Matthew West has Received Over 30,000 Story Submissions for Next Album; Says 'It's Literally Helping People Find Hope' [INTERVIEW 2]

Matthew West

Christian singer/songwriter Matthew West spoke to BREATHEcast and shared some thoughts about his upcoming album and how he approached over 30,000 submissions from people sharing their story with him. Read part two of our interview with West below.

When asked if there was a central theme to his currently untitled next album, West said it was too early to tell, and that he was still in the process of writing it.

"I don't know the answer yet because I'm literally right in the middle of writing these songs," he shared, "I'm noticing certain themes kind of surfacing while I'm writing the songs, but that all just begins to materialize as I continue to write certain songs."

West amazingly said that for every album he pens roughly 50 songs and then cuts that list down to the eleven best... "It won't be until I got those 50 songs written and I begin to pair it down to the eleven that I feel like really make the right statement."

This writing process will be much like his previous two albums as this is the third time he is relying on fan submitted stories to come up with inspiration for the album. "Every song on the CD is inspired by somebody's true story."

He continued, "The bottom line is the reason why I'm doing it again is because the stories never stopped coming in. I received over 30,000 stories from people all around the world. Over 20 countries have been represented. It's crazy when I open my computer."

He joked that it was like the scene in 'Bruce Almighty' when Jim Carrey takes everyone's prayers and converts them to emails. The system starts going crazy has hundreds of them pour in by the second.

However, something West has that Carrey's character did not, is the ability to read through these stories with the humbleness to share in an experience with people pouring their hearts out to him. He takes the process very seriously and secludes himself to do this work.

Matthew West
(Photo : Breathecast (Jeannie Law)

"I go to this cabin about 40 minutes outside of my house, and I read the stories there, and that's where I write my songs. It's unbelievable, I'll be sitting in this little cabin in Tennessee reading a story from Singapore, or New York, or Orlando, or Kentucky," he said, "I think the experience has really had a profound impact on my life. It's changed how I write songs. Instead of trying to go write some hit song that speaks to the masses, I'm really focused on writing a song that honors 'Jordan', or the person that wrote to me."

"It's pretty crazy to see how my focus has become more finite and yet the songs have seemed to connect on an even more universal level. That's why I'm doing it again. I've seen the impact of someone sharing their story and how it can change the world. I feel like it's kind of my mission in music now, to tell people's stories and let them experience it for themselves to see what kind of an impact you can make when you tell your story to the world."

West does his best to respond to as many of the emails as he can, and has also set up a ministry where these people can call and speak to someone or be prayed for. "It's literally helping people find hope."

In yesterday's installment of our interview with Matthew West, he spoke about being a Royals fan and creating two separate anthems for them. He also shared the inspiration behind "We Are the Royals," which was to help a fan with terminal cancer. Read about it here, and stay tuned for part three of our interview tomorrow.