The discography of American Christian rock band MercyMe consists of seven studio albums, one holiday album, one compilation album, one video album, eighteen singles and one guest appearance. MercyMe, formed in 1994, released six independent albums from 1995–2000 before signing with INO Records through Curb Records and releasing their major label debut album Almost There in 2001.[1] Almost There debuted at number thirty-nine on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and gradually climbed the Heatseekers chart, reaching number one in February 2002.[2] In June 2002, Almost There was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying shipments of over 500,000 copies.[3] The album’s second single, “I Can Only Imagine“, spent two weeks at number one on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart.[4] The band released Spoken For, their second studio album, in 2002; it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and number forty-one on the Billboard 200.[5] The album’s lead single, the title track, peaked at number one on the Radio & Records Christian AC and INSPO charts.[4] Its second single, “Word of God Speak“, spent a record twenty-three weeks atop the Billboard Christian Songs chart.[6] Billboard later ranked it as the most successful song of the 2000s on the Hot Christian Songs chart.[7] The album’s third and final single, “The Change Inside of Me”, peaked at number eight on the Radio & Records Christian CHR chart.[4] In 2003, mainstream radio interest in “I Can Only Imagine” caused sales of Almost There to jump in market areas where the single was played;[8] “I Can Only Imagine” peaked at number five on the Adult Contemporary chart and number seventy-one on the Hot 100 chart.[4] Almost There eventually earned a 2× Platinum certification from the RIAA, signifying shipments of over 2,000,000 copies,[9] and has sold over 2.2 million copies in the United States.[10]
In 2004, INO Records signed with Epic Records to release the band’s third album, Undone, which sold 55,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number twelve on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Christian Albums chart.[11] Undone earned a Gold certification from the RIAA in December 2004[9] and has sold over 627,000 copies in the United States.[10] Its three singles all peaked inside the top three on the Christian Songs chart, with two of them (“Here with Me” and “Homesick“) appearing on the Adult Contemporary chart.[4] MercyMe released a holiday album, The Christmas Sessions, in 2005; “Joseph’s Lullaby”, its lead single, peaked at number one on the Hot Christian Songs chart and at number thirty-three on the Adult Contemporary chart.[12][13] Various other songs from The Christmas Sessions appeared on the Hot Christian Songs and Adult Contemporary charts, with “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “The Little Drummer Boy” peaking inside the top ten on the former[12] and “Silent Night” peaking at number six on the latter.[13] The band released Coming Up to Breathe, their fourth studio album, in 2006.[10] The album debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Christian Albums chart with 58,000 copies sold in its first week.[14] The album’s three singles (“So Long Self“, “Hold Fast“, and “Bring the Rain“) all peaked inside the top three on the Christian Songs chart.[12] “Coming Up to Breathe” earned a Gold certification from the RIAA in 2007.[9]
In 2007, INO signed a record deal with Columbia Records to release future material from MercyMe. Their fifth studio album, All That Is Within Me, was released in 2007 and marked their first album under Columbia. It sold over 84,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number fifteen on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Christian Albums chart.[15] The album’s three singles (“God with Us“, “You Reign“, and “Finally Home“) charted at number one, number two, and number three on the Christian Songs chart, respectively.[12] It was certified Gold by the RIAA in 2010.[9] Their sixth studio album, The Generous Mr. Lovewell, was released in 2010 and sold 88,000 copies in its first week. It became their first top ten album on the Billboard 200, debuting and peaking at number three.[15] All three of its singles peaked at number one on the Christian Songs chart.[12] Their latest album, The Hurt & The Healer, sold 33,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number seven on the Billboard 200.[16] Other significant albums released by MercyMe include MercyMe Live, a video album which has been certified Platinum by the RIAA,[9] and 10, a compilation album which peaked at number eighteen on the Billboard 200[17] and number one on the Christian Albums chart.[18] As of May 2012, MercyMe has sold over six million albums in the United States.[19]