| "Hold Fast" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by MercyMe | ||||
| from the album Coming Up to Breathe | ||||
| Released | September 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Genre | Christian rock Contemporary Christian | |||
| Length | 4:38 | |||
| Label | INO | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bart Millard, Barry Graul, Jim Bryson, Nathan Cochran, Mike Scheuchzer, Robby Shaffer | |||
| Producer(s) | Brown Bannister | |||
| MercyMe singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Hold Fast is a song written and recorded Christian rock band MercyMe. It was released as the second single from their 2006 album Coming Up to Breathe .
"Hold Fast" is a Christian rock song with a length of four minutes and thirty-eight seconds. [1] The song was written and composed by Bart Millard, Barry Graul, Jim Bryson, Nathan Cochran, Mike Scheuchzer, and Robby Shaffer, [2] and was produced by Brown Bannister. [3]
The song is set in the key of B♭ and has a heavy rock tempo of 80 beats per minute, with a vocal range spanning from F4-G5. [2] The song has a build-up in the bridge [1] [4] that has been described as 'powerhouse'. [4] The sound of the song has evoked comparisons to Coldplay. [4]
"Hold Fast" received generally positive critical reception. Steve Losey of Allmusic commented that the song "is rock with polish" [1] and that "Nathan Cochran's bass groove not only sounds heavy but its very tone exudes sweat". [1] He also opined that "The mid-song bridge shows the band at their pinnacle when the guitars build to Millard's intense vocals". [1] Russ Breimier of Christianity Today commented that the song "initially sounds much like [MercyMe's] usual balladry, but then relies on heavier guitars and a powerhouse build during the bridge (a la Coldplay), as well as some clever lyrics to address the intended audience". [4]
"Hold Fast" debuted at No. 23 on the Hot Christian Songs chart for the chart week of October 28, 2006. [5] In its sixth chart week the song advanced to No. 6, [6] but dropped to No. 10 the next week. [7] In its eighth chart week "Hold Fast" dropped out of the top ten entirely, falling to No. 12. [8] The song dropped to No. 16 in its tenth chart week, [9] and then to No. 24 in its eleventh, [10] but jumped to No. 3 in its twelfth chart week. [11] The song held the spot for a further three weeks [12] [13] [14] before dropping to No. 4 in its sixteenth chart week. [15] The song spent a total of twenty-five weeks on the chart before dropping out. [16]
On the Adult Contemporary chart, "Hold Fast" debuted at No. 28 for the chart week of April 4, 2007, [17] It achieved its peak position of No. 27 in its fifth chart week, [18] and spent a total of eight weeks on the chart. [16] [19]
"Hold Fast" is also features of the compilation album WOW Hits 2008 , and the 2009 compilation album 10.
| Chart (2007) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Christian Songs ( Billboard ) [20] | 3 |
| US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [21] | 27 |
| Chart (2007) | Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot Christian AC [22] | 17 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Christian Songs [23] | 21 |
| Chart (2000s) | Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot Christian AC [24] | 70 |
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