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On Saturday, Singing News posted the top 5 ballot for the Singing News Fan Awards. If you are a Singing News reader, you can click here to view the ballot and cast your vote.

I am in contact with enough of the nominees that I am reluctant to post my specific votes. But I will note that except voting for the Perrys in five categories, I spread out my votes fairly widely: Signature Sound (3), Mark Trammell Trio (2), Kingdom Heirs (2), Greater Vision (2, including Favorite Artist), and one each to the Hoppers, Collingsworth Family, Mark Bishop, Soul’d Out, Dixie Echoes, and Kyla Rowland.

Things to watch this year:

• Favorite Pianist: Since it’s been Roger Bennett’s award for years, it’s wide-open this year. Jeff Stice is the only previous winner on the ballot, but any of the five could feasibly win. Both of my favorite pianists (Kim Collingsworth and Stewart Varnado) are in the top 5, and I’d be delighted if either won.
• Favorite Artist: The Booth Brothers were the only trio nominated last year, and won. This year, there are two trios and three quartets. Could having two trios in the top 5 change the dynamics a little?
• Member Changes: Will either Jason Waldroup or Jonathan Wilburn take home farewell awards? My take: Jason Waldroup stands a better chance than Jonathan Wilburn, since Bruce Taliaferro has had more time to make his own mark with Gold City and to start building his name ID as Gold City’s lead singer.
• Will Greater Vision’s tenor change help or hurt them in the Favorite Artist and Favorite Trio categories?

Let’s wait to post our final guesses as to who will win until we’re closer to the Fan Awards, for the decidedly prosaic reason that the post will be easier to find to compare our guesses with the results.

Singing News has posted the top 5 nominees in the 2008 Fan Awards. I am posting the top 10, displaying the top 5 winners in bold, so that it can be clearly seen who did and did not advance to the final five.

Let’s save guessing the winners until the final ballot comes out; enough could change in two months that it could substantially impact the choice of winners.

Favorite Artist of the Year
Booth Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gold City
Greater Vision
Inspirations
Legacy Five
Parker, Ivan
Perrys
Triumphant Qt
Wolfe, Gerald

Mixed Group
Browns
Collingsworth Family
Diplomats
Freemans
Hayes Family
Hoppers
Isaacs
Lesters
McKameys
Perrys

Male Quartet
Brian Free & Assurance
Dove Brothers
Down East Boys
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
Gold City
Inspirations
Kingdom Heirs
Legacy Five
Triumphant Quartet

Trio
Booth Brothers
Greater Vision
Greenes
Jeff & Sheri Easter
Karen Peck & New River
Mark Trammell Trio
Pfeifers
Poet Voices
Talley Trio
Whisnants

Soloist
Bishop, Mark
Combs, Michael
Crabb, Jason
Ford, Larry
Lee, Cricket
Lowry, Mark
Mote, Gordon
Parker, Ivan
Parsons, Squire
Paschal, Janet

Male Singer
Bishop, Mark Soloist
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Parker, Ivan Soloist
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Female Singer
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Paschal, Janet Soloist
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Horizon Individual
Barker, Pat Dixie Echoes
Browder, Matthew Browders
Crist, Breana Crist Family
Crist, Jackie Crist Family
King, Sharron Kay Soloist
Kitson, Jacob Tribute Qt
LeFevre, Jordan LeFevre Qt
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
Paschal, Daryl Down East Boys
Rivers, Justin Austins Bridge

Horizon Group
Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Austins Bridge
Browders
Crabb Revival
Crist Family
Old Paths
Shiloh
Soul’d Out Qt
Spoken 4 Qt
Tribute Qt

Young Artist
Fortner, Eli McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Holt, Matthew Perrys
McGlamery, Devin Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Simpson, Josh Gold City
Sweatman, Dustin Mark Trammell Trio
Thompson, Amber Nelons
Trammell, Nick Perrys

Tenor
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Haase, Ernie Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Hodges, Billy Kingdom Heirs
Ladd, Steve Gold City
Martin, Jerry Dove Brothers
Seamans, Frank Legacy Five
Sutton, David Triumphant Quartet
Waldroup, Jason Greater Vision
Watkins, Archie Inspirations

Lead
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Dove, McCray Dove Brothers
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Inman, Clayton Triumphant Quartet
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Shivers, Bill Brian Free & Assurance
Wilburn, Jonathan Gold City
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Baritone
Anderson, Doug Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Brady, Jim Booth Brothers
Campbell, Melton Inspirations
Dove, Eric Dove Brothers
French, Steve Kingdom Heirs
Griffin, Rodney Greater Vision
Howard, Scott Legacy Five
Inman, Scott Triumphant Quartet
Selph, Derrick Brian Free & Assurance
Trammell, Mark Mark Trammell Trio

