How would you react if God takes away your spouse of a few months through cancer?  Would you still sing like Jeremy Camp does, "I still believe in Your faithfulness/I still believe in Your truth/I still believe in Your Holy Word/Even when I don't see, I still believe?"  Would you still bank your life in the ministry of singing for Him fulltime?  After losing his first wife Melissa through ovarian cancer at the tender age of only 23, Camp could have been sardonic with regards to Jesus Christ. Yet not even clandestinely frowsy, Camp continues to sing in worship of our kind and gracious Lord.  Eleven years after his BEC Recording debut, Camp has been blessed with fourteen number one hits, six coming from "Stay" (his first album without Melissa).  Out of his eleven albums, four of them have turned gold (with each selling over half a million copies).  Not only did fans flock to horde his records, the music industry has also affirmed his Godly contribution. GMA Dove Awards, for instance, has merited Camp with five wins and nineteen nominations.  And he has even been named "Songwriter of the Year" by ASCAP Music Awards in 2008.

"Icon," to be released on July 16, 2013, is a retrospective collection of eleven songs capturing some of Camp's career highlights without any unreleased songs.  Yet, it differs from last year's "I Still Believe: The Number One Collection" in that not every song here is a number one song.  Rather, "Icon" contains three worship songs that Camp has recorded for his two live worship projects, "Carried Me" and "We Cry Out."  Getting the ball rolling with his major label single debut is "Understand."  Don't let Camp's post-grunge crunchy guitars sidetrack you from what is perhaps Camp's most vulnerable record.  At the dawn of his first wife's death, Camp pens some of the most heart wrenching lyrics to God:  "I know you understand it all/So why don't I get back on my feet again."  "I Still Believe" and "Take My Life" both details Camp's verdict to the whole issue of suffering:  instead of resigning to despair, Camp chooses to worship.  Worship is like a microscope: when our eyes squirm to see, worship allows us to see through God's lenses. And when we begin to see through God's eyes we begin to grasp that darkness is not as dark as it seems in God's light.

Camp follows his major label debut with a worship project.  Included here is Camp's take of Tim Hughes' "Beautiful One."  Camp's low gruff vocals and big electric riffs transform this worship staple into a rock anthem.  Camp's later returns with his own original record with "Restored."  Another runaway success that garnered him an ASCAP Music award is the number one smash "Take You Back." Take You Back" addresses God's endless mercy and forgiveness with a beautiful chorus, "...I know Your response will always be / I'll take you back / Even when your fight is over now / I'll take you back always / Even when the pain is coming through / I'll take you back."  To show that not all Christian rockers hide their emotions behind a scaffold of sounds, "This Man" is proof that Camp does wear his emotions on his sleeve.  Two years later, in 2006, Camp returns with yet another number one "Tonight."  Still as punchy without softening on his guitar swirls, "Tonight" presents Camp's Godly resolve to follow Christ without procrastination.

By 2008 Camp has secured himself as a staple in the Contemporary Christian music that he was more at ease to take risks.  "There Will be a Day" finds Camp incorporating a full Gospel choir to his brand of rock.  Often overlooked is his "We Cry Out: The Worship Project" which thankful has not been here. Jon Egan's "Overcome" starts off acoustically listing all the things Christ has overcame.  As the list grows, the beat increases and by the time the denouncement is reached, you are already lost in worship, forgetting that the song is actually over eight minutes long.  At the end of the day, Camp is a worshipper at heart.  Maybe this is what got him through his struggles; "Icon" is his testimony how he did overcame his pains.  And if we open our hearts to these songs, we too will have the strength to sing with Camp in our pain: "I still believe in Your faithfulness/I still believe in Your truth/I still believe in Your Holy Word/Even when I don't see, I still believe."