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The Gospel Music Association announced the performers for the 37th Annual GMA Music Awards last week. To be held on April 5 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, the event will feature performances by all the top nominees, including Chris Tomlin, Israel & New Breed, Kutless, and Third Day. Also performing will be hosts Kirk Franklin and Rebecca St. James, plus BarlowGirl, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Mark Schultz, Martha Munizzi, Natalie Grant, Sawyer Brown, and The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. The ceremony will also include a special acoustic performance bringing together the talents of Jeremy Camp, David Crowder, Mark Hall (Casting Crowns), and Mac Powell (Third Day).

In other GMA Music Awards news, the GMA announced the final list of nominees for the Songwriter of the Year category. Hall, GMA's current songwriting champion, received a nomination for writing "Voice of Truth" and "Lifesong." Powell in turn earned recognition for co-writing the moving "Cry Out to Jesus" with his friends in Third Day. Up-and-coming worship leader Laura Story gets her first Song of the Year nom for penning "Indescribable" for Tomlin, who received a nod of his own for co-writing "Holy Is the Lord" and "How Great Is Our God." The last nomination goes to Christa Wells, the songwriter responsible for authoring Natalie Grant's pop hit, "Held."

Spiritual songs nabbed key nominations for this year's CMT Music Awards, set to air live on April 10 on the popular country music network. American Idol winner Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel" received nods for female video of the year, breakthrough video, and inspiring video. Meanwhile, Brooks & Dunn's "Believe" garnered mentions in the video of the year, group/duo video, and inspiring video categories. And Brad Paisley's collaboration with Dolly Parton, "When I Get Where I'm Going," is up for collaborative video, inspiring video, and best director.

Switchfoot recently participated in an all-star concert to benefit "A Place Called Home" and to salute the legendary Les Paul at his 90th birthday bash at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Playing alongside greats like Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Buddy Guy, Joe Perry, and Joe Satriani, among others, the charity event has been called one of the world's greatest gatherings of guitarists. In other news, "Stars" from the band's second Columbia release, Nothing Is Sound, will be featured on Nick Records/SONY BMG Strategic Marketing Group's Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice, a compilation CD releasing March 14 featuring recent favorites from today's hottest teen and tween superstars.

Bob the Tomato sings … Keith Green? Big Idea will be making available its first ever radio single, "You Put This Love in My Heart," a cover of the Green classic, to adult contemporary and hit radio stations nationwide starting March 24. Featuring beloved Veggie characters Larry the Cucumber, Jimmy Gourd, Junior Asparagus, and Mr. Lunt—collectively known as Boyz in the Sink—the single is lifted from Veggie Tales: Worship Songs, a collection of praise choruses done in the vegetables' trademark silly style.

In a joint venture with DarkChild Gospel and Integrity Music, gospel/pop trio Virtue will be releasing its long awaited fourth album, Testimony, to stores on June 20. The group's last album, Free, was issued in 2003. DarkChild Gospel is the Christian music subsidiary of DarkChild Entertainment, a production company that has made hits for the likes of Destiny's Child, Michael Jackson, Whitney House, and Toni Braxton, among others.

Last week, the Christian Music Trade Association issued official resolutions to the FCC and the Commerce and Judiciary Committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, urging their support in recognizing the importance of protecting music transmitted over digital broadcast radio. The resolutions specifically petition for the advancement of HR 4861, a bill that would grant the FCC limited authority to protect digital audio broadcasts from illegal copying and redistribution over digital networks. "With new recording devices capable of recording satellite radio broadcasts and digital broadcasts from terrestrial radio stations, we are concerned that further damage will be inflicted on copyright owners and in turn … [those] employed in gospel music," said John W. Styll, president of the CMTA. The CMTA is a sister organization to the GMA that specifically represent the interests of record companies.

© Andree Farias, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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