Last year he took home the award of the evening, “Artist of the Year” and this year, TobyMac is nominated once again for the same award. In addition, his latest GRAMMY ® nominated album TONIGHT that iTunes ® called “Best Christian Album of 2010,” is nominated for “Best Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year” and the title-track is nominated for “Best Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year.” His hit single “Get Back Up” is in the running for “Song of the Year” and “Best Pop/Contemporary Song” and “Showstopper” is up for “Best Rock Recorded Song.”

Worship leader Chris Tomlin is also recognized for “Artist of the Year” and “Male Vocalist of the Year.” His GRAMMY ® nominated NO. 1 AC song “Our God” received dual nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Worship Song of the Year.” Friend and labelmate Matt Redman, also received two nominations as co-writer of the song. It was Tomlin’s participation in Passion: Awakening that garnered him two more nominations in the “Praise & Worship Album of the Year” and “Special Event Album of the Year” categories.

Hillsong Music is up for five awards this year. Hillsong Live’s A Beautiful Exchange is nominated for both “Praise & Worship Album of the Year” and “Long Form Music Video of the Year.” Also from the same album, their song “Greatness of Our God” by Reuben Morgan, is a contender for “Worship Song of the Year.” Hillsong is also in the running for “Spanish Language Album of the Year” for Con Todo. In addition they also received two more nods for Passion: Awakening.

Sparrow Records’ Sanctus Real’s first AC No.1 song, “Lead Me,” which spent 9 weeks at No. 1 beginning Aug. 31 and is still Top 10 on the chart today, is a candidate for “Song of the Year” as well as “Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.” The hit track received the first-ever song endorsements from Focus on the Family and FamilyLife, and is featured on the GRAMMY-nominated Pieces Of A Real Heart, which is up for “Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year.”

Christian music’s best-selling new artist of 2010 Audrey Assad released her debut album The House Your Building earlier last year, and is welcomed by the Gospel Music Association with her first two honors for “Best New Artist” and “Female Vocalist of the Year.”

Kristian Stanfill, the newest member of sixstepsrecords, garnered his first nomination as a solo artist for “New Artist of the Year.” Stanfill recently released Mountains Move, which debuted on Billboard’s Christian Soundscan chart at No. 3 and delivered rave reviews.

Also up for “Special Event Album of the Year’ is sixstepsrecords’ live recording from Passion 2010, Passion: Awakening, which also garnered an additional nomination for “Praise & Worship Album of the Year.” Passion: Awakening features Worship Leaders Chris Tomlin, David Crowder*Band, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, Kristian Stanfill and Hillsong United, all of whom each received two nods with these nominations.

David Crowder*Band’s popular music video for “SMS (SHINE),” which was created with over 700,000 lite-brite pegs and was seen on The Today Show, Entertainment Weekly, and more, was also nominated for “Short Form Video of the Year.”

Labelmate Charlie Hall received another nod for “Rock Contemporary Album of the Year” for his 2010 release The Rising. The album debuted at No. 14 on the Top Contemporary Christian Overall chart.

Additionally, after receiving their first GRAMMY ® Award this month, Switchfoot were recognized in two categories for their latest album Hello Hurricane, which bowed at No. 13 on The Billboard 200 and launched the band onto all the major late night network shows while gathering acclaim from Rolling Stone, Paste, Alternative Press, Relevant and many more. The deluxe edition received a nod for “Recorded Music Packaging” and the Top 10 Modern Rock hit song inspired by civil rights activist John M. Perkins, “The Sound (John M Perkins Blues),” is nominated for “Rock Recorded Song of the Year.”

Britt Nicole nabbed her first Dove nomination for “Female Vocalist of the Year.” Britt released her sophomore project The Lost Get Found back in August of 2009 and the title-track rocketed to No. 1 on the Radio & Records CHR chart, spending eight consecutive weeks in the top position while climbing to No. 1 on iTunes’ Christian/Gospel Top Songs chart as well.

GRAMMY® nominated singer/songwriter Matthew West garnered a nod for “Best Short Form Video” for his powerful hit “My Own Little World,” from his latest album, The Story of Your Life. The album was inspired by 10,000 stories from every state in the U.S. and 20 countries and gave West the largest street week debut of his career selling over 10,000 units the first week landing at No. 3 on Christian Soundscan, and No. 41 on the Billboard Top 200.

Amy Grant's most recent top 10 radio hit, "Better Than A Hallelujah" from her latest release, Somewhere Down The Road, grabbed a nomination for "Best Short Form Video".

Credential Recordings’ Future of Forestry received a nomination for “Rock Album of the Year,” for Travel III, and Patty Griffin was presented with a nod for “Inspirational Album of the Year,” for her latest Downtown Church.

To see a full list of nominees for the 42nd Annual Dove Awards, please go to www.doveawards.com.

About EMI CMG Label Group:
Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI CMG Label Group is comprised of Sparrow Records, Forefront Records, and Credential Recordings, in addition to providing A&R and marketing support for sixstepsrecords via a joint venture and licensing partnership. In 2010, EMI CMG Label Group welcomed Hillsong Music which includes Hillsong UNITED and Hillsong Live. Balancing freedom, discipline, creativity, profitability and ministry, EMI CMG Label Group strives for excellence in artist development. The Label Group is a division of EMI Christian Music Group. For further information, please visit www.emicmg.com.