"Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" is a song written by Bernie Herms,

Randy Phillips Randy Phillips (born May 8, 1990) is an airman of the United States Air Force whose coming out in September 2011 following the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy (DADT) garnered media attention. DADT had banned the service of openly gay ...

, and

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs "More", "You Are Everything", and " The Motions". He was nomin ...

and originally recorded by

Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

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 ...

trio,

Phillips, Craig and Dean Phillips, Craig and Dean (rendered as Phillips, Craig & Dean on albums) is a contemporary Christian music trio composed of pastors Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig, and Dan Dean. Since forming in 1991, the group has sold over two million units. They ...

for their twelfth studio album, ''

Breathe In Breathe In may refer to: * ''Breathe In'' (Lucie Silvas album), 2004 ** "Breathe In" (song), a 2005 song by Lucie Silvas * ''Breathe In'' (Phillips, Craig and Dean album), 2012 * ''Breathe In'' (film), a 2013 film by Drake Doremus {{disam ...

'' (2012). It was later recorded by American singer

Danny Gokey Daniel Jay Gokey (born April 24, 1980) is an American singer and former church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third-place finalist on the eighth season of ''American Idol''.

for his second studio album, ''

Hope in Front of Me ''Hope in Front of Me'' is the second studio album from the Christian musician Danny Gokey. It was released on June 23, 2014, by BMG Records. The album was produced by Josh Crosby, Bernie Herms, Aaron Sprinkle, Keith Thomas. The lead single fro ...

'' (2014), with production by Herms. Gokey's rendition was released to Christian radio January 8, 2016 through

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

as the album's third single. The song reached number two on the ''Billboard''

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 ...

chart, earning Gokey his highest-charting single to date. In May 2016, an

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.

featuring a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

version of the song, titled "Que Tu Corazón Vuelva a Latir", was released in promotion of Gokey's fourth studio album, ''

La Esperanza Frente a Mi ''La Esperanza Frente a Mi'' is the fourth studio album recorded by American singer Danny Gokey. La Esperanza Frente a Mi was re-recorded in Spanish from the ''Hope in Front of Me'' (2014) album. The album was released July 29, 2016 through BMG Ri ...

'' (2016), a Spanish re-recording of ''

''.

Composition

"Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" is a midtempo,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

-driven

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

written by Bernie Herms,

, and

. Initially composed in the style of

Contemporary Christian music 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 ...

, Gokey's recording also includes influences of

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Stax ...

and

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

. According to the sheet music published by

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was founded in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its ...

, "Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" is composed in the key of

D Minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

and set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

() to a "flowing" tempo of approximately 67 BPM. The song follows a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of E – Dm7 – B – F5 – C and includes a two

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

vocal range spanning from C through C. Lyrically, the song tells a story of starting over and moving on after a tragedy, with the narrator's faith in

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

bolstering his resilience.

Music video

An accompanying video was directed by Kristin Barlowe and premiered June 1, 2016. It focuses on a woman who releases her sadness through

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and a man who takes up

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

to defend himself after a mugging incident, both shown to have grown stronger through their struggles.

Response

The video received a nomination for Short Form Video of the Year at the 2016

GMA Dove Awards 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 ...

Reception

Accolades

The song was nominated for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the 2016 GMA Dove Awards.

Commercial

"Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" entered the

chart dated August 8, 2015 as an album track. It re-entered at 32 on the chart dated January 2, 2016 following the announcement of its release as a single. The song reached its peak position of two on the chart dated April 16, 2016 and was the week's greatest gainer in digital sales. In reaching this position, the song surpassed 2014's "

" as Gokey's highest-charting entry. It peaked at number two on the Christian Digital Songs sales chart the same week.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Danny Gokey 2014 songs 2016 singles Danny Gokey songs Songs written by Bernie Herms Songs written by Matthew West BMG Rights Management singles