NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Awaken, the 2005 breakthrough that poised Curb recording artist and GMA’s now three-time reigning Female Vocalist of the Year, Natalie Grant, to become the top female solo artist in Christian music today, has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it was recently announced. In addition, Grant has also been nominated for a Dove Award in the prestigious Songwriter of the Year category, making her the top female nominee at The 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards.
Produced by Dove Award-winner Bernie Herms, Phil Symonds, Shaun Shankel, and Rob Graves, Grant wrote or co-wrote half of Awaken’s 12 selections. The album features her signature #1 song, “Held,” as well as the hits “Live 4 Today” and “What Are You Waiting For.”
Awaken was written and recorded during a life-changing season for Grant, as she first became aware of the atrocity of international human trafficking. For more than four years now, she has been an outspoken advocate for trafficking victims and was one of the first Christian artists to raise awareness of the issue in the Church. Grant established the Home Foundation in 2005, and the organization now supports numerous entities, both domestically and around the world, in the fight against human trafficking.
Grant is up for six honors at The 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year. She is also nominated for Song of the Year for her self-penned hit single, “I Will Not Be Moved.” In addition, fueled by the success of her 2008 best-selling, critically acclaimed recording Relentless, Grant was the most-played female artist on Christian radio and the top-selling Adult Contemporary female solo artist in Christian music in 2008.
The nominees for this year’s Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year, which will be presented at the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards on April 23, were announced this week The nominees are (above, L-R) Steven Curtis Chapman, Natalie Grant, Brandon Heath, Jason Ingram and Tony Wood. The recipient of the Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year will be named during the awards show on April 23 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The show is scheduled for live broadcast on the Gospel Music Channel, and tickets are now on sale to the public at the GMA office by calling 615-242-0303.
“Perhaps no other genre relies on the message in the lyrics more than gospel music, so songwriters deserve special honor at the Dove Awards,” GMA President and CEO John W. Styll said. “We congratulate each of these deserving writers for crafting music that has inspired and moved us in the past year.”
In addition to other songs they have written, each songwriter is nominated in the Song of the Year category. Chapman penned “Cinderella,” while Grant wrote “I Will Not Be Moved.” Heath and Ingram co-wrote “Give Me Your Eyes” and Wood co-wrote two Song of the Year nominees – “Empty Me” (with Chris Sligh and Clint Lagerberg) and “I’m Not Letting Go”(with Francesca Battistelli). Click here for a complete list of this year’s nominees.
The 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards, gospel music’s biggest night of the year, featuring artists from every style of gospel/Christian music coming together for a night of music and celebration, will be broadcast nationwide live on Gospel Music Channel from 8-10 p.m. (ET/PT) on Thursday, April 23, 2009.
I had an awesome opportunity to go hang out with some of the girls at Mercy Ministries here in Nashville last week. I love this ministry. Nancy Alcorn is so amazing with what she has done for young girls all around the world. I love how God takes the ordinary and does the extraodinary.
Congrats to the recent graduates of the program. I’m so proud of you girls!!!
Mercy has a really cool opportunity coming up for you to be involved in. This year there is a team running in the Country Music Marathon here in Nashville. It’s called “Run For Mercy”. Visit www.runformercy.com to learn more about how you run (or walk) for mercy.
To learn more about how you can support the work of Mercy Ministries or the services they provide, please click here: www.mercyministries.org
Want to know what really happens behind the scenes at The Revolve Tour? There are 2 stars of the show: Gracie and Bella Herms! This is just a quick snapshot of a tour sing-a-long that lasted for 25 minutes. All of the “adults” starting another song, actions and all. Who are the kids in this equation, anyway?!
It is such a privilege to tour with some of the coolest people I’ve ever met. And I especially love how they love on my daughters. So sweet.
Check it out…
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Curb recording artist and GMA’s reigning three-time Female Vocalist of the Year, Natalie Grant, has been nominated for five Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Awards, making her one of the top nominees this year.
Grant is once again nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year. Her win in this category last year marked the first time in 13 years that an artist has been named Female Vocalist three consecutive times. Receiving the award this year would make Grant only the second artist in Dove Awards history to be named Female Vocalist four consecutive years.
