Southern Gospel News SGNScoops Digital

AbsolutelyGospel.com Announces Nominees for 2011 Absolutely Gospel Music Awards

Ed: SGN Scoops is humbled and proud of our 2nd consecutive nomination as Pacesetter of the Year!

Gaither Vocal Band Earns Most Nominations Among Artists, while Producer/Songwriter Wayne Haun Lands Most Individual Nominations
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – (January 21, 2011) – The administrators and staff of AbsolutelyGospel.com (formerly SoGospelNews.com) are proud to announce the nominees for the 2011 Absolutely Gospel (SGN) Music Awards. As in year’s past, the nominees were chosen by the staff of AbsolutelyGospel.com and select media representatives. Starting on February 1, 2010, the fans will get a chance to vote for their favorites in each category.

“Our family and site suffered a major blow earlier this month with the death of my wife and site founder Susan Unthank,” mentioned Deon Unthank. “However, it was never her desire that we cease operation after she was gone. We are moving forward because she wanted us to, so while this is going to be a very tough program for us to put on, we know that she is smiling down on us and giving us her blessing from Heaven.”

Chris D. Unthank, the newly named Content Manager of AbsolutelyGospel.com said, “More than anything, we really feel like these nominees represent what Mom loved so much about the awards. For example – looking at our Song of the Year category – you see a nice blending of sentimental favorites like ‘When God Has Another Plan’ and ‘I Still Glory In the Cross’ with smash hit singles like ‘Hold On’ and ‘Born to Climb’ mixed with songs that critics really embraced this year like ‘The Father & the Son’ and ‘When There’s No Hope, There Is Grace.’ Mom was really proud of the nominations this year, and for that reason, we are really excited about this year’s program as well!”

As far as nominations go, the Gaither Vocal Band landed a stellar nine nominations this year, more than any other artist. The group earned nods for Album of the Year and Progressive Southern Album of the Year (for Greatly Blessed), Male Group of the Year, Special Event Project of the Year (for the live CD/DVD Great Day), Best Live Performer, Fan Favorite Artist of the Year, and the premier award of the Absolutely Gospel Music Awards, 2011 Pacesetter. In addition, group member Michael English earned his second consecutive Male Vocalist of the Year nod (an award he won last year) and a Producer of the Year (Artist) nomination.

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and The Bowling Family each earned eight nods – with both groups landing in Fan Favorite Artist of the Year category (the only category chosen strictly by the fans).

Following behind those artists were The Perrys, Dove Brothers, Triumphant Quartet, and Booth Brothers with seven nominations apiece. Brian Free & Assurance and The Freemans both landed six nominations. Three artists received five nominations – The Isaacs, Karen Peck & New River and The Greenes.

Jeff & Sheri Easter and Legacy Five both earned four nominations, while several artists received double mentions, including Jason Crabb, The Dunaways, The Nelons, Beyond the Ashes, Crawford Crossing, Sisters, Gordon Mote, the Talley Trio, and Greater Vision.

Songwriter, producer and Signature Sound’s pianist Wayne Haun earned the most individual nominations for his work during 2010. In addition to landing in the Producer of the Year (Artist) category, Wayne earned an additional eight nominations for his songwriting and production work this year. – including three separate nominations in the Album of the Year category (for producing Ernie Haase & Signature Sound’s A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet, The Nelons’ Beside Still Waters, and Triumphant Quartet’s Love Came Calling).

Producer Lari Goss earned seven nominations – also earning three separate nods for Album of the Year (for Ernie Haase & Signature Sound’s A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet, The Greenes’ Hallelujah, and Booth Brothers’ Declaration) and a Producer of the Year (Professional) mention (an award he won in 2009).

Earning four individual nominations were 2010’s Male Vocalist of the Year Michael English and producer Ricky Free. McCray Dove, Marty Funderburk, Kyle Matthews, Dianne Wilkinson, Bill Gaither, and Mike Bowling all landed three individual nominations for their work in 2010.

The Pacesetter Award is awarded to any artist, individual, or organization which has shown great strides in the industry and has raised the bar for others. This year’s nominees for the 2011 Pacesetter are last year’s winner the Branson Gospel Music Convention, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, the aforementioned Gaither Vocal Band, digital news outlet SGN Scoops Digital, and syndicated radio program This Week In Gospel Music with Mickey Bell.

More information on the 2011 Absolutely Gospel Music Awards Celebration will be forthcoming, including hosts, performers, and sponsors, etc. The date for this year’s Absolutely Gospel Music Awards Celebration is Tuesday, April 12, 2011. The event will again take place at the River of Life Church in Smyrna, Tennessee and is free to the public. Like last year, the event is still tentatively on schedule to be streamed live as well.

The nominees for the 2011 Absolutely Gospel Music Awards are listed below:

SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Born to Climb” – Jeff & Sheri Easter (W.Haun, J.Lindsey)
“Did I Mention” – The Perrys (K.Rowland)
“Hold On” – Dove Brothers (M.Dove)
“I Still Glory In the Cross” – Bowling Family (M.Funderburk, B.Smith)
“Somebody Died For Me” – Triumphant Quartet (C.Sutherland)
“Sometimes I Cry” – Jason Crabb (G.Crabb)
“The Father & the Son” – The Freemans (D.Wilkinson)
“When God Has Another Plan” – The Greenes (A.Keffer, D.Williams)
“When There’s No Hope, There Is Grace” – The Dunaways (R.Hendrix)
“Why Can’t All God’s Children Get Along” – Karen Peck & New River (S.Hill)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet – Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (L.Goss, W.Haun)
Beside Still Waters – The Nelons (W.Haun)
Declaration – Booth Brothers (L.Goss)
Evidence – The Freemans (D.Freeman)
Greatly Blessed – Gaither Vocal Band (B.Gaither, M.English, D.Phelps)
Hallelujah – The Greenes (L.Goss)
Love Came Calling – Triumphant Quartet (W.Haun)
Never Walk Alone – Brian Free & Assurance (R.Free)
Shine – Bowling Family (K.Bowling, M.Bowling, T.Penhollow)
Unshakeable – Dove Brothers (D.Crawford)

