If you signed up to receive GospelPundit Weekly, you know that I send exclusive content to you via email each week, posing some question or point of view. One of my recent editorials sparked such interesting conversation that I figured I would re-post it here to see what YOU have to say…

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“And The Nominees Are… Decided By Fans”

This past Saturday, the nominees for the 27th Annual Stellar Awards were announced during a live nominations concert, which took place in Nashville, TN and aired exclusively on gmc. Check them out here if you haven’t already seen them.

This year, it seems that the nominees were determined primarily by fan voting. Actually, the same vote count used to determine the nominees will be used in naming the winner in January.

Has the Stellar Awards become a people’s choice award? Yeah, kinda…

A confidential committee still monitors the entries before the public gets to vote, making sure that only eligible submissions go forward, etc. And the voting members still get to whittle a loooooong list of entries down to a more manageable ten or so potential nominees. But at the end of the day, you– the public– have actually chosen this year’s winners.

Is that good or bad? I don’t know. On one hand, I’ve heard people praise the idea that votes are no longer “for sale” through voting memberships, whereby if you simply pay dues, you get to decide who gets a Stellar Award. And they like the idea that the consumers– those most impacted– get to weigh-in. On the other hand, there’s something to be said about a recognition by your peers– those who understand the work you put into it and who are, supposedly, experts in the arena.

One thing is for certain– this is the first time in several years that I haven’t heard someone cry “foul play” in the nominations process… and that’s worth writing about.

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What do you think of the Stellar Awards nominations this year?

What do you think of the voting process?

Better, worse, like it, love it?