March 31, 2009

By By Ed Christman, N.Y.

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) has announced that Steven Curtis Chapman, Natalie Grant, Brandon Heath, Jason Ingram and Tony Wood are the final nominees for the Dove Award for songwriter of the year.

The winner will be announced at the 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards show on April 23 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The show is scheduled for live broadcast on the Gospel Music Channel from 8-10 p.m. (ET/PT), and tickets are now on sale to the public at ticketmaster.com or doveawards.com.

"Perhaps no other genre relies on the message in the lyrics more than gospel music, so songwriters deserve special honor at the Dove Awards," John W. Styll, president and CEO of the GMA, said in a statement. "We congratulate each of these deserving writers for crafting music that has inspired and moved us in the past year."

In addition to other songs they have written, each songwriter is nominated in the song of the year category. Chapman penned "Cinderella," while Grant wrote "I Will Not Be Moved." Heath and Ingram co-wrote "Give Me Your Eyes," and Wood co-wrote two song of the year nominees -- "Empty Me" (with Chris Sligh and Clint Lagerberg) and "I'm Not Letting Go" (with Francesca Battistelli).

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