For our 6th annual Highlighting feature, we're doing things a little differently. Normally, we select our top 25 most anticipated releases for the whole year, but we realize that it's tough to really gauge EVERYTHING that may release throughout a given year when we're making the list in January. So, for 2012, we're splitting the year into TWO pieces -- January to June and July to December (Click here for Part 2). Also, we're making each list 15 artists/releases for a total of 30 in 2012. So, without further ado, we give you Highlighting First-Half 2012!

	10 of 15   #10. Dave Barnes Stories To Tell Release Date: March 13, 2012 It's hard not to love Dave Barnes' fresh and fun approach to bluesy songwriter pop. His 2010 record What We Want, What We Get finally brought him a little more well-deserved attention, and country star Blake Shelton covering his song "God Gave Me You" last year hasn't hurt either. I am definitely looking forward to what's next in his career, including his new album arriving in March.         - Jen Rose 2010 was a great year for Dave Barnes, releasing both What We Want, What We Get and a Christmas album in the same year, both of which being his most accomplished albums to date. Barnes has the buzz flowing and the fanbase that's ready and willing to listen; we're ready for some southern hospitality from the singer/songwriter this March.         - Roger Gelwicks What We Want, What We Get was a delightful acoustic pop album that deserved much more recognition than it garnered. Ironically, the album's standout single "God Gave Me You" went on to be covered by country singer Blake Shelton, garnering a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. Frankly, the original version by Barnes is far superior to Shelton's, and hopefully Barnes will start to make a bigger impact in the mainstream with this upcoming album.         - Timothy Estabrooks Dave Barnes is one of the most talented, yet criminally underrated singer songwriters out there today. Many vocalists try too hard, trying to sound like everyone else, but Barnes takes the road less traveled. Instead, he crafts pop songs the way they should be made and waits for success to come to him. If his previous work is any indication, it won't be long.         - John "Flip" Choquette Visit our Dave Barnes page for more information about them... 2012 Countdown: 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 ©January, 2012 Jesusfreakhideout.com