Grammy nods feature well-known Christian bands

The Grammy nominations are in, and your favorite top Christian artists have earned nods from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In the Best Rock/Gospel category newcomer Sarah Kelly for Take Me Away; Skillet for Collide; Tait for Lose This Life; Third Day for Wire; TobyMac for Welcome to Diverse City; and Taking the Gospel to the Streets with various artists. Randy Travis garnered a nomination for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album with Worship & Faith.

The 47th Annual Grammy Awards will originate from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and the show will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. Feb. 13.

For a complete listing of nominations, visit grammy.com/awards/grammy/47noms.aspx

Brian Littrell, one of the five members of pop super-group Backstreet Boys, has signed a deal with Provident Label Group’s Reunion Records.

“I’ve been a born-again Christian since I was 8 years old and I’ve known for a very long time that this has been my calling,” he said. “I hope to reach listeners in this arena and continue to let Backstreet Boys fans know that it’s OK to stand for what you believe in. If I can do something that opens doors and benefits lives in some way, I hope to be able to do that.”

Littrell’s album is scheduled for release to Christian and general market retail next fall.

Worship Leader magazine has announced the 2004 nominees for its 4th Annual Praise Awards. The awards honor outstanding achievement in six key categories: Best Praise and Worship Song; Best Worship Project; Best Scripture Song; Best Compilation; Best Urban or Gospel Project and 2004 Breakthrough Artist.

Winners will be announced in the magazine’s March/April issue. Cast your vote by visiting worshipleader.com or songdiscovery.com.

After 10 years, seven albums and millions of fans, renowned rock/ska band the O.C. Supertones is calling it quits.

“There were several reasons that factored into our decision,” the band explained in a letter to fans posted on its Web site. “Rest assured, however, that after much discussion and lots of prayer, we know this is the right path. Our end date is yet to be determined, but 2005 will be the Supertones’ last year together.”

Integrity Music and iWorship have donated $150,000 collected from recent Integrity Music events to Food for the Poor, the foremost international relief organization serving the poor in the Caribbean. The money will help build 72 homes in Jamaica.

Congratulations are in order for MercyMe’s Mike Scheuchzer and Bart Millard. Scheuchzer and his wife, Abby, celebrated the birth of their first child, Benjamin Michael, on Oct. 22, and Millard and his wife, Shannon, welcomed their second child, Gracie Ryan, on Nov. 4.

“Be My Escape,” the first single from Relient K’s latest album, mmhmm, grabbed the No. 1 spot on the Christian Rock radio charts for the week ending Dec. 5 This marks the first No. 1 radio single since the band debuted on Gotee in 2000. The mmhmm album has already sold more than 120,000 albums since its Nov. 2 release.

Look for Larnelle Harris all over your television this spring. The five-time Grammy and 11-time Dove Award winner will host several shows for Day of Discovery television, including “The Josiah Henson Story,” chronicling the life of the inspiration behind the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and “Pressing On,” featuring the music from the soon-to-be released compilation from Discovery House Music entitled Pressing On: Songs Inspired by the Journeys of the Apostle Paul.

ON THE ROAD
This February, Scott Krippayne joins Point of Grace along with Slanted Records artist Charity Von, for a 25-plus city I Choose You tour. Showcasing new songs from Gentle Revolution, the tour will hit major markets across the U.S., including Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and others.

Steven Curtis Chapman recently kicked off his “All Things New” nationwide tour with sold out or near-capacity crowds at almost every show, averaging 5,400 people a night. Sellouts were in Washington, D.C., Houston, Tyler, Minneapolis, Birmingham, Atlanta and Memphis. The Minneapolis and Houston shows each had more than 10,000 people in attendance, while the concert in Washington, D.C. was sold out for more than three weeks. The tour is scheduled to hit 40-plus cities this spring, and features songs from the new album as well as his hits from the past 17 years. The spring leg will begin Feb. 10 in Oklahoma City and close May 1 in Jacksonville, Fla.

NEW RELEASES
Apologetix, New and Used Hits: The Best of Apologetix in stores now

Various artists (CeCe Winans, Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, Michael McDonald, Take 6, Twinkie Clark, Kim Rutherford, Tommy Sims and more) The Pinnacle Project: Last Say So (Pinnacle Entertainment Group) Jan. 25

Various artists (CeCe Winans, Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, Michael McDonald, Take 6, Twinkie Clark, Kim Rutherford, Tommy Sims and more) The Pinnacle Project: BIG (Pinnacle Entertainment Group) Jan. 25.

Scott Krippayne Gentle Revolution (Spring Hill Music) Jan. 25.

Seventh Day Slumber Once Upon a Shattered Life (BEC Recordings) Feb. 1.

Various artists Bridges: Classical Hymns, Modern Worship (Waterfront Records) Feb. 1.

Stellar Kart All Gas, No Brake (Word) Feb. 15.

Out of Eden Hymns (Gotee) March 2005

Published by Keener Communications Group, January 2005

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