Bass
Bennett, Eric Triumphant Quartet
Chapman, Jeff Kingdom Heirs
Duncan, Tim Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Dustin, Glenn Legacy Five
Hester, David Dove Brothers
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
McCune, Aaron Gold City
Reese, Ray Dean Kingsmen
Stuffle, Tracy Perrys

Soprano
Brown, Jessica Browns
Crabb, Amanda Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Fortner, Connie McKameys
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Greene, TaRanda Greenes
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Isaacs, Sonya Isaacs
Ritchie, Charlotte Jeff & Sheri Easter
Starkel, Tami Crist Crist Family
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio

Alto
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Brown, Michaela Browns
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Hopper, Connie Hoppers
Jackson, Susan Peck Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Musician
Collingsworth, Kim Collingsworth Family
Cook, Martin Inspirations
Fortner, Roger McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Holt, Matthew Perrys
Murphy, Dennis Kingdom Heirs
Ollis, Eric Whisnants
Parton, Tim Legacy Five
Stice, Jeff Triumphant Qt
Varnado, Stewart Dixie Echoes

Songwriter
Atkinson, Ricky
Bishop, Mark
Brady, Jim
Crabb, Gerald
Cross, Phil
Griffin, Rodney
Hinson, Ronny
Inman, Scott
Rowland, Kyla
Wilkinson, Dianne

Album
Carry On Booth Brothers
Everyday People Greater Vision
Know So Salvation Legacy Five
Look No Further Perrys
Never The Same Dove Brothers
Once Upon A Cross Mark Trammell Trio
Real Faith Brian Free & Assurance
Things Are Different Now Inspirations
True To The Call Kingdom Heirs
You Gotta Love It Triumphant Qt

This post is for the procrastinators. The voting in the second round of the 2008 Singing News Fan Awards closes in two days, on May 9. If you are a Singing News subscriber and have not yet voted, click here to view and cast your ballot. If you are not a Singing News subscriber, click here to subscribe. (Hat tip: I was reminded by an email that the Old Paths sent out.)

Out of curiosity, I went back to see which of the top 10 Albums of the Year I’d reviewed. It looks like I reviewed five. (I was thinking I had done a sixth, the Kingdom Heirs’ True to the Call, but it seems I didn’t review it.)

• Everyday People by Greater Vision
• Know So Salvation by Legacy Five
• Look No Further by the Perrys
• Once Upon A Cross by the Mark Trammell Trio
• You Gotta Love It by Triumphant Quartet

Now is also a good time to remind you to post your top 5 guesses, if you have not done so yet.

The winners of the 39th Annual Dove Awards were announced earlier this week. This list has most of the winners (though it omits the winner in the Southern Gospel Album of the Year category).

Gerald Wolfe did not win the overall Male Vocalist of the Year award, and Signature Sound did not win the overall Group of the Year Award. But they did pick up their first two Doves, in the Southern Gospel Album and Song categories.

In the Southern Gospel (and related) categories, winners include:

• Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Get Away Jordan, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (see here)
• Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year: “Get Away Jordan,” Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
• Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year: “He’s In Control,” Austin’s Bridge
• Inspirational Recorded Album of the Year: I Love to Tell the Story, Mark Lowry

BMI, one of the three major radio airplay charting organizations, announced its annual 2008 Christian Music Awards, recognizing the most played songs on Christian radio in 2007. Five songs recorded by several Southern Gospel artists made the list:

ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY, EVERYTHING BUT TYPICAL
Adam Kohout
Tery Wilkins
Asheville Music Publishing
Chris White Music
Leah’s Heart Music
The Dove Brothers
Sonlite Records/Crossroads Music Group

GOD’S WORD
Dennis Murphy
Asheville Music Publishing
Chris White Music
Kingdom Heirs
Sonlite Records/Crossroads Music Group

OVER AND OVER
Belinda Lee Smith
Seventh Row Music
Jeff and Sheri Easter
Word Entertainment

PAID IN FULL (THROUGH JESUS, AMEN)
Rodney Griffin
Songs of Greater Vision
Greater Vision
Daywind Records/Daywind Music Group

SKY FULL OF ANGELS
Lisa Stewart Seals
Potter’s Daughter Music
TaRanda Greene
Daywind Records/Daywind Music Group

Avalon’s “Orphans of God” also made the list; though the Talley Trio covered the song, the song was listed under Avalon’s name.

The Singing News Fan Awards, inarguably Southern Gospel’s most prestigious awards, make no bones about their purpose; they do not claim to track the best in any category, or the most played songs, but simply fan favorites. From an airplay perspective, on the other hand, the BMI Christian Music awards actually mean something. BMI monitors all stations, not just select charting stations; though they might not track every instance a song is played, and though they’re only one of three airplay agencies, they use industry-standard tracking methods. And that a list of the airplay leaders in Christian music would include five Southern Gospel songs says something toward the continued vitality of the genre.

