Platinum selling artist and worship leader Chris Tomlin was among the leaders in yesterday’s nominations taking home six nods including “Artist of the Year” and “Male Vocalist of the Year.” Tomlin’s “Our God,” found on both the double-nominated Passion: Awakening live album and his Nov. release of And If Our God Is For Us…, was recognized in both the “Song of the Year” and “Worship Song of the Year” categories. Tomlin is currently touring in support of his recently released And If Our God is For Us... project which ranked in at No. 17 on the Billboard Top 200 selling over 45,000 units in its first week.

sixstepsrecords’ live recording from Passion 2010, Passion: Awakening was presented with two nominations for “Special Event Album of the Year” and “Praise & Worship Album of the Year.” Passion: Awakening features the talents of sixstepsrecords’ artists Chris Tomlin, David Crowder*Band, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, Kristian Stanfill and others, all of whom received two nods with these nominations.

Fresh off the release of his sophomore album Mountains Move, Kristian Stanfill is among the nominees for “New Artist of the Year.” Stanfill’s newest debuted on Billboard’s Christian Soundscan chart at No. 3.

Charlie Hall was honored in the “Rock Contemporary Album of the Year” category. Hall’s critically acclaimed The Rising released in late September of 2010.

David Crowder*Band’s “SMS (Shine)” music video composed of over 700,000 LITE-BRITE ® pegs was among the nominees for “Short Form Video of the Year.” The music video also caught the eyes of The Today Show, Fox & Friends, Billboard, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and others whom featured the video in late 2010.

“Our small family at sixstepsrecords has a huge heart for making known the name of Jesus to our generation,” explains Shelley Giglio, Chief strategist for Passion Conferences / sixstepsrecords. “We are so incredibly humbled to be honored by the GMA and our friends and partners in ministry with these nominations. We pray we represent Jesus well in these songs...and more importantly with our lives.”

About sixstepsrecords:
Founded in 2000 by Louie Giglio, sixstepsrecords (www.sixstepsrecords.com) is a worship label and a division of Passion Conferences. sixstepsrecords’ artists include Chris Tomlin (And If Our God Is For Us…), David Crowder* Band (Church Music), Charlie Hall (The Rising), Matt Redman (We Shall Not Be Shaken), Christy Nockels (Life Light Up), Kristian Stanfill (Mountains Move) and Passion (Passion: Here For You). The label partners with Sparrow Records/EMI CMG Label Group for A&R, marketing, sales and distribution operations. www.sixstepsrecords.com

About The Passion Movement:
The Passion Movement and the messages of founder Louie Giglio have marked the lives of millions of people around the globe, calling people everywhere to live for the glory of God. Focused on the collegiate age group - yet spilling over to people of all ages - Passion exists to unite students for spiritual awakening in this generation. From its inception, the movement of Passion has birthed new anthems of worship, influencing countless churches and helping to define the current worship climate and establish artists Chris Tomlin, David Crowder*Band, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, Kristian Stanfill and Passion. For more information please visit http://www.268generation.com

About Chris Tomlin:
With seven records, ten No. 1 radio singles, four GRAMMY ® nominations, 16 Dove Awards, a platinum and two gold albums to his credit, Chris Tomlin is among the most well-known and influential artists in contemporary Christian music. Referred to by Time Magazine as “most likely the most often sung artist anywhere,” Tomlin also has 15 of the Top 100 CCLI songs with 4 of them being in the top 10. ASCAP’s 2007 Songwriter of the Year, Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God” was his first No. 1 on the CCLI Top 25, moving to No. 1 after becoming one of the fasting rising modern day hymns in CCLI chart history. In addition to having sold more than 3.1 million albums and over 3.7 million digital tracks, Tomlin made history as his single “Jesus Messiah” (Hello Love) garnered 97 adds at radio its first week and skyrocketed to No. 1, making it the biggest ever add date in Christian Radio history. Tomlin’s recently released And If Our God is For Us... ranked in at No. 17 on the Billboard Top 200 selling over 45,000 units in its first week. In this same week, his Christmas album, Glory in the Highest, was also No. 20 on the Billboard Top 200 giving Tomlin the rarity of having two albums in the Billboard Top 20 simultaneously. In the midst of his record breaking success, and continuing his role as worship leader at Passion City Church in Atlanta, GA, Tomlin continues touring and leading at Passion Conference gatherings across the US and worldwide. www.christomlin.com

