Congrats to Damion P. of Sanford, Florida, whose name was drawn at random from among the correct entries is GospelPundit.com’s Mystery Vocalist Giveaway!

As I mentioned yesterday, the mystery vocalist singing the “Star Spangled Banner” is the incomparable Natalie Grant!

As the winner, Damion will receive EVERY CD from Natalie Grant’s catalogue.  Don’t forget– learn more about Natalie and her upcoming album, Love Revolution, at NatalieGrant.com.

The Mystery Vocalist GiveAway has ended– the name of the artist singing the “Star Spangled Banner” on the PunditPlayer is NATALIE GRANT.

Click here to take another listen, and visit http://www.nataliegrant.com to learn more about her!

Her new album, Love Revolution, hits stores on August 24th, but is available for pre-order now right here.

Who’s already down with Natalie Grant’s music?  Who’s gonna check her out now?

 Talk to me!

This is such a beautiful worship song to me… it’s the new single from CCM artist Natalie Grant, “Greatness of our God.”

If you recall, Evin Martin of 21:03 put us on to Natalie Grant in his Across the Aisle series (more coming soon!).  Her new album, Love Revolution, hits stores on August 24th…

In the meantime, I came across this video of Natalie singing “Greatness of our God” at a church a couple of weeks ago–

Whatd’ya think??

Hey folks– just a heads-up… the 41st Annual Dove Awards, which were taped live on Wednesday, will air on gmc this Sunday, April 25th, at 8pm ET/7pm CST.

The awards show will feature incredible performances from BeBe & CeCe Winans, Natalie Grant, Jordin Sparks, Donald Lawrence, Jason Crabb and a special Haiti relief song with Michael W. Smith.

Clearly, that conflicts with the broadcast of BET’s Sunday Best, and I wouldn’t dream of telling you which program is more worth your time…

But when you see me tweetin’ about Francesca Battistelli instead of Bootsey Jenkins, you’ll know what I’m doing.

The 41st annual Dove Awards were taped last night in Nashville, TN at the Grand Ole Opry House.  The show, hosted by Natalie Grant and Bart Millard (of MercyMe), featured a who’s-who of artists and execs in Christian music, along with great collaborative performances.

Among the winners in gospel categories were Fred Hammond (Contemporary Gospel Album – Love Unstoppable), Smokie Norful (Traditional Gospel Recorded Song – “Justified”), and Israel Houghton(Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song – “The Power Of One”).  There was also a tie between BeBe & CeCe Winans (“Grace”) and Israel Houghton (“I Just Wanna Say”) in the Urban Recorded Song category. 

The night was great, featuring key performances by Donald Lawrence & Jason Crabb (in a special tribute to Andraé Crouch), Natalie Grant & Jordin Sparks, TobyMac, BeBe & CeCe Winans, MercyMe, Francesca Battistelli and more.  As I mentioned yesterday, I was backstage for much of the preparation and the taping, itself, so I missed seeing a lot of the performances (I could hear ‘em though, and I loved it!).

I’ve also gotta say that I loved the vibe of the show.  Everyone seemed like one big family and I didn’t see too many of those “gotta-hold-it-together-for-the-camera, but-I’m-really-mad-that-I-didn’t-win” faces.

All in all, the evening was great fun.  Backstage, I got a chance to speak with Natalie Grant, Donald Lawrence & The Co., Wess Morgan, Brian Courtney Wilson, Calvin Nowell, B. Reith, Mandisa, Melinda Doolittle, TobyMac, Casting Crowns, Tony LeBron, Britt Nicole… I KNOW I’m forgetting folks. Sorrrrry…

If you don’t know who some of the above-noted folks are, tell me so I can feature them for you QUICKLY.  And I think I’m gonna write an editorial soon, cuz I’ve got something else to say… stay tuned.

For a full list of winners, head over to gmc’s official website.

The show will air this Sunday, April 25th, at 8pm ET/7 CST exclusively on gmc.

Watchin’???

Hey fam– I’m going to the 41st Annual Dove Awards tonight, so I’ll try to recap some of it for you here tomorow or Friday.

