"Praise You In This Storm" is a song recorded by contemporary Christian music band Casting Crowns, released by Beach Street and Reunion Records. Written by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms and produced by Mark A. Miller, it was released on January 28, 2006, as the second radio single from the band's 2005 album Lifesong. Inspired by the band's experience with a girl, Erin Browning, who died of cancer, the song has the lyrical theme of maintaining faith through difficult circumstances. A power ballad, "Praise You In This Storm" incorporates a wall of sound dynamic into its alternative CCM and adult alternative sound.
Lead vocalist Mark Hall says that "Praise You In This Storm" was inspired by the band's experience with a young girl, Erin Browning.[1] The band made arrangements to meet Erin, who had performed a dance at her public school to one of the band's songs, and her family on Valentine's Day 2004 before one of their concerts.[1] Right around the time the band connected with Erin and her family was when she was found to have cancer.[2] Erin died on November 1, 2004.[1] According to Hall, "Watching [Erin's mother] walk through this really showed me truth about my worship. Watching her walk through a real storm showed me that my worship was extremely situational".[2] Hall began writing the song before Erin's death and told her about it, but was not able to complete it before she died.[2]
"Praise You In This Storm" was written by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms. It was produced by Mark A. Miller, with recording and mixing done by Sam Hewitt at Zoo Studio in Franklin, Tennessee. Additional recording was done at Lifesong Studio in McDonough, Georgia. It was mastered by Richard Dodd and engineered by Dale Oliver and John Lewis Lee III. The strings on "Praise You In This Storm" were arranged by Bobby Huff and were recorded at Little Big Studio by Boeho Shin and Daewoo Kim.[3]
"Praise You In This Storm" is a song with a length of four minutes and 57 seconds.[4] According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, it is set in common time in the key of G♯ minor and has a tempo of 84 beats per minute. Mark Hall's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of B3 to the high note of E5.[5] A power ballad,[6] "Praise You In This Storm" is an alternative CCM and adult alternative song.[5] It utilizes a wall of sound dynamic[7] and its lyrical theme, "maintaining faith through difficult circumstances",[8] has been compared to that of the biblical character Job.[9]
Critical reception and accolades
"Praise You In This Storm" received positive reviews from music critics following the release of Lifesong. Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today said "it's vertical in focus and a typical-sounding power ballad, but it's not hard to imagine people latching on to its powerful Job-like expression of faith and hope.".[6] John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout praised it as "sonic" and called it a "passionate and emotional worship experience".[10]Brian Mansfield of USA Today felt that the song's lyric "I was sure by now that You would have reached down and wiped our tears away/Stepped in and saved the day/But once again, I say 'Amen,' and it's still raining" would resonate with listeners.[9]
"Praise You In This Storm" won the award for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the 38th GMA Dove Awards;[11] it was also nominated for Song of the Year at that same event.[12] At the 39th GMA Dove Awards, "Praise You In This Storm" was nominated for Worship Song of the Year.[13]
Release and chart performance
"Praise You In This Storm" was included as the second track on Casting Crowns' album Lifesong, which was released on August 30, 2005.[14] It was later released as a single to Christian AC, Christian CHR, and Soft AC/Inspirational radio on January 28, 2006.[15][16][17] It debuted at number 25 on the BillboardHot Christian Songs chart for the chart week of February 18, 2006.[18] It advanced to number 19 in its second chart week[19] and to number 10 in its sixth week.[20] It entered the top five in its eighth chart week, moving to number three,[21] and advanced to number two in its 12th chart week.[22] In its fifteenth chart week, "Praise You In This Storm" hit the number one position; it held that spot for a total of seven consecutive weeks.[23] In total, "Praise You In This Storm" spent a total of 40 weeks on the Hot Christian Songs chart.[24] It also peaked at number one on the BillboardHot Christian AC chart and the Radio & Records Christian AC and Soft AC/Inspirational charts.[25][26][27] On the Radio & Records Christian CHR chart, "Praise You In This Storm" peaked at number three.[28]
"Praise You In This Storm" ranked at number two on the 2006 year-end Billboard Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts.[29][30] It also ranked at number two on the 2006 year-end Radio & Records Christian AC and Soft AC/Inspirational charts[31][32] and number five on the 2006 year-end Radio & Records Christian CHR chart.[33] It ranked at number 11 on the 2000s decade-end Hot Christian AC chart[34] and at number 13 on the 2000s decade-end Hot Christian Songs chart.[35] The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 26, 2011, signifying sales of over 500,000 digital downloads in the United States, and was certified Platinum on November 13, 2015, certifying sales of over 1,000,000 digital downloads in the United States.[36][37]
Natalie Grant covered the song on her tenth studio album "No Stranger". It was released on June 12, 2020, as the first promotional single from the aforementioned album.
Background
“I’ve loved this song since 2005 when my husband wrote it with Mark Hall. It became new to me in 2017 when I walked through the storm of cancer. Now, as the whole world finds itself in a storm, it’s new to me all over again.”
^"Singles Charts Archive Search". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2012. Note: User must manually input the correct search information to obtain the sourced information. Type in Casting Crowns in the Artist category and Praise You In This Storm in the Single Title category. Select the desired chart and click on 'All weeks' in the Date category. Then, press 'Submit'.
^Mabee, Justin (November 16, 2005). "Casting Crowns Lifesong Tour". Jesus Freak Hideout. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