PACESETTER:
Branson Gospel Music Convention
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
SGN Scoops Digital
This Week In Gospel Music with Mickey Bell

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST:
The Akins
Beyond the Ashes
Crawford Crossing
Crystal River
Freedom

MALE VOCALIST:
Mike Bowling (Bowling Family)
Jason Crabb
Michael English (Gaither Vocal Band)
Joseph Habedank (The Perrys)
Devin McGlamery (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)
Bill Shivers (Brian Free & Assurance)

FEMALE VOCALIST:
Chris Freeman (The Freemans)
Karen Peck Gooch (Karen Peck & New River)
TaRanda Greene (The Greenes)
Libbi Stuffle (The Perrys)
Sonya Isaacs Yeary (The Isaacs)

MALE GROUP:
Booth Brothers
Brian Free & Assurance
Dove Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
Triumphant Quartet

FEMALE GROUP:
Perry Sisters
Sisters
Sweetwater Revival

MIXED GROUP:
Bowling Family
The Greenes
The Isaacs
Jeff & Sheri Easter
Karen Peck & New River
The Perrys

SONGWRITER (ARTIST):
Jim Brady (Booth Brothers)
McCray Dove (Dove Brothers)
Joseph Habedank (The Perrys)
Scott Inman (Triumphant Quartet)
Becky & Sonya Isaacs (The Isaacs)

SONGWRITER (PROFESSIONAL):
Marty Funderburk
Rusty Golden
Twila LaBar
Rebecca J. Peck
Kenna West
Dianne Wilkinson

PRODUCER (ARTIST):
Michael English (Gaither Vocal Band)
Wayne Haun (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)
Ben Isaacs (The Isaacs)
Tim Parton (Legacy Five)
Roger Talley (Talley Trio)

PRODUCER (PROFESSIONAL):
Donna Beauvais
Jeff Collins
Ricky Free
Lari Goss
Michael Sykes

ENGINEER:
Steve Allen
Ron Fairchild
Gus Gaches (Legacy Five)
Terry Thompson
Kevin Ward

MUSICIAN:
Kim Collingsworth (Collingsworth Family)
Madison Easter (Jeff & Sheri Easter)
Gordon Mote
Tim Parton (Legacy Five)
Jason Webb

TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN SONG:
“By Your Grace, For Your Glory” – Gold City (D.Liles, K.Matthews, D.Puryear)
“Did I Mention” – The Perrys (K.Rowland)
“I Still Glory In the Cross” – Bowling Family (M.Funderburk, B.Smith)
“Somebody Died For Me” – Triumphant Quartet (C.Sutherland)
“You Were Faithful Yesterday” – Greater Vision (R.Griffin)

TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN ALBUM:
A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet – Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (L.Goss, W.Haun)
Declaration – Booth Brothers (L.Goss)
Hallelujah – The Greenes (L.Goss)
Love Came Calling – Triumphant Quartet (W.Haun)
Testimony – Mark Trammell Quartet (L.Goss)

PROGRESSIVE SOUTHERN SONG:
“Both Sides of the River” – Crabb Revival (G.Crabb)
“He’s Alive” – Talley Trio (D.Francisco)
“I Am Redeemed” – Brian Free & Assurance (S.Marshall, J.D.Rowsey)
“Message of the Cross” – The Browders (M.Browder, S.Browder)
“Why Can’t All God’s Children Get Along” – Karen Peck & New River (S.Hill)

PROGRESSIVE SOUTHERN ALBUM:
Beside Still Waters – The Nelons (W.Haun)
Greatly Blessed – Gaither Vocal Band (B.Gaither, M.English, D.Phelps)
Healer of My Heart – Sisters (W.Pritchard)
Never Walk Alone – Brian Free & Assurance (R.Free)
Oasis – Crist Family (J.Collins, R.Crist)
Songs In the Night – Lauren Talley (L.Talley)

COUNTRY SONG:
“Born to Climb” – Jeff & Sheri Easter (W.Haun, J.Lindsey)
“Hold On” – Dove Brothers (M.Dove)
“The Father & the Son” – The Freemans (D.Wilkinson)
“When There’s No Hope, There Is Grace” – The Dunaways (R.Hendrix)
“Wounded Hands” – Gordon Mote (C.Borsage, G.Mote)

COUNTRY ALBUM:
Evidence – The Freemans (D.Freeman)
Shine – Bowling Family (K.Bowling, M.Bowling, T.Penhollow)
Times Like These – Austins Bridge (J.DeMarcus)
Turn Up the Music – Crawford Crossing (T.Thompson)
Unshakeable – Dove Brothers (D.Crawford)

SPECIAL EVENT PROJECT:
Accapella – Brian Free & Assurance (R.Free)
Better Day – Gaither Vocal Band (B.Carter, B.Gaither, B.Jennings)
Christmas – The Isaacs (B.Isaacs)
Jubilee 2 – Booth Brothers, Greater Vision, Legacy Five (G.Wolfe)
Miracles & Memories – Bowling Family (K.R.White)

BEST LIVE PERFORMER:
Booth Brothers
Dove Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
The Freemans
Gaither Vocal Band

FAN FAVORITE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
2nd Generation
Beyond the Ashes
Booth Brothers
Bowling Family
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
Karen Peck & New River
McMillan & Life
The Perrys
Triumphant Quartet