Matthew West has performed many times on the Grand Ole Opry stage, but his recent appearance marked a career first. The gospel singer sang “Before You Ask Her,” with his daughter, Lulu, making her Opry debut by joining her proud father for the sentimental tune.

“What a treat,” West tells Everything Nash. “She nailed it too. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I was playing the Opry, and I wrote a song called ‘Before You Ask Her’,” which is about any boys who try to date my daughters. I asked her if she wanted to join me on the stage and she said ‘Absolutely,’ and walked out on stage like it was nothing. Talk about getting nervous. She wasn’t nervous at all.”

@matthewjwest Last night my baby girl stepped into the circle and made her @Grand Ole Opry debut! I can’t really watch this without getting teary eyed. We are all so proud of you Lulu! ❤️ #GrandOleOpry #ChristianTikTok #ChristianMusic #KLOVEFanAwards ♬ Before You Ask Her – Matthew West

West is a singer, songwriter, author, podcast host and more, but his favorite — and most important — titles for him are husband and father, roles that he says will always take priority over anything else.

“I don’t really look at it as converging,” West says when asked if he has trouble merging his different responsibilities. “I think in terms of priorities, it’s no question that the most important part of my life is my faith first, then my family and then all other pursuits fall after that. I’m very thankful for the platform. I have to make music for a living. But at the end of the day, the most significant title I have is as a husband and a father.”

West’s double My Story Your Glory record is out now. The 22-track project is half songs inspired by stories West has heard in his two decades of being an artist, and half praise and worship songs.

“It’s a double album, and that for starters makes me really excited, because it’s more music than I’ve ever put out before,” West told Everything Nash when the record was released. “The title of the album splits perfectly in half those two statements, ‘My Story Your Glory.’ And as I began to think about calling the album that, I began to realize, ‘Oh, this could be the dividing line, like two different concepts in one.’

“We’re living in a world where a lot of times people listen to one song from one artist,” he continued. “And my idea was just to be less focused on trying to have a radio hit, and more focused on telling a story from start to finish. And so that’s the idea.”

Find My Story Your Glory and all of West’s music, as well as a list of his upcoming shows, at MatthewWest.com.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Elicity Public Relations / Sean Hagwell