In our special 8TH ANNUAL WE LOVE CHRISTIAN MUSIC AWARDS editorial series, members of the NRT staff have a back-and-forth discussion about this year's nominees. In Part 3 of our series, the Kevins, Kevin McNeese, NRT's founder, and Kevin Davis, NRT's Lead Contributor, talk about Album of the Year, EP of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Public voting is open through Friday, January 31, 2020. Winners will be announced at the Together We Love event broadcasting live Tuesday, February 25, 2020.

McNeese: Alright. It's time for another We Love Christian Music Awards cycle. And I'm excited to be taking on some of the major categories with my longtime colleague, Kevin Davis. 

Davis: Agreed. Kevin, I'm excited to discuss the nominees in these major categories. And, I was literally just working on writing a behind the song devo about "Every Good Thing" by For All Seasons.

McNeese: Such a great song that's actually nominated for Pop Song of the Year. They had a busy year releasing a lot of great music every month that culminated in their & Side A EP that we'll talk about in a bit. But, let's focus in on Album of the Year first. A lot of heavy hitters this year and the only category that Skillet and Unspoken meet in. They both lead artist nominations with five a piece.
This category is always fun for me because it mixes all the genres together. But, for me, the biggest surprises were albums from both Jeremy Camp (The Story's Not Over) and Tenth Avenue North (No Shame). I knew Skillet's album, Victorious, was going to be great (they always are). I've lived with Stars Go Dim (Better) for almost 16 months since the rollout has been stretched and Unspoken (Reason) has been solid their entire career, but I really feel Jeremy and Tenth Avenue released some of their best music of their careers. What stood out to you?

Davis: I agree overall, and often I compare whether an artist has released their newest "best" album. And, for Tenth Avenue North and Jeremy Camp, that's a good description. Personally, my standout album of the year comes down to Unspoken and Tenth Avenue North. I tend to vote based on which album moves me the most emotionally. And songs like "Greater Than All My Regrets" by Tenth Avenue North and "Help is on the Way" by Unspoken each hit me in such an emotional way; they are both worthy of winning that We Love Award this year. Who do you think will win and should win? 

McNeese: There's some incredible deep tracks on Tenth Avenue North's record. "Space To Speak" just hits me in the gut. But, I think it's a bit too new for most voters, so it's going to have a hard time overcoming Skillet's fanbase. Skillet has a history of their fans showing up to vote, and because the We Love Awards are fan voted, Skillet is the instant front runner. I think Unspoken should win this though. They had an incredibly honest album that generated five total nominations this year. It's a fantastic, raw and real album. Your thoughts?

Davis: I agree. Because of fan voting, it tends to tip the scale a bit; however, all of these artists have active fans. And Tenth Avenue North may end up sneaking in over Skillet if they rally their fanbase. My choice for "should win" is also Unspoken, just because of how that album speaks to me.
 
McNeese: Alright, let's talk about EP of the Year, a category that still is unique to the We Love Christian Music Awards. For those that still don't know, an EP is typically six songs or less. We've got For All Seasons (& Side A EP), Jason Gray (Order EP), Switch (Symphony EP), We Are Messengers (Honest EP), and We the Kingdom (Live at the Wheelhouse EP). A lot of great music on these EPs. What stands out? 

Davis: Yes, this is an incredibly strong category this year. And, arguably, this is going to be the trend in music going forward in this era of streaming and singles. My standout naturally is Jason Gray as he is my most featured Behind the Song devotional artist. And I've even featured two of these five songs for devos. I love when there is a theme for an album, and Order EP (with Disorder and Reorder EPs pending in 2020), is a compelling EP for me. And, I'll give shoutouts to both For All Seasons and Switch for really grabbing me with their songs this year as well. How about you?

McNeese: What's hard for me in this category is the size of singles contained on these albums. There are some monster songs here, including "Maybe It's OK" by We Are Messengers and "Symphony" by Switch, both of which are nominated for Song of the Year. Then you've got We the Kingdom, a fairly new artist that has come out the gate in a massive way with "Holy Water," a refreshing song that truly stops me in my tracks whenever I hear it. But this is looking at the entire project, and not a song, so for that, I've got to go with Jason Gray as well. Seriously, the song "Becoming" is probably one of my favorite songs from the past decade. And, I also love the direction this full project is going. I think Jason has a lot of stories still to tell.

Davis: That's true with all five of these nominees, as helping tell their stories is what NRT is all about. "Maybe It's OK" is a punch in the gut, and so is "Holy Water." I really like what we are hearing out of Switch, as beyond "Symphony" they have a really bright future, and I think anyone who enjoys strong female vocals should get the entire EPs by Switch and For All Seasons as Cassidy from Switch and Emily from For All Seasons are two of my favorite vocalists in all of Christian music right now.

McNeese: I think fans will be gravitating towards We Are Messengers or Jason Gray. Those two have some solid momentum. For All Seasons, Switch and We the Kingdom might be too new still. But very deserving. Let's wrap up our discussion with the Song of the Year nominees. 
Davis: Excellent list of songs. I'll start by talking about "Native Tongue" by Switchfoot. One of my favorite and most challenging passages of Scripture is the entire Book of James, and "taming the tongue" is such an important biblical principle that our society desperately needs right now. What I've always loved about [Switchfoot lead singer] Jon Foreman's songwriting is how it flows right out of real life issues and is both entertaining and challenging all at the same time. Just writing about the song makes me hum the melody in my head. How about you? 

McNeese: This is Switchfoot's 11th album and "Native Tongue" is already their seventh most popular song on Spotify. People have connected well with the message and classic Switchfoot sound. I love playing the air drums to that track. I've honestly been looking forward to this category all year long because 2019 has produced some incredibly rich singles. We could have doubled the list of nominees this year and still left a few worthy contenders on the cutting room floor. I honestly can't choose because I have had some beautiful times with God listening to "Haven't Seen It Yet," "Reason" and "Symphony." But for me, Switch's "Symphony" inches out simply because it's a debut song, which is quite impressive, and it just literally melts away a rough day. It's soothing. It's calming. Just a really beautiful balm of a melody. That's my vote. 

Davis: Great description. I take it you prefer the version with the rap?

McNeese: Absolutely. Dillion Chase kills it on the bridge with strings of a literal symphony backing him. Chills. Every time. 

Davis: I have a poignant connection with "Symphony" as my daughter Cassandra's Christian ballet company danced to that song and they had a technical difficulty during the performance where the track stopped playing. The dancers kept going without the track and then the rest of the dancers (and us in the audience as well) sang the words a capella to "Symphony" while the dancers finished their routine. There wasn't a dry eye in the auditorium when they finished. 

McNeese: There isn't a dry eye right now. WOW. Beautiful. 

Davis: I'll also vote for "Symphony" and I would be fine with any of these songs winning. They are all totally deserving and have strong biblical messages which is what song of the year is all about. 

McNeese: It's always an honor to sit back and look at the year in review in this context. I never want the We Love Awards to be a competition, but a celebration of artists, songs and albums that truly moved us all in amazing and unique ways. I think fans will have a great time remembering the year and choosing their favorites. Thanks for the conversation today, Kevin.

Davis: Thanks, Kevin, for this great discussion and I'm excited to see the winners.

NOTE: Voting is now open through Friday, January 31, 2020 at WeLoveAwards.com. Winners will be announced during our Facebook Live broadcast from Visible Music College's Memphis campus on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.