Yesterday, Singing News posted their top 10 Fan Awards ballot online. The link might only work for logged-in subscribers.

This move could have long-lasting implications. This could lead to a higher percentage of Singing News subscribers voting, and could also lead to a higher percentage of young readers voting. It could just be my experience, but younger people seem to be more likely  to go forward with something if it involves filling out a web form rather than addressing and stamping an envelope.

Of course, long-term, Singing News could save out on a massive amount of printing and tabulation costs if they moved the poll to be web-only. This would almost certainly hurt the Fan Awards strength of more traditional groups like the Inspirations and the McKameys.

The Diamond Awards Top 10 Ballot has been posted online here. I did not vote in all categories, since in several categories 7-10 of the nominees were names I was unfamiliar with. In the categories I did vote for, here are my picks:

• Living Legend: Ed O’Neal
• Group: The Perrys
• Trio: Greater Vision
• Soloist: Mark Bishop
• Male Vocalist: Brian Free (I decided to think outside my usual box for this vote and my next…)
• Female Vocalist: Susan Whisnant
• Songwriter: Wayne Haun
• Instrumentalist: For me, it was a toss-up between Stewart Varnado and Kim Collingsworth, and I’ll keep quiet as to which I picked
• Comedian: Tim Lovelace
• Bluegrass Artist: Chuck Wagon Gang (though why they were in this category beats me)
• Favorite Artist Website: Karen Peck and New River
• Favorite Industry Website: Singing News
• Song of the Year, Album of the Year: no votes cast

The top 10 nominees are in, and the ballot for the top 5 is in this month’s issue of Singing News. Who do you think will make it into the top 5?

Here are the nominees:

Favorite Artist of the Year
Booth Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gold City
Greater Vision
Inspirations
Legacy Five
Parker, Ivan
Perrys
Triumphant Qt
Wolfe, Gerald

Mixed Group
Browns
Collingsworth Family
Diplomats
Freemans
Hayes Family
Hoppers
Isaacs
Lesters
McKameys
Perrys

Male Quartet
Brian Free & Assurance
Dove Brothers
Down East Boys
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
Gold City
Inspirations
Kingdom Heirs
Legacy Five
Triumphant Quartet

Trio
Booth Brothers
Greater Vision
Greenes
Jeff & Sheri Easter
Karen Peck & New River
Mark Trammell Trio
Pfeifers
Poet Voices
Talley Trio
Whisnants

Soloist
Bishop, Mark
Combs, Michael
Crabb, Jason
Ford, Larry
Lee, Cricket
Lowry, Mark
Mote, Gordon
Parker, Ivan
Parsons, Squire
Paschal, Janet

Male Singer
Bishop, Mark Soloist
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Parker, Ivan Soloist
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Female Singer
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Paschal, Janet Soloist
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Horizon Individual
Barker, Pat Dixie Echoes
Browder, Matthew Browders
Crist, Breana Crist Family
Crist, Jackie Crist Family
King, Sharron Kay Soloist
Kitson, Jacob Tribute Qt
LeFevre, Jordan LeFevre Qt
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
Paschal, Daryl Down East Boys
Rivers, Justin Austins Bridge

Horizon Group
Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Austins Bridge
Browders
Crabb Revival
Crist Family
Old Paths
Shiloh
Soul’d Out Qt
Spoken 4 Qt
Tribute Qt

Young Artist
Fortner, Eli McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Holt, Matthew Perrys
McGlamery, Devin Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Simpson, Josh Gold City
Sweatman, Dustin Mark Trammell Trio
Thompson, Amber Nelons
Trammell, Nick Perrys

Tenor
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Haase, Ernie Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Hodges, Billy Kingdom Heirs
Ladd, Steve Gold City
Martin, Jerry Dove Brothers
Seamans, Frank Legacy Five
Sutton, David Triumphant Quartet
Waldroup, Jason Greater Vision
Watkins, Archie Inspirations

Lead
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Dove, McCray Dove Brothers
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Inman, Clayton Triumphant Quartet
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Shivers, Bill Brian Free & Assurance
Wilburn, Jonathan Gold City
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Baritone
Anderson, Doug Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Brady, Jim Booth Brothers
Campbell, Melton Inspirations
Dove, Eric Dove Brothers
French, Steve Kingdom Heirs
Griffin, Rodney Greater Vision
Howard, Scott Legacy Five
Inman, Scott Triumphant Quartet
Selph, Derrick Brian Free & Assurance
Trammell, Mark Mark Trammell Trio

