"You Reign" is a song written and performed by

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band MercyMe. The song was co-written by Bart Millard, Barry Graul, and Steven Curtis Chapman, and was released as the second single from their fifth studio album, ''

All That Is Within Me ''All That Is Within Me'' is the fifth studio album by American Christian rock band MercyMe. Produced by Brown Bannister, it was released on November 20, 2007 through INO Records. The album, intended by the band to be a worship album split between ...

''. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and No. 1 on the Christian AC Monitored and Soft AC/Inspo chart. It ranked No. 5 on the 2008 year-end Hot Christian AC chart, and No. 6 on the year-end Hot Christian Songs chart, and was nominated for "

Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...

" at the

40th GMA Dove Awards The 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 23, 2009 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2008. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Rebecca St. James, Matthew ...

and for "

Best Gospel Song The Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the gospel music genre. Honors in seve ...

" at the

51st Grammy Awards The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...

Background and composition

"You Reign" was written following an iChat conversation between lead singer Bart Millard and Steven Curtis Chapman. The band was rushing to get new material for their album ''

'', and Chapman shared a song idea he had been unable to finish. MercyMe developed the song from there, and decided to release it as their second single from the album. "You Reign" 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 ...

song with a length of three minutes and 50 seconds. The song is set in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

and has a tempo of 80 beats per minute, with a vocal range spanning from B₃-G₅

Reception

Critical reception

Critical reception to "You Reign" was generally mixed. Jay Heilman of Christian Music Review gave the song a positive review, commenting that the song "is another worship song that testifies to the fact that Jesus, who through the Lord, icreigns over all creation. The chorus is a great proclamation... These are the kind of reminders that I like to hear in music". Today's Christian Music called "You Reign" "a tune destined to be covered by youth worship bands all across the country". Russ Breimeier of

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

, however, criticized the song, commenting that the song's chorus is "the chorus to probably at least 100 worship songs, right?"

Chart performance

"You Reign" debuted at No. 23 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Christian Songs chart for the chart week of June 21, 2008. The song advanced to No. 17 in its second week and to No. 12 in its third week. The song jumped to No. 10 in its fourth week, and to No. 4 in its fifth week. "You Reign" reached its peak of No. 2 for the chart week of July 26, 2008, its sixth week on the chart. It held that spot for 15 consecutive weeks, blocked by Third Day's " Call My Name" and Brandon Heath's Give Me Your Eyes. The song dropped to No. 4 in its 21st chart week and spent a further 15 weeks on the chart before dropping out. In all, "You Reign" spent a total of thirty-six weeks on the Christian Songs chart. "You Reign" also peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Christian AC chart and No. 1 on the ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' Christian AC Monitored and Soft AC/Inspirational charts.

Awards and accolades

"You Reign" was nominated for "

" at the

and "Best Gospel Song" at the

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

References

;Notes ;Footnotes {{MercyMe singles 2007 songs 2008 singles MercyMe songs Songs written by Steven Curtis Chapman Songs written by Bart Millard Song recordings produced by Brown Bannister pt:You Reign