I’ve already been to some of the rehearsals and it’s gonna be a GREAT show.  Donald Lawrence is performing with Jason Crabb (awesome), Natalie Grant is performing with Jordin Sparks (incredible), BeBe & CeCe Winans (you already KNOW)… and there will be many more great performances.

I’ll fill you guys in later… gotta run!

The nominees for the 41st annual Dove Awards were announced on Thursday.

Natalie Grant and Bart Millard will host the awards show on April 21st.  Unlike last year, the awards will not be broadcast live– they will air on gmc on Sunday, April 25, 2010 from 8pm-10pm EST.

There are 43 categories and you guys don’t know most of the names in ‘em, so I’m not typing it all… sorry.  BUT, you can visit http://www.gmclife.com/41st-dove-award-nominees for the full list.

In the meantime, a quick recap of some of the folks you’ll find there:

Donnie McClurkin, Israel Houghton, Melinda Watts, Freddy Washington, Brian Courtney Wilson, Mali Music, Vickie Winans, Smokie Norful, Mary Mary, Crystal Aikin, Bishop Paul Morton, Hezekiah Walker, Heather Headley, Mandisa, B. Reith, Fred Hammond, Group 1 Crew, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., BeBe & CeCe Winans… see, there are just too many to name!

Ok, more Dove Awards info and discussion as the time draws nigh.  Until then, tell me what you think about the nominee list!

One of the most widely discussed events of the Stellar Awards weekend was not really planned at all; rather, it came suddenly, in response to the earthquake in Haiti.  Kirk Franklin successfully brought together the gospel and Christian music communities to record a new song that he wrote, the proceeds from which will be donated directly to the relief efforts in Haiti.

Though Franklin wrote and produced the track, entitled “Song For Pain,” he’s not getting a cut, nor are any of the dozens of artists and musicians who participated.  And I mean DOZENS.  Some of the artists and musicians who rolled through the session include Mary Mary, Natalie Grant, Donnie McClurkin, J Moss, CeCe Winans, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Marvin Winans, Micah Stampley, Karen Clark Sheard, Smokie Norful, Shirley Caesar, Amy Grant, BeBe Winans, Brian Courtney Wilson, Stephen Hurd, Nicole C. Mullen, and MORE.  Every penny is going to Haiti.

Over the course of several recording sessions throughout the weekend, Kirk (who also co-hosted and performed at the Stellar Awards, and had to attend rehearsals and run-thru’s for the same) spent every moment of his “spare time” in Nashville’s Quad Studios, generally until around 6am.  I don’t think he got any sleep all weekend.

Let’s continue to pray for Haiti, that the offering of our music community would be used greatly to take Christ and His healing power to that nation.  And, let’s pray for our own artists and musicians, especially Kirk Franklin, who selflessly gave of their time and energy for this cause.

AAAAND, when the single hits the internet stores this week, BUY IT.  I’ll be sure to let you know when and where.  Deal?

The Gospel Music Association’s wildly successful GMA Week has been set for April 18th through 21st in Nashville, TN.  The week will culminate, as always, with the 41st Annual Dove Awards.

Anybody planning to attend?  I’m soooooo gonna try to be there, especially if the quality of the awards show is ANYWHERE close to where it was this year… just sheer excellence.

In related news, the GMA held a mega fundraiser on Monday night here in Nashville, dubbed the “Concert Of The Decade,” in an attempt to save the non-profit organization from recent financial woes.  Tickets to attend were $1,000 apiece (yes… three zeros) and the benefit featured performances by Kirk Franklin, Natalie Grant, Amy Grant, Casting Crowns, Michael W. Smith and many more.  Did anyone watch it online… or attend in person???

The event is said to have sold 350 tix for a total of $350,000, but the venue’s capacity was about 800 seats… Hopefully, this will be a helpful start.  The GMA is an asset to the Christian music community.

Hey good people… as most of you know, Evin Martin of gospel’s hit group 21:03, is GospelPundit.com’s official correspondent for the Across The Aisle series.

He’s back with another great artist for us to check out– Natalie Grant.

Without any delay, check out what Evin has to say… (wasn’t trying to rhyme… I promise):

Thanks, Evin!

Folks, make sure you leave a comment to let Evin know how he’s doing AND to tell him who you wanna hear about next!