GMA Announces Songwriter of the Year Nominees
The nominees for this years Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year were announced earlier this week by the Gospel Music Association (GMA), with the list including Casting Crowns Mark Hall, Third Days Mac Powell, sixsteprecords Chris Tomlin, and songwriters Laura Story and Christa Wells.
The Songwriter of the Year is an important honor in gospel music, said John W. Styll, president of the GMA. We congratulate these nominees for their songwriting success in the past year, and more significantly, for the many lives they touched with their songwriting gifts.
Hall grabs his third consecutive nomination for the award this year, having won both times previously, with his songs Lifesong and Voice of Truth both up for this years Dove Award for Song of the Year. Powell is nominated for his work on the impassioned Cry Out to Jesus, which became an anthem for those who experienced the devastation caused by last years hurricanes.
Christa Wells is the writer of Held, which was the first single from Natalie Grants hit release Awaken. Story wrote Indescribable with Jesse Reeves, a song recorded by Tomlin who himself wrote Holy is the Lord and How Great is Our God. Tomlin, who won his first Dove Award last year for Praise & Worship Album of the Year, leads this years nominations with 10 total.
The 37th Annual GMA Music Awards will be presented on Apr. 5 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn.
For a complete list of nominations and other information, go to www.gospelmusic.org.