow, a new imprint by

Chris Tomlin Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas, United States, who has sold over 7 million records. He is a member of Passion Conferences an ...

with

Capitol Christian Music Group Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) (formerly known as EMI Christian Music Group) is an American music group that, since 2013, is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Capitol CMG is in the Ch ...

. Barrett released his self-titled debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

on December 21, which contained multiple versions of "Build My Life". The track was promoted to US

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk progra ...

on January 4, 2019, as the second

from his self-titled debut album, following " The Way (New Horizon)" and "Sails". Barrett shared the inspiration behind the song, saying ""Build My Life" is one of those songs for me personally, that has carried me through so many years of change and uncertainty and if I’ve learned anything from being a father of three kids and Megan and I just celebrating nine years, it's that life rarely behaves with our plans and it's usually in the uncertainty and the not knowing and the trials that reveals what we’ve been standing on and what we put our trust in. Jesus talks about it in Luke Ch 6 and says its like a man who dug a hole and built his house on the rock, when the storm came and the house withstood the storm. This really is a reminder for us that we can build our life on anything, we have the freedom to build our life on whatever we want. And the invitation of Jesus is to build our lives on things that last."

Composition

"Build My Life" is a

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

tune with a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

, acoustic guitar-led production. In a review by 365 Days of Inspiring Media, Joshua Andre deemed the track a more radio-friendly version than the original. The song is composed in the key of A♭ with a tempo of 72

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

and a musical time signature of .

Critical reception

Andre called the song an "exquisite, brilliant ..grandiose worship anthem" and picked it as the best track from the EP and one of Barnett's best works. Tony Cummings of

Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. Hi ...

hailed "Build My Life" as one of the finest worship songs of 2018, and praised its "instantly singable melody".

Accolades

Commercial performance

"Build My Life" debuted at number 31 on the US

chart dated January 12, 2019. The song peaked at number four on the chart. On

Christian Airplay Christian Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since June 21, 2003. This chart lists the 50 most-listened-to records played on multiple Christian radio stations across the country as monitored by Ni ...

, "Build My Life" marked Barrett's second top ten entry, and has since peaked atop on the chart.

Music videos

Pat Barrett released the official audio video for the song via YouTube on March 30, 2018. Pat Barrett released the live performance video for "Build My Life" featuring

through YouTube on December 20, 2018. On January 4, 2019, the official lyric video for the song featuring

Cory Asbury Cory Hunter Asbury is an American Christian musician, worship pastor, songwriter, and former member of the Bethel Music collective. Starting as an intern with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2005, Asbury's career as ...

was availed on YouTube.

Track listing

All tracks were produced by

except where stated.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

* Passion released a live version of the song featuring Brett Younker on their album, ''Worthy of Your Name'' (2017). *

Christy Nockels Christy Lynette Nockels (née Hill, born November 17, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She was also one of the lead members of the band Watermark, along with her husband, Nathan Nockels. Biography and career ...

released her version of "Build My Life" as a single. *

Shane & Shane Shane & Shane is a Texas-based contemporary worship music band known for acoustic praise and worship music. The band consists of Shane Barnard (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Shane Everett (vocals). They are often joined by their drummer and manag ...

covered the song for their album, ''The Worship Initiative Vol. 14'' (2017). *

Bright City Bright City is an English Christian worship collective, based out of St Peter's Church in Brighton, United Kingdom. Career The collective started out in 2015 with the release of their eponymous debut album '' Bright City'', their breakthroug ...

released an instrumental version of the song on their album, '' Bright City Presents: Still, Volume 2'' (2018). *

released a live version of the song featuring Pat Barrett on his album, ''Holy Roar: Live from Church'' (2019). * Noel Robinson covered the song for his album, ''I Surrender'' (2019). *

Bethel Music Bethel Music is an American music label and worship movement from Redding, California, originating out of Bethel Church (Redding, California), Bethel Church where they started making music in 2001. Bethel Music has grown from being a local church ...

released their rendition of the song featuring Pat Barrett on their album, '' Peace, Vol. II'' (2021). *

Tribl Tribl (pronounced "tribal") is an American contemporary worship music collective originating from Atlanta, Georgia. The collective made its debut in 2021 with the release of '' Tribl I'', a collaborative live album with Maverick City Music. ''Tr ...

released a live cover of the song featuring Joe L Barnes, Ryan Ofei and

Jekalyn Carr Jekalyn Almonique Carr (born April 22, 1997) is a recording artist, as well as a speaker, entrepreneur, actress, and author. As a top selling recording artist, Carr has earned eight Billboard #1’s before the age of 21, including singles, � ...

on their album, '' Tribl Nights Atlanta'' (2021).

References

External links

* * on PraiseCharts {{DEFAULTSORT:Build My Life 2018 singles 2018 songs