Yesterday, the Gospel Music Association (GMA) announced the final nominees for the Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year. The award will be presented at the 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards on April 23rd at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
The nominees are Steven Curtis Chapman, Natalie Grant, Brandon Heath, Jason Ingram and Tony Wood. 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).

In a press release, John W. Styll, president and CEO of the GMA said, “Perhaps no other genre relies on the message in the lyrics more than gospel music, so songwriters deserve special honor at the Dove Awards. We congratulate each of these deserving writers for crafting music that has inspired and moved us in the past year.”
I found his comment interesting, that the lyrics in gospel music really define the genre. Going back to our ongoing discussion about “what is Christian music,” if that statement is true, I wonder how much music put out under the Christian music umbrella really doesn’t fit? Just thinking out loud.
There’s one thing for sure: the songwriters nominated really do define the genre of Christian music.
You can see the complete list of the of the 2009 Dove Award nominees and also cast your vote for Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Voting is open until April 23 at 8 pm, when the live broadcast begins on the Gospel Music Channel. (One question: what if there’s a technical glitch? I mean, how can they vote right up till the show starts? Doesn’t someone have to verify the results?)
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