Michael W. Smith - The Spirit of Christmas

"Sometimes you've just got to shake things up," Michael W. Smith says with a smile. After selling more than 15 million albums, scoring 28 No. 1 hits, earning three GRAMMYs and more than 40 Dove Awards, no one would blame the Christian music icon if he decided to coast just a little bit, but that's just not in his nature.

On Sovereign, Smith's first worship album since 2008 and his first project since signing with Capitol Christian Music Group in 2013, he deliberately steps into a new creative chapter to craft a vibrant collection of vertically focused songs with a fresh sense of musical innovation.

"I feel like it's a good season," Smith says, leaning forward in a comfortable chair in the 1940s Tennessee farmhouse he's converted into a studio. "I'm pretty passionate. I have lots of energy and I'm probably enjoying making music more than I ever have in my entire life. I'm having fun and I'm excited about this record and this next chapter."

When it came time to write and record songs for his new album, Smith decided to enlist the talents of several young songwriters and producers that he hadn't collaborated with previously. "I said, 'I'm wide open and I need somebody to push me,'" Smith recalls. And he found a willing catalyst in Capitol CMG A&R ace Chris York. "Chris said, 'Why don't you write with this person? Why don't we get this producer?' I said, 'Okay, I'll get out of my comfort zone and try it' and it's been awesome! There's new blood, new territory, new people. I'm freer. I'm willing to take some risks."

Prior to recording Sovereign, Smith toured the world extensively sharing the gospel in such remote locales as Bahrain, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Abu Dhabi. "It rocked my world and it inspired me big time," he says of his travels. "I had some of the most memorable moments of my entire life on this world tour. In Bahrain, I had to be invited by the king to get in. They've never had a Christian concert ever, but there are a lot of churches there. Somehow a Hindu, a Catholic, a Muslim, a Protestant and a Jew all formed this committee and wanted me to come to Bahrain and do a concert of peace."

Smith recalls landing at 3:30am at the airport in Bahrain and it looking like a scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with some dangerous looking men standing around. Suddenly a man began singing "alleluia" from "Agnus Dei." "He kept singing and then we got flash mobbed by 80 people at 3:30 in the morning singing 'alleluiah' I started crying," Smith says of being overwhelmed by emotion. "I cried through half the show. I couldn't stop crying. There was something about that show."

Whether sharing the gospel on foreign soil or mentoring artists that seek his counsel on balancing family and music, Smith has long had a passion for serving God and serving others. It's a fire that continues to burn brightly with no sign of abating. "I don't see retirement anywhere in the Bible," Smith says with a grin. "It's a calling. I love to write. I love to play. It's still the most beautiful place."