<P> Critical reception for "I Can Only Imagine" was positive . Steve Losey of Allmusic commented that "(the song) is a passionate piano - driven ballad . The song considers what it would be like to be in the presence of God . Delivered with conviction, the song is emotionally compelling". Jesus Freak Hideout's reviewer Kevin Chamberlin felt "The lyrics for the song are amazing . If you haven't listened to the lyrics, because you're afraid of hearing pop music, get over it and listen to it ." Kevin McNeese of NewReleaseTuesday commented that "The definite highlight on (Almost There) is the worship / ballad' I Can Only Imagine'...The song starts out with just piano that instantly invokes chills and builds dynamically into a powerful display of drums and guitar . But what makes the song are the lyrics, penned by Bart Millard himself . The song speaks about that day that we all dream about when we finally meet Jesus...It's a song that can't be listened to with eyes open". </P> <P> "I Can Only Imagine" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of 11 October 2003 at No. 76 . The song peaked at No. 71 for two weeks and spent 16 non-consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 . On the Adult Contemporary chart, "I Can Only Imagine" debuted at No. 29 for the chart week of 23 May 2003, with an eventual peak of No. 5 for the chart week of 8 September 2003; in all, "I Can Only Imagine" spent 30 weeks on the chart . </P> <P> On the Adult Top 40 chart, "I Can Only Imagine" debuted at No. 39 for the chart week of 9 August 2003 and reached a peak position of No. 27, holding that spot for three consecutive weeks; in all, the song spent 26 weeks on the chart . On the Mainstream Top 40 chart, the song debuted at No. 37 for the chart week of 12 July 2003, reaching an eventual peak of No. 33 . On the Country Songs chart, the song debuted at No. 58 for the chart week of 27 December 2003, reaching an eventual peak of No. 52, which it held for two weeks . According to Mike Curb on the Curb Records website, "I Can Only Imagine" also peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 10 weeks, No. 1 on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart for two weeks, and No. 15 on the Christian CHR chart . </P> <P> In April 2010, "I Can Only Imagine" was certified platinum by the RIAA, signifying sales of over 1,000,000 digital downloads . It is the first single by any artist in the Christian music genre to go platinum . The song was certified 2x platinum in 2014 . As of March 2018, it has sold 2.5 million copies, making it the best - selling Christian single of all time . </P>

Mercy me bart millard i can only imagine