MercyMe returns with a clever take on the afterlife with their brand new single, “Oh Death.” The award-winning band serves an eviction notice to death, letting it know it holds no power over those who belong to Jesus. Premiered during an exclusive K-LOVE First event, the song was a last-minute addition to their forthcoming studio set. The project was practically finished when country chart-topper Walker Hayes (“Fancy Like”) sent MercyMe’s Bart Millard the bones of what became “Oh Death.”
Two weeks later, Millard’s father-in-law passed away. Millard witnessed his father-in-law celebrate his entry into heaven with the utmost expectation and grace. His passing made the lyrics of “Oh Death” all the more poignant. “He was my hero,” Millard says of his father-in-law, who breathed his last breath at age 84 in October. “If you were blessed to know Frank, your life was better for it. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to do life without him, but we will. He’d want nothing less. ‘Never stop telling people about Jesus,’ he’d always say to me. He laid a foundation my family will forever build on.”
Together with award-winning songwriter Ethan Hulse and revered producer Tedd T., Millard and Hayes finished the song that’s part vaudeville, part foot-stomping wake. On the outset, the thematic trajectory of “Oh Death” might seem a bit morbid, but the defiant anthem is nothing if not upbeat and even downright infectious. The group also released a creative lyric video to accompany the track.
MercyMe will kick off a headlining tour mid-March with Zach Williams and Millard’s son, Sam Wesley, in tow. Additionally, the outfit has announced the upcoming sequel to 2018’s blockbuster, “I Can Only Imagine.” The movie is scheduled to begin production this spring. A portion of the filming will actually take place during MercyMe’s performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Apr. 22, 2025. “I Can Only Imagine 2” will center around the story surrounding the band’s landmark song, “Even If,” with John Michael Finley, Dennis Quaid and Trace Adkins set to reprise their roles and Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us,” “Gilmore Girls”) slated to join the cast as Christian singer-songwriter Tim Timmons.
