# Zach Williams (musician)

Zachary Stephen Williams (born June 27, 1978) is an American Christian rock artist from Jonesboro, Arkansas. From 2007 through 2012 he was a member and lead vocalist of Zach Williams & The Reformation (also acoustic guitar and harmonica). He was also the lead singer of the Christian group Brothers of Grace, renamed as Zach Williams and the Brothers of Grace. In 2016, he went onto a solo career.

## Beginnings

Zachary Stephen Williams was born in Pensacola, Florida on June 27, 1978 but grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

## Music career
### Zach Williams & The Reformation

He was the lead singer in Zach Williams & The Reformation, an American rock band formed in Jonesboro, Arkansas in 2007 by the group of Zach Williams (acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals), Red Dorton (bass guitar and vocals), Robby Rigsbee (slide guitar and rhythm guitar), Josh Copeland (lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals) and Evan Wilons (drums). The band took their name from the desire to reform or revitalize the southern rock sound. The band released two independent albums, Electric Revival in 2009 and A Southern Offering in 2011. In 2012, Williams disbanded the Reformation due to his newfound Christian beliefs.

### The Brothers of Grace / Zach Williams and the Brothers of Grace

After Zach Williams and the Reformation disbanded, Williams and guitarist Robby Rigsbee dedicated their lives to Christ and began playing music in their church. Church band the Brothers of Grace became Zach Williams and the Brothers of Grace. Shaun Kirby, who had previously been part of southern rock band Further Down with Rigsbee, was the drummer. The group also included Bruce Ford (bass) and Kevin Rouse (keyboard). They independently released an EP, "Shine a Light", in 2014.

### Solo career

In 2016 Williams signed to Provident Label Group - Essential Records as a solo artist, four years after Zach Williams & The Reformation disbanded. He released his first solo single, "Chain Breaker" in 2016 which reached No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs Chart and the Top 10 on Christian radio. Following the single, Williams released a five-song EP, Chain Breaker, with producers Jonathan Smith and Colby Wedgeworth. Williams also formerly led worship at the Refuge Campus of Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas, where he was on staff from 2014 to 2017.
On December 14, 2016, Williams digitally released his full-length album, Chain Breaker, and announced a release date of January 27, 2017 for the CD.
On October 4, 2019, Williams released his second album, Rescue Story. It includes the single, "There Was Jesus", with Dolly Parton.
On September 30, 2022, Williams released his third album. A Hundred Highways. It includes the single, "Heart of God". His song "Up There, Down Here", from the same album, was covered by contestant Warren Peay on season 21 of American Idol.

## Discography
### Albums

As Zach Williams & The Reformation
* 2009: Electric Revival (Independent)
* 2011: A Southern Offering (Independent)
Solo
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Album details | US | US Christ | US Folk | US Heat | US Rock | Album |
| Chain Breaker | Released: December 14, 2016 Label: Essential Formats: DL, CD | 174 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 28 | |
| Rescue Story | Releasing: October 4, 2019 Label: Essential Formats: CD, DL, streaming | 111 | 2 | 5 | — | 21 | RIAA: Gold |
| A Hundred Highways | Releasing: September 30, 2022 Label: Essential Formats: CD, DL, streaming | — | 2 | 9 | — | — | |

### EPs

As Zach Williams and the Brothers of Grace
* 2014: Shine a Light EP
Solo
List of EPs, with selected chart positions :
| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | EP details | US | US Christ | US Folk | US Heat | US Rock |
| Chain Breaker | Released: September 23, 2016 Label: Essential Formats: CD, digital download | — | 20 | 23 | 11 | — |
| Survivor: Live from Harding Prison | Released: September 14, 2018 Label: Provident Format: Digital download | — | 26 | — | — | 34 |

### Holiday albums

List of holiday albums, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | US Christ. | US Holiday |
| I Don't Want Christmas to End | Released: October 22, 2021 Label: Provident/Sony Format: CD, digital download | — | 46 | 11 |

### Promotional singles

| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Year | Single | US Rock | US Christ | US Christ Digital | Certifications | Album |
| 2019 | "Walk With You" | — | 35 | — | | Rescue Story |

#### As featured artist

| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Year | Single | US Christ | US Christ Airplay | Certifications | Album |
| 2017 | "The First Christmas" (Tenth Avenue North featuring Zach Williams) | 35 | 20 | | Decade the Halls, Vol. 1 |
| 2020 | "Rattle!" (Essential Worship featuring Zach Williams and Steven Furtick) | 46 | — | | non-album single |
| 2021 | "Rise Up (Lazarus)" (Cain featuring Zach Williams) | — | — | | non-album single |
| 2023 | "Cornerstone" (TobyMac featuring Zach Williams) | — | 1 | | Life After Death |

### Other charted songs

List of charting songs, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US Christ | US Christ Airplay | US Christ AC | US Christ Digital | Album |
| "The Call of Christmas" | 2017 | 49 | 31 | 6 | — | WOW Christmas |

## Awards and nominations
### American Music Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2018 | Zach Williams | Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational | Nominated |
| 2021 | Zach Williams | Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational | Nominated |

### Billboard Music Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2018 | Zach Williams | Top Christian Artist | Nominated |
| 2018 | "Old Church Choir" | Top Christian Song | Nominated |
| 2019 | Zach Williams | Top Christian Artist | Nominated |
| 2021 | Zach Williams | Top Christian Artist | Nominated |
| 2021 | Rescue Story | Top Christian Album | Nominated |
| 2021 | "There Was Jesus" (with Dolly Parton) | Top Christian Song | Nominated |

### Grammy Awards

| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
| 2017 | "Chain Breaker" | Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song | Nominated |
| 2018 | Chain Breaker | Best Contemporary Christian Music Album | Won |
| 2019 | Survivor: Live From Harding Prison | Best Contemporary Christian Music Album | Nominated |
| 2020 | "Rescue Story" | Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song | Nominated |
| 2021 | "There Was Jesus" (featuring Dolly Parton) | Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song | Won |

### GMA Dove Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2017 | Zach Williams | New Artist of the Year | Won |
| 2017 | Zach Williams | Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2017 | "Chain Breaker" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2017 | "Chain Breaker" | Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year | Won* |
| 2017 | Chain Breaker | Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | Zach Williams | Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | Survivor: Live From Harding Prison | Long Form Video of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | "Rescue Story" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | Zach Williams | Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | Zach Williams | Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | Rescue Story | Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | Rescue Story | Recorded Music Packaging of the Year | Won |
| 2021 | "There Was Jesus" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | Zach Williams | Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | Zach Williams | Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | "Stand My Ground" | Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | "There Was Jesus" (featuring Dolly Parton) | Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | Zach Williams | Artist of the Year | Nominated |
* * Was a joint win alongside Ryan Stevenson's "Eye of the Storm".