The SGN Scoops Diamond Awards

SGN Scoops Diamond Awards Top 5 Nominees Announced

Online Ballot Now Available

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Allen Smith of SGN Scoops Magazine, home of the Diamond Awards, is proud to announce the Top 5 nominees for this year’s awards programs. Also, the online ballots are now available for the awards program through the Diamond Awards home on the web.

The online ballot is designed for fans to vote their favorite artists for each award based on the Top 5 entries in each category. Visit the Diamond Awards website at http://diamondawardsonline.com.

Here is a full list of nominees:

J.D. SUMNER LIVING LEGEND AWARD: Roger Bennett, Claude Hopper, Tim Riley, Ronnie Hinson, Eva Mae LeFevre

GROUP OF THE YEAR: Crabb Family, Gaither Vocal Band, Hoppers, Perrys, Brian Free & Assurance

TRIO OF THE YEAR: Booth Brothers, Wright Family, Hope’s Call, Alan Harris Family, Talley Trio

DUET OF THE YEAR: Amazed, Hearts of Faith, Tim & Mary Alice Lovelace, Proffits, Young Harmony

SOLOIST OF THE YEAR: Janet Paschal, Gerald Crabb, Mark Lowry, Ivan Parker, Kirk Talley

SUNRISE AWARD: Dills, Brian Bracy, Faith 3, New Generation, Browns

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Jason Crabb (Crabb Family), Dean Hopper (Hoppers), Dale Golden (Goldens), Brian Free (Brian Free & Assurance), Guy Penrod (Gaither Vocal Band)

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Sheri Easter (Jeff & Sheri Easter), Debra Talley (Talley Trio), Kim Hopper (Hoppers), Karen Peck Gooch (Karen Peck & New River), Lauren Talley (Talley Trio)

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR: Kyla Rowland, Mark Bishop, Rodney Griffin, Gerald Crabb, Kirk Talley

ANTHONY BURGER INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR: Roger Bennett, Gordon Mote, Sonya Isaacs, Roy Webb, Ricky Free

CHRISTIAN COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR: James Wright (Grandpa), Tim Lovelace, Mark Lowry, Dale Golden, Aaron Wilburn

BLUEGRASS GOSPEL ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Jeff & Sheri Easter, Isaacs, Primitive Quartet, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Young Harmony

FAVORITE ARTIST WEBSITE: Mark Lowry (marklowry.com), Goldens (daleandcherylgolden.com), Crabb Family (thecrabbfamily.com), Brian Free & Assurance (brianfreeandassurance.com), Kirk Talley (kirk-talley.com)

FAVORITE INDUSTRY WEBSITE: SoGospelNews.com (sogospelnews.com), Solid Gospel (solidgospel.com), Singing News Magazine (singingnews.com), Charles Brady (thesoutherngospel.com), Daywind Music Group (daywind.com)

VIDEO/DVD OF THE YEAR: Give It Away (Gaither Vocal Band), Live In New York City (Brian Free & Assurance), Live at Brooklyn Tabernacle (Crabb Family), Live at the River (Kirk Talley), Get Away Jordan (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)

SONG OF THE YEAR: “If That Mountain Don’t Move” (Gerald Crabb), “He Saw It All” (Booth Brothers), “Over & Over” (Jeff & Sheri Easter), “Give It Away” (Gaither Vocal Band), “Get Away Jordan” (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Give It Away (Gaither Vocal Band), Live At the River (Kirk Talley), Blur the Lines (Crabb Family), It’s So God (Brian Free & Assurance), The Ride (Hoppers)

The 2007 SGN Scoops Diamond Awards will take place on Friday, September 14, 2007 in the Mary Room of the Executive West Hotel at the entrance of the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky during the week of the National Quartet Convention. The program will begin at 1:00 p.m. and is free to the public.

The 2007 awards program will be hosted by two of Southern Gospel’s most beloved faces – Karen Peck Gooch and Johnathan Bond.

The SGN Scoops Diamond Awards recently announced a new corporate sponsor and location for the 2007 Diamond Awards. Wilds & Associates has signed on as the corporate sponsor for the 2007 SGN Scoops Diamond Awards. SouthernGospelHits.com has signed on as the Gold Sponsor for the event. Also, The Brannin Agency will be a Silver Sponsor for the event, while Southern Spin Entertainment, SGMRadio.com, Sonrise Christian Voices, and 770 AM Southern Gospel – Kentucky’s Official Voice of NQC have signed on as co-sponsors for this year’s event.

In addition to the new sponsor, the 2007 SGN Scoops Diamond Awards will be presented in a new location. The awards program will take place in the Mary Room of the Executive West Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, which is a much larger location than in year’s past.

The first list of performers for the 2007 SGN Scoops Diamond Awards were announced last month. The 2007 SGN Scoops Diamond Awards will feature performances from Karen Peck & New River, Dove Brothers Quartet, Naomi & the Segos, Jeff Treece Band, Gerald Crabb, the Northmen, Sunday Edition, Amazed, Sounds of Victory, Lulu Roman, the MaHarreys, the New Hinsons, Josh Franks, Relations Quartet, and Loretta Withee. Additional performers and presenters will be announced when they become available.

For more information, please visit http://www.diamondawardsonline.com