by Colleen Casner | Sep 22, 2014 | Opinion
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, the title of Worship Song of the Year will be awarded to one of five songs at the 45th Annual Dove Awards in Allen Arena. Because churchgoers praise God with these songs every Sunday, Worship Song of the Year is more personal than many of the other categories. Because worship songs are a way for Christians to express themselves to God, they are an extremely important part of Christian culture The nominees are as follows: “Future/Past” performed by John Mark McMillan, written by John Mark McMillan “Lord I Need You” performed by Matt Maher, written by Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Maher “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” performed by Hillsong United, written by Matt Crocker, Joel Houston and Salmon Ligthelm “Open Up The Heavens” performed by Meredith Andrews and the Vertical Church Band, written by Meredith Andrews, Jason Ingram, Stu G., Andi Rozier and James MacDonald “The Only Name (Yours Will Be)” performed by Big Daddy Weave, written by Benji Cowart “Oceans” seems to be the favorite in this category as it has been nominated for Contemporary Christian Performance of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year and Song of the Year. In addition to these accolades, Hillsong United has been nominated for Artist of the Year. The song’s powerful message and immense popularity should earn it a win in this category. With “Lord I Need You,” Matt Maher could potentially gain his second career win for Worship Song of the Year. Along with “Oceans,” this song has also been nominated for Song of the Year. The song’s poignantly simple lyrics...
by Brianna Langley | Sep 2, 2014 | Opinion
For the second year in a row, Lipscomb University will be opening up its facilities to the Gospel Music Association as the host of the 2014 Dove Awards. Just as we did before last year’s ceremony, Lumination will be previewing some of the key categories. With categories and genres ranging from southern gospel performance of the year to most inspirational film of the year, perhaps the most unique and controversial award of them all continues to be the Rap/Hip Hop Song of the Year accolade. This year, Christian hip hop artist Andy Mineo seems to be sweeping the competition. Two of his songs, as well as one song in which he is featured, have been nominated. The complete list of the 2014 nominees for this category is as follows: • “100” by KB (ft. Andy Mineo) • “Dear Mr. Christian” by Derek Minor (ft. Dee-1 and Lecrae) • “Head Held High” by Rapture Ruckus • “Stop The Traffic” by Andy Mineo (ft. Co Campbell) • “You Can’t Stop Me” by Andy Mineo While all of these artists and songs were certainly deserving of the nominations they were given, only one will be receiving the award on October 7. As far as predictions as to which song will come out on top, my radio and gut instinct are both telling me that I should lean towards “Head Held High” by Rapture Ruckus. Rapture Ruckus’ blend of hardcore rap and poppy hip hop gives them a unique sound that appeals to a wide variety of listeners; from die-hard rap fanatics to a more upbeat, typically younger demographic. Also, their song “Head...
