“It is such an incredible honor to be nominated and I'm so thankful for the hundreds of blessings that have come into my life this year," shares Battistelli. "And to hear the great news in Atlanta surrounded by family and friends makes it even more special."

The 42nd Annual Dove Awards show will be taped live at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA, on April 20th and broadcast on The Gospel Music Channel (GMC) on Sunday, April 24th at 8:00 p.m. EST.

And the nods keep on coming, as Battistelli is also up for the fan-voted About.com’s Readers’ Choice Awards in the Best Female Vocalist category for Christian Music/Gospel. Voting is now open and will continue through midnight March 8. About.com will announce the winner on March 15. To cast your vote, please visit: http://christianmusic.about.com/od/ReadersChoice/tp/2011-Readers-Choice-Awards.htm

Battistelli’s new single “This Is The Stuff” is already a Top 5 smash at radio and is the perfect introduction to an album that takes the treasures of her debut My Paper Heart one-step further. Working with producer Ian Eskelin, she has crafted a CD that is every bit as hooky and infectious as its predecessor but whose subject matter, as befitting a young woman whose life has changed so dramatically, addresses a wider spectrum of the human experience.

My Paper Heart released to rave reviews and has since earned Battistelli a Grammy nomination (Best Gospel Song Performance), 2 Dove Awards and 11 Dove Award nominations in a two-year period. Her debut delivered the smash No. 1 single “Free To Be Me” and hit singles “It’s Your Life,” “I’m Letting Go” and “Beautiful, Beautiful.” With over 400,000 copies sold and well over 840,000 downloads to date, Battistelli has become the best-selling new artist in the genre in the past eight years. Her music has also been featured on Jon & Kate Plus 8, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, and several other television and movie outlets.

For additional information on Francesca Battistelli and her upcoming album release, tour and media appearances, please visit www.FrancescaMusic.com.

For more info on Francesca Battistelli, visit the JFH Artists Database.