Brandon Lake Leads With Five Nominations and Cory Asbury, and Phil Wickham Follow With Three Each, 54 Artists Nominated Across 12 ‘Song of the Year’ Categories
1. Sunday she hosted a Cajun-style party at her Louisiana home, and then after that, Lauren Daigle played her first show ever in her hometown, Lafayette, Louisiana. She said it was a powerful moment to see how God has brought her story full circle.
2. Often times, being in a band means long overnight road trips. Ruslan Odnoralov of Everfound is passing the time constructively by listening to Alan Jacobs' book The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis. Now the question is, how long of a drive does it take to finish an average-sized audiobook?
3. MIKESCHAIR was excited to see a video 19 Kids and Counting reality star Jessa Duggar-Seewald posted of her sister-in-law, Danielle, singing "Let the Waters Rise." The band said Danielle covered their song beautifully.
4. Many artists have their own post-show traditions. We're not sure if this is one or not, but JJ Heller and her husband Dave left a recent show to pick up some dark chocolate from a Walgreens across the street. The pair selfied the experience and looked quite enthralled.
5. In other Christian artist food preferences, Natalie Grant has been expressing her love for VitaMix--putting spinach and kale and other goodies into smoothies. Apparently it tastes pretty good; she said her kids can't wait to make their veggie shakes.
6. Shine Bright Baby says it's closing the chapter of their story that started with the release of their debut record, Dreamers, by releasing a live video of their title track taken at Alive Fest last summer. With personnel changes and new music coming, frontwoman Emily Fertig says she's excited about what's next for the pop/rock group.
7. This week, Grand Canyon University has hit a milestone as it releases the debut release from its brand-new Center for Worship Arts--which, by the way, is headed up by none other than MercyMe frontman Bart Millard. The record, simply titled Canyon Worship, showcases what the student worshippers are doing with pretty solid cover songs of All Sons & Daughters and Tim Timmons, as well as a powerful original song, "Follow You." The school is rallying its students to try to get the EP in the iTunes Top 10.
8. One of the guys in Carrollton was excited to hear his band's song on the radio in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio... while driving his daughters around in the minivan. Talk about living in two different worlds! Similarly, it'd be great if he paused in the middle of a concert to read his daughters a bedtime story onstage.
Quotes (3)
1. "Our future is not our own, it belongs to God. He knows every hair on our head and His thoughts about us are more than there are stars in the sky or grains of sand in the sea. As love casts out all fear, love also promises us that He will never leave us or forsake us." - Matt Maher
2. "We find God from a position of surrender." - Joel Houston, Hillsong United
3. "Be glad you are made the way you are. Take joy in the fact that your skills and gifts are 100 percent worthy and meaningful and that you have a planned destiny. We all doubt and we all go astray, but there is peace in knowing we have all been redeemed for a higher purpose." - Kevin Max