“I Will Not Be Moved,” written by Grant, is nominated for Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year. The hit single is featured on Grant’s best-selling 2008 recording, Relentless, which also received a nod for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Relentless was co-produced by Grant’s husband, Bernie Herms, and Shaun Shankel. Herms also received his second consecutive Dove Award nomination for Producer of the Year.
In addition, the Grant-penned “Breathe On Me,” featured on Worship With Natalie Grant & Friends, is nominated for Worship Song of the Year.
The 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards will be presented April 23 at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The event will air live on the Gospel Music Channel at 8 pm ET/PT.
FRANKLIN, TN (December 22, 2008) – This Easter season marks the launch of the brand new VeggieTales®: Here I Am To Worship album in stores everywhere Tuesday, March 17, 2009 from Big Idea, Inc., an Entertainment Rights group company. Following the success of the 2006 Dove Award winning VeggieTales: Worship Songs with scans of more than 150,000 units, Here I Am To Worship presents twelve of today’s most sung worship offerings from top recording artists. Perfect for kids of all ages, this fun-filled collection of easy-to-sing worship favorites is only $9.99 SRP and will be available in Christian stores through Word Distribution and in the GM through WEA Distribution.
All of the featured songs were chosen to provide families with a meaningful and memorable way to learn worship favorites. Bob, Larry and Junior Asparagus are joined by the Gospel Music Association’s three-time “Female Vocalist of the Year” Dove Award winner Natalie Grant on the title cut, “Here I Am To Worship.” The VeggieTales crew also welcomes “2007 Artist of the Year” Dove Award winner Aaron Shust, who joins his Veggie pals on his No. 1 hit, “My Savior My God.”
“I was a VeggieTales fan before I was a mom, but now Bob and Larry are my best friends,” says Natalie Grant. “I love this project because I believe children are never too young to be introduced to a lifestyle of worship.”
“Worship at any age is about glorifying our Creator and becoming more like Christ,” adds Aaron Shust. “What a wonderful way for children to experience the heart of worship than through music and God’s Word. I look forward to sharing these songs with my own children!”
NASHVILLE, Tenn.— GMA’s reigning three-time Female Vocalist of the Year and Curb recording artist, Natalie Grant, headlined her Second Annual Home Foundation Concert earlier this week. The sold-out benefit also featured GMA’s 2008 New Artist of the Year and Reunion recording artist Brandon Heath; Reunion recording artist Tenth Avenue North; and new BEC recording artist Phillip LaRue. Pictured onstage at Nashville’s historic Belcourt Theatre following the event are (l-r) LaRue; Heath; Grant; and Tenth Avenue North’s Mike Donehey, Jeff Owen and Scott Sanders.
Benefiting Grant’s Home Foundation, the concert raised support for the organization’s H.O.M.E.S. Project initiative, which operates in conjunction with various faith-based agencies to provide resources and build shelters for human trafficking victims in the United States. Grant established the Home Foundation in 2005 to help combat international human trafficking. A priority of her ministry platform, Grant educates audiences on the plight of children forced into the sex trade both domestically and around the world.
Sorry i have been absent from my blog for the past couple of weeks. life with almost-2 twin toddlers is crazy, to say the least. i did get a few weeks off from traveling, which were pure bliss, but now i’m back at it. and while it is difficult, it is a such a gift to get to do what i was created to do.
I’ve got a new radio single out, “Our Hope Endures”, and it’s been so sweet to hear many stories of how this song is touching such a personal place in many people. i would love to hear your story. we’ve added a place for you to share your stories of hope. Click on the link and tell your story. I will visit the page often and will read every one. your personal stories are always such a great source of encouragement for me.
i will tell you what the song means to me. i was able to write this song with Christa Wells, the incredible song-writer that wrote “Held”. inspired by a story of her dear friend battling cancer, she was reminded of the Hope that endures every situation in life. i offered the truth of scripture: “Emmanuel, God is with us. El-Shaddai, all sufficient.” Timely words for all of us I think.
With our tanked economy, He is sufficient. You may have lost your job or even your house – He’s sufficient. Through divorce and devastation, you are not alone. Emmanuel, God is with us. so many are looking to a new president to bring peace and stability. while I pray he is successful at leading this great nation, our hope is not found in nations, or armies or governments. Our hope is found in the One whom the government rests on his shoulders. In the words of The Message, from Psalm 103:6, “God makes everything come out right. He puts victims back on their feet.”