About David Crowder*Band:
Named among the “most thoughtful, progressive and exciting acts in contemporary Christian music” by The New York Times, the popular yet unconventional David Crowder*Band released their latest GRAMMY ® nominated album Church Music in the fall which debuted at No. 1 on the Christian retail chart scanning over 35,000 units. This gave David Crowder*Band their largest street week to date ranking in at No. 11 on the Billboard Top 200. David Crowder*Band’s latest music video nabbed coverage on NBC’s The Today Show, Fox & Friends as well as USA Today, Billboard and Paste Magazine online. Along with the group’s 7 GMA Dove Awards and 20 nominations, the band was the first Christian artist to be named MSN.com’s Artist of the Year in 2006. Despite the success, David Crowder*Band makes it a point to get back to University Baptist Church on most Sundays, a church they helped found near the campus of Baylor University in Waco, TX. The band is also part of the Passion Movement, participating in university student gatherings in the US and around the world. The group’s leader David Crowder is further an acclaimed author, having penned two books, including his acclaimed, highly personal, Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, But Nobody Wants to Die: Or (The Eschatology of Bluegrass). www.davidcrowderband.com

About Charlie Hall:
Over the last decade, critically acclaimed artist Charlie Hall has become a renowned worship leader and a voice for the lost, the broken and the unlovely. Recipient for three consecutive years of the Worship Leader and Song Discovery’s Praise Award, Hall is back with a triumphant new record, The Rising, his fifth sixstepsrecords release, an album “about movement toward God and God’s movement toward us.” Featured on every Passion recording to date, the Dove Award winning artists’ unique sound and recognizable vocals draw crowds by the masses, while his songs such as “Give Us Clean Hands” and “Marvelous Light,” are sung in churches across the world and are on CCLI’s top 100 chart resonating with those in and outside the church. When Hall is not touring around the world performing in front of thousands at Passion conferences, he is found spending time with his family and band in Oklahoma City. www.charliehall.com.

About Matt Redman:
Matt Redman’s songwriting is synonymous with integrity and continues to impact churches around the world. Leading a generation of worshipers, his songs have been recorded by Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, David Crowder*Band, Rebecca St. James, Tree 63, Kutless and Passion among others. A key songwriter for today’s church, Redman garnered a 2006 GMA Dove award for “Praise & Worship Album of the Year” (Blessed Be Your Name The Songs of Matt Redman Vol. 1). Redman's seventh album, We Shall Not Be Shaken, released in August of 2009. He also received a GRAMMY ® nomination for “Our God” in 2011. www.mattredman.com

About Christy Nockels:
One of Christian music’s most recognizable and prolific female voices, Christy Nockels released her sixstepsrecords debut, Life Light Up, in June of 2009. Former member of celebrated vocal duo Watermark and perennial “Female Vocalist of the Year” Dove Award nominee, Oklahoma native Nockels began writing and leading worship music with her husband, Nathan, in 1995. Nockels has been leading worship with the Passion movement for the past 12 years. www.christynockels.com

About Kristian Stanfill:
The newest member of sixstepsrecords Kristian Stanfill has been heard at Passion conferences around the world leading worship, performing in front of thousands, and opening for one of the most popular artists in the industry, Chris Tomlin. He introduced listeners to his music with his 2009 debut of Attention, which received critical acclaim from critics across the board. This year he teamed up with award-winning songwriter Jason Ingram and Rusty Varenkamp to release his sophomore album Mountains Move, available nationwide. Stanfill currently lives in Atlanta where he serves as the worship leader for Louie Giglio’s Passion City Church. www.kristianstanfill.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. 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