2008 Dove Award Predictions
The editor takes his yearly stab at predicting the nominees for the 2008 GMA Music (Dove) Awards. It looks to be a pretty predictable and ho-hum year according to Chris. Is he thinking clearly this year, or is he totally off his rocker? We’ll let you be the judge! Check out who he thinks will have the best year at the upcoming Dove Awards. Nominees will be announced on February 14, 2008, and the awards program will take place on April 23, 2008 in Nashville, TN.
SONG OF THE YEAR |
*NOTE - Song of the Year goes to the SONGWRITER, not the ARTIST. Artists are listed for easier recognition of songs.
Most Likely to be Nominated:
"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" - Chris Tomlin
"Bring the Rain" - MercyMe
"By His Wounds" - Glory Revealed project
"East to West" - Casting Crowns
"Give You Glory" - Jeremy Camp
"How Can I Keep From Singing" - Chris Tomlin
"I'm Not Who I Was" - Brandon Heath
"In Better Hands" - Natalie Grant
"Made to Love" - tobyMac
"Undo" - Rush of Fools
Other Possibilities: "Does Anybody Hear Her" (Casting Crowns), "Give Me Words to Speak" (Aaron Shust), "Every Time I Breathe" (Big Daddy Weave), "Everlasting God" (Lincoln Brewster), "Something Beautiful" (Newsboys), "Love the Lord" (Lincoln Brewster), "You Alone" (Echoing Angels), "Only the World" (Mandisa), "Tunnel" (Third Day)
Who Should Be Nominated? "When the Saints" (Sara Groves),
"Tears of the Saints" (Leeland), "Still Calls Me Son" (John Waller), "Say This Sooner" (The Almost.)
Commentary - Again - this is another year where the nominees are just really hard to predict - other than a few obvious choices from Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, and Rush of Fools. If "Tears of the Saints" can pull out a nomination, I will be shocked, but pleasantly shocked. |
ARTIST OF THE YEAR |
Most Likely to be Nominated:
Casting Crowns
Mandisa
MercyMe
tobyMac
Chris Tomlin
Other Possibilities: Natalie Grant, Switchfoot, Jeremy Camp, Third Day, Kirk Franklin, David Crowder Band, Mat Kearney
Who Should Be Nominated? Sara Groves, Chris Rice, Needtobreathe, The Almost.
Commentary - How said is it that I had trouble coming up with 5 nominees here? It's not that there aren't five deserving names - just there aren't five deserving names that the GMA would pick. After releasing a horrible CD this year - Casting Crowns should have no problem winning this again. |
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR |
Most Likely to be Nominated:
Jeremy Camp
Mark Hall (Casting Crowns)
Brandon Heath
Aaron Shust
Chris Tomlin
Other Possibilities: Mac Powell (Third Day), Matthew West, Bart Millard (MercyMe), Mark Harris, tobyMac, David Crowder, Lincoln Brewster
Who Should Be Nominated? Chris Rice, Phil Wickham, Nate Sallie, Mike Farris, Jon McLaughlin, John Waller
Commentary - This was the year of the group - and being so - it was hard to come up with a list of soloists who were likely to get nominated. Shust will still be living off of the success of 2006, and Heath had a tremendous year on radio in 2007. Lincoln Brewster could sneak into this category after the year that he had at radio as well. |
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR |
Most Likely to be Nominated:
Bethany Dillon
Natalie Grant
Mandisa
Nicole C. Mullen
Krystal Meyers
Other Possibilities: Plumb, Jessie Daniels, Nichole Nordeman, Britt Nicole, Sara Groves
Commentary - This category is again an extremely weak one this year. Women have really lost a lot of steam of the last couple of years - and if you're not Natalie Grant - you're gonna struggle to get your voice heard. Natalie stands a good shot of losing the award this year to Mandisa - who was by far the most successful female artist of the year. |
GROUP OF THE YEAR |
Most Likely to be Nominated:
BarlowGirl
Casting Crowns
David Crowder Band
MercyMe
Newsboys
Other Possibilities: Switchfoot, Sanctus Real, Jars of Clay, Building 429, Rush of Fools, Third Day, Leeland
Who Should Be Nominated? Relient K, Robbie Seay Band, Needtobreathe, The Almost., Booth Brothers
Commentary - It just makes me sad to even predict these awards anymore - because they are just getting more and more predictable. BarlowGirl, Casting Crowns, and Newsboys deserve to be nowhere near this category - but unfortunately are locks. Such a boring category. |
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR |
Most Likely to be Nominated:
Brandon Heath
Jackson Waters
Mandisa
Britt Nicole
Rush of Fools
Other Possibilities: Echoing Angels, John Waller, 33Miles
Who Should Be Nominated? The Almost., Mike Farris, Jon McLaughlin
Commentary - This was a fairly easy category to predict. Heath is grandfathered in from last year since he hasn't released a new album. Mandisa, Britt Nicole and Rush of Fools are very easy predictions considering their success this year. Jackson Waters is Word's representation, and since they didn't have a very high profile new artist this year - they seem the logical choice. Mandisa is the obvious winner here. |
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