"Beautiful" | ||||
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Single by MercyMe | ||||
from the album The Generous Mr. Lovewell | ||||
Released | September 17, 2010 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Recorded |
2009-2010 in the United States |
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Genre | Contemporary Christian | |||
Length | 4:21 | |||
Label | INO | |||
Songwriter(s) | Brown Bannister, James Bryson, Nathan Cochran, Barry Graul, Bart Millard, Dan Muckala, Michael John Scheuchzer, Robin Shaffer | |||
Producer(s) | Bannister Muckala |
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MercyMe singles chronology | ||||
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2009-2010 in the United States
"Beautiful" is a song by contemporary Christian music band MercyMe. Written and composed by MercyMe, Dan Muckala, and Brown Bannister, the song was written for the daughters of the band's members. The song's lyrics revolve around self-worth and the love of God. "Beautiful" was released on September 17, 2010 as the second single from MercyMe's 2010 album The Generous Mr. Lovewell.
"Beautiful" received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics and attained success on Christian radio, peaking at the top spot on Billboard magazine's Christian Songs, Christian AC Indicator, Christian AC Monitored, and Soft AC/Inspo charts. "Beautiful" ranked at number 7 on the 2011 year-end Christian Songs chart, as well as at number 10 on the 2011 year-end Hot Christian AC chart.
"Beautiful" was written and composed by the members of MercyMe, Dan Muckala, and Brown Bannister. "Beautiful" was written for the daughters of MercyMe's band members. Lead singer Bart Millard, in an interview with Kevin Davis of New Release Tuesday, stated that "We [MercyMe] wrote the song with our daughters in mind. The band has 15 kids among all of us... Satan targets our girls from a materialistic way, telling them how to act and how to look, what to eat and not to eat", also commenting that "I try to tell my kids all the time that they are perfect and I know my daughters need to get their confidence in themselves from me. The way they want to be treated by men needs to come from me".
"Beautiful" is a ballad with a length of four minutes and twenty-one seconds. It is set in the key of G major and has a moderate tempo of 69 beats per minute, with a vocal range spanning from D4-B5. Lyrically, the song is about self-worth and the love of God, specifically aimed at young women and daughters. However, the song also has a broader theme; Millard noted in an interview that "All of us have felt unlovable at some point. At times, I feel worthless. I have an argument with a friend, all that I’ve come to like about myself is suddenly falling apart. Who can love me if I don’t even like myself? It’s hard to drag ourselves out of this way of thinking. We are taught to live according to these expectations. We think we need approval and accomplishment to validate our lives. But what does God tell us? He says, “You’re beautiful. You are made for so much more than all of this.” He loves us, even in our failings".