Michael David O'Brien (born August 23, 1964) is an American

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...

ian and

worship leader 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 ...

, who primarily plays

Christian pop Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

and

contemporary worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

. He released eight solo albums since 1990. He was a touring member of the

Heritage Singers Heritage Singers are an American gospel group founded by Max Mace and his wife Lucy, with their two children Valerie Ann and Gregory James. Based near Placerville, California, the group has traveled to over 65 countries, performed over 7,000 con ...

, before becoming a full-fledged member of

NewSong NewSong is an American contemporary Christian music group that was founded in 1981, at Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Georgia. They have had twelve GMA Dove Award nominations, and one 45th Annual Grammy Awards, Grammy Award Nomination ...

, in 1999.

Early and personal life

Michael David O'Brien was born on August 23, 1964, in Miami, Florida, where he resided until he was 11 years old. Then he moved to Lafayette, Louisiana where he got involved in music at Comeaux High School. He graduated there and attended USL studying vocal performance. He worked as a bartender in several restaurants and then in his early-twenties, moved back to Miami to live with his sister Dana for a couple of years. He met his wife, Heidi, in the singing group the

. They were married on March 3, 1989, and then in August they moved to Encinitas, California where Michael took a job as a Young Adult Pastor at North Coast Christian Fellowship. His wife Heidi worked there as well. The couple would move to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

in April 1991. Working at the Cooker as a waiter until in 1993 he would sign a songwriting deal with Meadowgreen Music. During that time, he sang with a group called Bash and played keyboards for the Allies, Allison Durham and Twila Paris. Michael then signed a record deal with Benson Records in 1994. He recorded 3 CDs with them. He would then join the group Newsong as their lead singer in 1999 until 2006. He has been solo ever since. He and his wife had four children: Meghan, Michael, Joseph, and Timmy. They currently live in Columbia, Tennessee.

Music career

He started his music recording career in 1990, with the album, ''Someone Needs to Tell Them'', which was an Indie project. His subsequent album, ''Michael O'Brien'', was released in 1995, with Benson Records. The third album, ''Conviction'', was released in 1996, again by Benson Records. He released, ''Godspeed'', in 1998, also with Benson Records. His fifth studio album, ''Something About Us'', was released in 2007, with Miracle Productions. He released his 6th album "Be Still My Soul" in 2010. And then his first holiday album, ''Christ'mas'', in 2013, by Miracle Productions. His eighth album, ''Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs'', was released in 2015, with Miracle productions. And he just released his latest project "Crown Him" in 2020.

Personal life

His son Joseph O'Brien is a singer songwriter who took part in 2018 in season 13 of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'' with his own song "We Could Build A House".NBC America Got Talent: Joseph O'Brien page
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Discography

Studio albums

* ''Someone Needs to Tell Them'' (1990) * ''Michael O'Brien'' (1995) * ''Conviction'' (1996) * ''Godspeed'' (1998) * ''Signature Songs'' (2000) * ''Something About Us'' (2007) * ''Be Still My Soul'' (2010) * ''Christ'mas'' (2013) * ''Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs'' (2015) * ''Crown Him'' (2020)

with NewSong

* ''Sheltering Tree'' (2000) * ''The Christmas Shoes'' (2001) * ''More Life'' (2003) * ''Live Worship Rescue'' (2005)

Duets

* ‘’ Nicole Mullen ‘’ * ‘’ Larnelle Harris ‘’ * ‘’ Lenny Leblanc’’ * ‘’ Steve Green ‘’ * ‘’ Dallas Holm ‘’ * ‘’ David Meece ‘’ * ‘’ Natalie Grant ‘’ * ‘’ Russ Lee ‘’

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Michael 1964 births Living people American performers of Christian music Musicians from Miami Musicians from San Diego Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Songwriters from Florida Songwriters from California Songwriters from Tennessee