Bass
Bennett, Eric Triumphant Quartet
Chapman, Jeff Kingdom Heirs
Duncan, Tim Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Dustin, Glenn Legacy Five
Hester, David Dove Brothers
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
McCune, Aaron Gold City
Reese, Ray Dean Kingsmen
Stuffle, Tracy Perrys

Soprano
Brown, Jessica Browns
Crabb, Amanda Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Fortner, Connie McKameys
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Greene, TaRanda Greenes
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Isaacs, Sonya Isaacs
Ritchie, Charlotte Jeff & Sheri Easter
Starkel, Tami Crist Crist Family
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio

Alto
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Brown, Michaela Browns
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Hopper, Connie Hoppers
Jackson, Susan Peck Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Musician
Collingsworth, Kim Collingsworth Family
Cook, Martin Inspirations
Fortner, Roger McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Holt, Matthew Perrys
Murphy, Dennis Kingdom Heirs
Ollis, Eric Whisnants
Parton, Tim Legacy Five
Stice, Jeff Triumphant Qt
Varnado, Stewart Dixie Echoes

Songwriter
Atkinson, Ricky
Bishop, Mark
Brady, Jim
Crabb, Gerald
Cross, Phil
Griffin, Rodney
Hinson, Ronny
Inman, Scott
Rowland, Kyla
Wilkinson, Dianne

Album
Carry On Booth Brothers
Everyday People Greater Vision
Know So Salvation Legacy Five
Look No Further Perrys
Never The Same Dove Brothers
Once Upon A Cross Mark Trammell Trio
Real Faith Brian Free & Assurance
Things Are Different Now Inspirations
True To The Call Kingdom Heirs
You Gotta Love It Triumphant Qt

Several weeks ago, I promised an analysis of your guesses about who would get top 10 nominations in the Singing News Fan Awards. Examining the guesses, I did notice several interesting things.

• The most accurate guess (Toshiba) averaged 7.45 correct guesses per category. Interestingly enough, the least accurate was surprisingly high, too, at 6.05. The accuracy of the nine entries, in posting order, were 7.45, 7.3, 7.2, 7.05 (me), 7.3, 6.05, 6.55, 6.55, and 6.8. The average accuracy was just under 7 per category (6.92). Probably just about anyone who follows the industry closely can guess, on average, over half the nominees in each category. I was also surprised that all the guesses were within a 15% (1.5 guesses/category range), with most being within a 10% range (6.5-7.5).
• The most predictable category seems to be bass. Donna and I both guessed all ten nominees correctly, and all(!) the other posters correctly guessed nine of the ten, for an average of 9.22 correct guesses.
• The top ten most accurately guessed categories were Bass (9.22 average correct guesses), Male Quartet (8.67), Tenor (8.33), Lead (8.11), Trio (8.11), Mixed Group (7.78), Alto (7.78), Album (7.67), Baritone (7.56), and Female Singer (7.56).
• The five least accurately guessed categories were Horizon Individual (2.33), Soloist (5.11), Horizon Group (5.22), Soprano (5.78), and Song (5.78). Of course, with song, “I Can Pray” being disqualified took just about everyone’s guess down 1 point.
• Remarkable guesses: Donna and I guessed all 10 bass singers correctly, Seaton got a perfect score in the tenor category, and Donna also guessed all 10 male quartets correctly. (Not bad for a trio fan–a category in which she didn’t do too badly, either, guessing eight.)

It was a fascinating project, and thanks to all who provided guesses for the analysis.

When the top 10 Singing News Fan Awards Song of the Year nominees were posted, Crossroads executive Mickey Gamble was as surprised as anyone else to see that last year’s Dove Brothers hit song “I Can Pray” didn’t make the list.

Of course, there was a wide variety of opinions as to why this was the case. The more recent Dove Brothers’ hit “I’m Gonna Make It” could have split the votes. Or, everyone could have just assumed it would make the top 10 and nominated other songs, intending to return to “I Can Pray” in a later round. Or, the song’s support could have been an inch wide and a mile deep–i.e, not as many people as expected liked the song, but those who did liked it so much and talked about it so much that they made up for all the rest in buzz.

But it seems everyone overlooked the real reason. Even if more people nominated the song than any other, it appears to have been disqualified on a technicality. Whenever a song actually becomes a hit, it has to be released between April 1 of the preceding year and March 31 of the year in which the nominations take place. “I Can Pray” was sent to radio in January 2007, though it didn’t peak on the charts until spring/summer 2007.

In the future, it might make more sense if the rules were revised to allow songs which released and / or peaked on the charts during the eligibility period to be nominated. But in the end, this story does have a moral: Always read the fine print.