Amy Grant

=== In the mainstream ===

[[File:Amy Grant in 1998.jpg|thumb|Grant during her ''Behind the Eyes'' tour in 1998]]
When ''[[Heart in Motion]]'' was released in 1991, many fans were surprised that the album was of contemporary pop music. Grant's desire to widen her audience was frowned upon by the confines of the popular definitions of ministry at the time.<ref name="fans">{{cite web|url=http://amygrant.offramp.org/info/articles/him/5.html#t|title=Christian Fans Ask Too Much of Amy Grant|access-date=August 29, 2008|work=The Arizona Republic|date=May 18, 1991|first=Kim Sue Lia|last=Perkes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313110334/http://amygrant.offramp.org/info/articles/him/5.html#t|archive-date=March 13, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The track "[[Baby Baby (Amy Grant song)|Baby Baby]]" written for Grant's newborn daughter Millie, of whom Grant wrote, her "six-week-old face was my inspiration", became a pop hit (hitting No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), and Grant was established as a name in the mainstream music world. "Baby Baby" received Grammy nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Record and Song of the Year (although it failed to win in any of those categories).

Four other hits from the album made the Pop top 20: "[[Every Heartbeat]]" (No. 2), "[[That's What Love Is For]]" (No. 7), "[[Good for Me (song)|Good for Me]]" (No. 8), and "[[I Will Remember You (Amy Grant song)|I Will Remember You]]" (No. 20). On the Adult Contemporary chart, all five songs were top 10 hits, with two of the five ("Baby Baby" and "That's What Love Is For") reaching No. 1. Many Christian fans remained loyal, putting the album atop ''Billboard'' Contemporary Christian Chart for 32 weeks. ''Heart in Motion'' is Grant's best-selling album, having sold over five million copies according to the RIAA.<ref name="riaa">{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=2&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Heart%20In%20Motion&artist=Grant&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25|title=Amy Grant – RIAA|access-date=August 29, 2008|publisher=RIAA|year=2008|author=RIAA|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154447/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=2&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Heart%20In%20Motion&artist=Grant&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25|url-status=dead}}</ref> Grant followed the album with her second Christmas album, ''[[Home For Christmas (Amy Grant album)|Home For Christmas]]'' in 1992, which included the song "[[Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)]]", written by [[Chris Eaton (UK musician)|Chris Eaton]] and Grant, and would later be covered by many artists, including [[Donna Summer]], [[Jessica Simpson]] (who acknowledged Grant as one of her favorite artists), [[Vince Gill]], [[Sara Groves]], [[Point of Grace]], [[Gladys Knight]], and Broadway star [[Barbara Cook]].

''[[House of Love (Amy Grant album)|House of Love]]'' in 1994 continued in the same vein, containing pop songs mingled with spiritual lyrics. The album was a multi-platinum success and produced the pop hit "[[Lucky One (Amy Grant song)|Lucky One]]" (No. 18 pop and No. 2 AC; No. 1 on [[Radio & Records]]) as well as the title track (a duet with country music star and future husband [[Vince Gill]]) (No. 37 pop) and a cover of Joni Mitchell's frequently covered "[[Big Yellow Taxi]]" (No. 67 pop) (in which she changed the line "And they charged the people ''a dollar and a half'' just to see'em" to "And then they charged the people ''25 bucks'' just to see'em").

After she covered the [[10cc]] song "[[The Things We Do for Love (song)|The Things We Do for Love]]" for the ''[[Mr. Wrong (film)|Mr. Wrong]]'' soundtrack, ''[[Behind the Eyes (Amy Grant album)|Behind the Eyes]]'' was released in September 1997. The album struck a much darker note, leaning more towards downtempo, acoustic soft-rock songs, with more mature (yet still optimistic) lyrics. She called it her "razor blades and [[Prozac]]" album.<ref name="pitt">{{cite web|url=http://amygrant.offramp.org/info/2001/50.html |title=Amy Grant's career comes full circle |access-date=August 29, 2008 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=September 15, 2002 |first=Rosa |last=Colucci |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612215414/http://amygrant.offramp.org/info/2001/50.html |archive-date=June 12, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although "[[Takes a Little Time (Amy Grant song)|Takes a Little Time]]" was a moderate hit single, the album failed to sell like the previous two albums, which had both gone multi-platinum. ''Behind The Eyes'' was eventually certified Gold by the [[RIAA]]. The video for "Takes a Little Time" was a new direction for Grant; with a blue light filter, acoustic guitar, the streets and characters of New York City, and a plot, Grant was re-cast as an adult light rocker. She followed up "Behind The Eyes" with ''[[A Christmas to Remember (album)|A Christmas To Remember]]'', her third Christmas album, in 1999. The album was certified gold in 2000.

Following the 9/11 attacks Grant's "[[I Will Remember You (Amy Grant song)|I Will Remember You]]" saw a resurgence in popularity as many radio DJs mixed a special tribute version of the song. In the same year Grant won $125,000 for charity on the "Rock Star Edition" of ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]''<ref name="ew">{{Cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/article/2001/02/09/mark-mcgrath-and-sisqo-rock-millionaire/ |title=Mark McGrath and Sisqo rock ''Millionaire'' |access-date=June 2, 2022 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |author=Liane Bonin |date=February 9, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007163747/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C98722%2C00.html |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>