Michael Whitaker Smith is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, he has sold more than 18 million albums.
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. The awards have been held in Nashville, Tennessee every year except 2011 and 2012 when they were held in Atlanta, Georgia. The ceremonies feature live musical performances and are broadcast on TBN.
Twila Paris is a contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, author and pianist. Since 1980, Paris has released 22 albums, amassed 33 number one Christian Radio singles, and was named the Gospel Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year three years in a row. Many of her earlier songs such as "He Is Exalted", "We Will Glorify", "Lamb of God", and "We Bow Down", are found in church hymnals or otherwise sung in church settings. She was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in May 2015.
Carolyn Arends is a Canadian contemporary Christian musician, songwriter, and author. She is based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Downhere is a Christian rock band from Canada. They have released six studio albums to date: Downhere (2001), So Much for Substitutes (2003), Wide-Eyed and Mystified (2006), Ending Is Beginning (2008), How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas (2009), and On the Altar of Love (2011) and have won several Juno and Covenant Awards.
Steve Bell,C.M.,O.M., is a Canadian singer/songwriter and guitarist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is among the best-known Christian musicians in Canada and is an accomplished songwriter and record producer. Before embarking on his solo career he was a long-time member of the group Elias, Schritt and Bell. In 1989, Bell founded the independent recording label Signpost Music along with Dave Zeglinski, long-time friend and co-producer. His first solo album, Comfort My People, was released on Signpost that same year. Bell now has twenty albums to his credit. Among his many awards are two Junos, several GMA Canada Covenant Awards and the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Rob Wilson, better known by his stage name Fresh I.E., is a Christian rap artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Jon Buller is a Contemporary Christian artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He now resides in Vernon, British Columbia. He was previously working as Pastor of Worship and the Arts for 12 years at Vernon Alliance Church, a position he began in August 2005. Buller founded and is the Executive Director for Hear the Music Ministries (HTM) in 1999; HTM is "committed to discipling and developing emerging Christian musicians, expressing worship through music."
Brian Robert Doerksen is a Canadian Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader from Abbotsford, British Columbia.
The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in Canada. The ceremonies are held annually in cities across the nation.
Matthew Guion Maher is a Canadian contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, songwriter, and worship leader from Newfoundland, Canada, who lives in the United States. Three of his nine albums have reached the Top 25 Christian Albums Billboard chart and four of his singles have reached the Top 25 Christian Songs chart. His notable writing credits include "Your Grace Is Enough", "I Will Rise", "Because He Lives (Amen)", "Christ Is Risen", and "Lord I Need You". Maher has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards in his career and was awarded the Songwriter of the Year at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards.
Lianna Klassen is a Canadian Christian Celtic and Christian New Age-influenced musician, songwriter, speaker and worship leader. A Juno Award nominee and GMA Canada Covenant Award winner, Klassen has released seven albums to date. Her compositions are chants, hymns and meditations on the themes of praise, prayer and worship. Stylistically they have also included Christmas carols, contemporary praise, country music and Christian folk. Notable songs written by Lianna include: "Song for Canada", "I will Not Be Silent" and "Song of Declaration."
Matt Brouwer is a Canadian singer and songwriter. While in college, he and fellow students founded the band Monday Night Worship (MNW). Because of the spiritual content of his lyrics he was 'discovered' by a Nashville record company in 2000, and in 2001 recorded his solo debut CD Imagerical. The album was released on May 29, 2001, on Reunion Records. He then formed his own label called Black Shoe Records and released albums titled Unlearning in 2005, Where's Our Revolution (Universal) in 2009, and Till The Sunrise in 2012. Brouwer's music is known for its Contemporary Christian message as he shares his life's story of tragedy and hope with his listeners.
Greg Sczebel, known as SEBELL, is a two-time Juno Award-winning independent singer-songwriter originally from Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada. He is a two-time grand prize winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, a winner in the Billboard Worldwide Song Competition and was a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.
Sea to Sea: I See the Cross is the second album in the annual Sea to Sea praise and worship music series. The album includes thirty songs performed by Canadian Christian artists on two CDs. The album won a Gospel Music Association Canada Covenant Award in 2006 for Special Events/Compilation Album of the Year. The Sea to Sea series is the brainchild of Covenant Award winning Executive Producer Martin Smith.
Ali Matthews is a Canadian Contemporary Christian musician and songwriter from Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
Danny Brooks is a blues and Memphis-style R&B musician, singer-songwriter and author now living in Llano, Texas, United States. He performs with a full band as Danny Brooks and The Rockin' Revelators, Danny Brooks & The Austin Brotherhood or Danny Brooks & The Memphis Brothers.
Where's Our Revolution is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Matt Brouwer. It was released on August 25, 2009 through Universal Music Distribution. The album is Brouwer's most successful release to date and was well received with critics calling it, "...a gorgeous piece of work" and commending Brouwer's songwriting and vocal performance. The hit "Sometimes" reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart and 3 other singles received considerable airplay on Christian radio stations in Canada and the US. The album won a Juno Award in 2010 as it was named best Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the year, and was also nominated for seven GMA Canada Covenant Awards, winning the Covenant Award for best song and fan favorite artist of the year. The album was nominated for Gospel Recording of the Year by the East Coast Music Awards and Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album and Song of the Year by the Independent Music Awards.
Dan Macaulay is a Contemporary Christian music recording artist and contemporary worship leader from Brantford, Ontario, Canada. He now resides in Williamsville, New York. Some of his most well-known songs are: "Amazing", "Hope Is Here ", "From You For You", "Win With Love", "Live Like You're Free", "Listening (Light Of The World", and "Permanent".
The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard.
