I have to admit that when New Release Tuesday guru Kevin McNeese told me he was headed to Nashville for GMA Week, Press Credentials in hand, I was pretty jealous. For a couple of reasons.

One reason is that Nashville (pictured left) is a really neat city to visit. My wife Helene loves to run the Music City Marathon, and whenever she does it makes for a wonderful "mini vacation" for me. Am I a runner? No way. But the opportunity to be with my wife when she competes is always fulfilling since I get to provide moral support, and it's just pure fact that the Music City Marathon is one of the more "fun" marathons in the United States. Live music every mile or so is a great plus, and the race begins not far from the center of the Christian music industry in Nashville. It ends downtown at the football stadium, and the reception given each runner as they cross the finish line is really great!

Another reason is that GMA Week is a whole series of activities involving the Christian music family. The one that most remember more than the others is the presentation of trophies, known as the Doves. This was the 37th Annual GMA Music Awards, and by coincidence, there were 37 different artists that received awards in the 42 categories.

Out of those 37 different categories, the vast majority of CCM fans are interested in only seven, known as the "overall" categories. The "biggies", if you will. Which brings me to the artist I was watching more closely than any others, Natalie Grant. The young lady with the incredible voice had been nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year three previous times, and finally, the fourth time apparently did the trick.

In all, Natalie Grant was nominated for Dove Awards in seven different categories. Throw enough stuff on the wall, and some of it will stick, I guess. In addition to taking home the Female Vocalist of the Year, she had a great deal to do with the Dove award that went to Christa Wells for Songwriter of the Year. He song, "Held", was recorded by Grant on her album Awaken, and "Held" as a single spent a great deal of time as the number one Christian single in the country. It also got a great deal of play in the secular market as well, and Awaken turned out to be one of the top selling albums last year for a female vocalist.

I've seen Grant a number of times in concert, and she really does have an amazing voice. Perhaps now people will stop confusing her with another Grant that has also done very well in the Christian recording field. That, of course, being Amy.

A couple of weeks ago I labored long and hard on how AC (adult contemporary) Christian music is being put on the back burner in favor of the harder music that seems to sell much better than AC. If there is an indication that there is still hope for fans of AC, as well as Praise & Worship, it's the fact that Chris Tomlin was the big winner, taking home five Dove Awards. He came close to the year when Nichole Nordeman took home seven Doves. Tomlin's producer, Ed Cash took home four Doves on his own, bring the total for the Tomlin/Cash duo to a whopping nine.

Tomlin was named Artist of the Year, as well as Male Vocalist of the Year. He also received Doves for Song of the Year ("How Great is Our God"), and that same song was named Worship Song of the Year. His fifth came in the category of Special Event Album, where Tomlin was one of a number of artists in the CD titled Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia.

Gone are the days of Jaci Velasquez being a "given" in the Spanish Language Album category. And as I mentioned in my last piece for NRT, the fact that an album of Velasquez's greatest hits is being released by Sony is a pretty good indication that her career is about over. I hate to see it, since she was one of my personal favorites.

Also gone are the days of cute female artists being a "given" in the New Artist of the Year category. This year the Dove went to The Afters, which is another indication that AC music is on the way down, and in-your-face rock is becoming a major player. The Group of the Year, by the way, was Casting Crowns. Their album Lifesong, sold huge last year.

In the Rock category, the top Rock/Contemporary award went to the David Crowder Band's A Collision. Crowder may be the one exception to the rule that rock is not what I want to hear. The recent concert of his that I attended in Dallas proved that.

I felt, and stated publicly, that Sara Groves absence from any of the major nominations was a grave injustice. I had hoped she would at least receive the Dove for Recorded Music Packaging, but that didn't happen either. It went to Redemption Songs (a Jars of Clay project), and I don't think I'll understand that no matter how much time I spent trying to figure it out.

One other "good guy" comes to mind in the list of Dove Award winners, and that's Matt Redman. The gifted artist took home the award for the Praise & Worship Album titled Blessed Be Your Name The Songs of Matt Redman Vol. 1.

Another big surprise of the event was a special presentation to Steven Curtis Chapman for his 50th Dove Award as part of the Special Event Album of the Year. Speaking of "Old Timers", Amy Grant was awarded a Dove as part of a tie in the Inspirational Album category, but the fact of the matter is that without Chapman and Grant on the CCM scene, Christian music wouldn't be what it is today.

Unfortunately, fans of CCM are only getting to see the award presentation beginning this weekend, even though it took place almost two weeks ago. It will be on syndicated television through May 21, and one of the highlights is the live performance of Natalie Grant singing "Held". Way to go, Natalie! You worked hard for it, and you earned it! Now enjoy it!