2007 Singing News Fan Award Nominees: Round 2, My Picks
Here my picks in the second round of the Singing News Fan Awards:
- Group - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. I really, really, really wanted to vote for the Perrys, too. I like both groups equally.
- Male Singer - Ernie Haase. My first-round pick, Mark Trammell, didn’t even make Top 10!
- Female Singer - Libbi Perry Stuffle. I didn’t even have to read who the other nominees were; all I had to do was find that I had to circle 7 to vote for Libbi.
- Horizon Group - Ball Brothers. I considered Tribute but went with the Ball Brothers.
- Horizon Individual - Dustin Sweatman. I wanted to vote for Dustin in either Horizon or Young Artist, and so voted for him in this category and Joseph Habedank in the other.
- Young Artist - Joseph Habedank. The Perrys’ sound improved when Joseph moved to the lead spot.
- Musician - Roger Bennett. I nominated Stewart Varnado, but he didn’t make the top 10. I wanted to honor Roger. He’s won the pianist award for more consecutive years than any other SG performer has won in any category. I think it would be appropriate to honor a legend of this stature with one final award. I must admit I was also a little curious to find out what Debbie would say if she was given a chance behind the microphone! If SG fans don’t see things the way I do, I will probably vote for Kim Collingsworth in the final round (especially after all the nice things you said about her yesterday!)
- Songwriter - Dianne Wilkinson. I’d like to see her win this award at least once.
- Album of the Year - Once Upon a Cross (Mark Trammell Trio).
- Tenor of the Year: Ernie Haase. I’d really like to vote for Eric Phillips someday, too, but I went with Ernie again this year.
- Lead Singer of the Year: Ryan Seaton.
- Baritone of the Year: Mark Trammell. There are several good options here - Doug Anderson, Andrew King, and Nick Trammell particularly come to mind - but in the end I went with Mr. Baritone himself.
- Bass of the Year: Randy Byrd (Blackwood Brothers). I considered voting for Tim Duncan right off but figured he’d make the top 5 without my help.
- Alto of the Year: Libbi Perry Stuffle. I didn’t have to spend any time thinking this one over.
- Soprano of the Year: Brooklyn Collingsworth. I wanted to vote for the Collingsworth Family in at least one category, and there aren’t many options in the Soprano category anyhow.
I was speaking of it highly...
Comment by Diana (April 26, 2007, 7:53 am)
Well, Daniel, all I can say is that I only had one vote that matched any of yours - and I’m not saying which one!!! It’ll be interesting to see the winners this year.
Comment by Brady (April 26, 2007, 8:47 am)
What are you talking about when you say 3/4 of Tribute Quartet just won an Horizon Group Award? What awards ceremoney would this have been in? Because they didn’t win last year’s SN Fan Award nor were they nominated for an Ovation Award. What Horizon Group award have they won?
Comment by natesings (April 26, 2007, 12:41 pm)
You mentioned that The Perry’s sound improved when Joseph moved to lead. I was curious if you’ve seen them live since the change. I haven’t so I can’t say.
Comment by Daniel J. Mount (April 26, 2007, 12:43 pm)
I heard them on the NQC live feed–either two or three of their sets, so an hour’s time. I also saw their song (was it Damascus Road?) on the NQC highlights DVD. I base my comments off of that exposure. Some people preferred Loren Harris’s voice, but I genuinely like Joseph’s voice even more than Loren’s (and the Perrys were already my favorite mixed group before!)
Comment by Daniel J. Mount (April 26, 2007, 12:52 pm)
Brady, I apologize! I’d forgotten that the LeFevre Quartet won the Horizon Group. For some reason, I thought I’d heard that they had won it. I will fix the post straightway.
Comment by Brady (April 26, 2007, 1:38 pm)
No problem, Daniel. I have been a fan of Tribute Quartet from day one, and I would have known if they’d won any awards. Like the Ball Brothers, too. It should be a tight race for the top 5.
Comment by Daniel J. Mount (April 26, 2007, 1:39 pm)
I agree! It’s nice to have a year when there is more than one group that one would like to vote for Horizon Group. That’s not a problem I always have.
Comment by Mary St.Clair (April 26, 2007, 1:49 pm)
I’d like to see Monument get a Horizon Nomination and Award. As I recall, they’re just about 2 years old and haven’t received it yet.
Comment by Daniel J. Mount (April 26, 2007, 2:15 pm)
I think they may be ineligible, since they made top 5 last year but didn’t win. By the way, at the time they were top 5, three members of the current Tribute were 3/4 of the group. That is what I had in mind when I made my earlier mistaken comment about them winning then.
Comment by Joe Lane (May 5, 2007, 3:43 pm)
I dont see how tribute is up for Horizon. I thought groups had to be around longer than 2 months to be nominated. Is it really a new group when 3/4 of a group go and start a new group? If so, then Driven should win or maybe a few groups should just change their name and they could win every year.