|PIC1|In follow up to Hymned, MercyMe frontman Bart Millard's 2005 solo project, comes his second effort, Hymned Again, to be released on August 19.

The first single to be serviced to AC and Inspo radio formats will be "I Stand Amazed", on July 4, which features guest vocals by Christy Nockels.

Taking the production helm once again is Brown Bannister, who along with Millard's passionate vocals and a famed line up of studio musicians, has created an impressive and diversified musical landscape on Hymned Again.

Raised in East Texas relatively close to where many musical styles originated, Millard wanted to create an authentic sound with these old hymns, most of which date back to the 1800s and talk about sharing one's faith during this era when evangelism was on the rise.

That's why Hymned Again runs the stylistic gamut from New Orleans style horn-driven jazz to Texas blues-rock guitar, and country/bluegrass to banjo-featuring Dixieland, '70s soul/gospel flavours, and one song centred on nothing more than a ukulele.

To top it off, the sole original track on the CD, written by Millard and Thad Cockrell, "Jesus Cares for Me", features a duet with country superstar Vince Gill.

"The one thing I've been looking to do is sing with Bart and check that off my Bucket List," laughed Gill, who had some fun with Millard in the recording studio with his 'Bucket List' video which is featured on MercyMe's blog page at www.mercyme/org/blog.

All kidding aside, the duet is surely a dream come true for Millard, who states, "I never imagined I would sing a duet with Vince Gill, and especially that it would be on one of my records. It was truly an incredible 'pinch myself' moment."

While Hymned was inspired by Millard's grandmother and the hymns she used to sing, Hymned Again was inspired more by his three kids. "My three kids know every word of the first hymns record I did," he says. "These are songs that were a huge part of my upbringing, and now they are a part of my kids' as well, so I had to do another one! And, true to form, they already have the new album memorised too."

Millard is currently touring a full summer schedule with MercyMe supporting their latest hit project, All That is within Me.

For more on MercyMe, go to www.mercyme.org