Beautiful Morning (Grits ft. Pigeon John)
Do Yo Thang (KJ-52)
Joyful Noise (Flame)
Pull Your Pants Up (Dooney "Da Priest")
So Beautiful (Manafest)

Beautiful Morning

Do Yo Thang

There's not much to say about this category except that nothing that i want to win ever wins... it would've been really nice to have seen some of the more of the hip-hop tunes that really grabbed my attention make the list - tracks like "Deepspace5oul" from Deepspace 5, "Have Nots" or "Told You So" from Scribbling Idiots, "Great Depression" from Ajax Starglider, "The IV" from Braille, "Excuse Me" from KabOose, "Peripheral Drift" from Othello, even "On the Move" by Shachah..

Well, i guess i have a little more to say about this than i thought.

Better Man (DecembeRadio)
For the Love of the Game (Pillar)
Lost (Red)
Shine Like the Stars (Stellar Kart)
The Hunger (Fireflight)

Lost

Shine Like the Stars

If i were to rank these songs, Lost would be at the top and For the Love of the Game would probably be at the bottom... i'd be tempted to pick Better Man, since that was probably the best song on the DecembeRadio sophomore album and a good tune...

and i have to say that having two little boys digging into music more and more, i've gained something of a respect for Stellar Kart because they connect so well with a younger audience... i'm not a big fan of The Hunger of The Game which shouldn't be too surprising since they have many similar qualities...

Find You Waiting (DececmbeRadio)
Keys to the Kingdom (Group 1 Crew)
Never Going Back to OK (The Afters)
Unbreakable (Fireflight)
Washed By the Water (NeedtoBreathe)

Never Going Back to OK

Unbreakable

I'm a big fan of The Afters... i think they've got it together as a group and they really deserve some of these awards. Never Going Back to OK is a really sweet tune and it kicks off the album very nicely... unfortunately, i don't think it will take the trophy, but that Fireflight's Unbreakable, which got a LOT of shine this past year - being used commercially a lot of different ways - will walk away the winner...

Find You Waiting has a nice message, but it's kind of a dull track... Washed By the Water has a lot of nice grit to it and a lot of appeal... Keys to the Kingdom has a nice rhythm and sound, but it didn't get promoted very well as far as i can tell... it seems like that entire album was released in whispers...

Cinderella (Steven Curtis Chapman)
Give Me Your Eyes (Brandon Heath)
I Will Not Be Moved (Natalie Grant)
I'm Letting Go (Francesca Battistelli)
This Is Home (Switchfoot)

Give Me Your Eyes

Cinderella

I Will Not Be Moved seems like such an old song to be considered here, but i guess it's not that old... Francesca hasn't been around very long and, even though i dig the tune (and think it markets well alongside of High School Musical), it probably doesn't have enough support to take this award...

Switchfoot is going to be a darkhorse here, because This Is Home is a very nice track and it got a really solid push as a part of the Prince Caspian soundtrack, but for my money, Brandon Heath can take this category with another smooth, heartfelt track asking to view things from a broader perspective...

All that said, all sentimentality leans in Cinderella's favor...

A New Hallelujah (Michael W Smith)
For the Glory of You (Mark Harris)
Bless the Lord (Laura Story)
Come Thou Fount (Jadon Lavik)
Dependence (Jamie Slocum)

Bless the Lord

A New Hallelujah

I suppose it's pretty telling that none of these songs are still on my iPod... i guess that means that i wasn't exactly inspired by any of them... as such, there's not too much for me to say regarding this selection, if i had to pick, i'd go with Laura Story because it's a nice song from a nice album, but if i were a betting man, i'd probably go with Smitty because he's got the most name recognition...

Declaration (This Is It) (Kirk Franklin)
Get Up (Mary Mary)
Love Him Like I Do (Deitrick Haddon)
No Looking Back (Damita)
Not a Slave (JR)

Not a Slave

Declaration

Lots of energy in this selection here... Declaration seems to be the frontrunner because of name recognition, but also because of how well the album and the single itself was received over the past year... Mary Mary are always good candidates for a dark horse, and i wouldn't rule out Damita or Deitrick (his song features Ruben Studdard and Mary Mary), but if i was picking the winner, i'd go with JR... technically, i'd go with JR's song, Rockstar, but Not a Slave is a good choice as well...

A New Hallelujah (Michael W Smith)
Breathe on Me (Natalie Grant)
Jesus Messiah (Chris Tomlin)
Mighty to Save (Hillsong)
You're Not Alone (Meredith Andrews)

Mighty to Save

Jesus Messiah

It's hard to rule against the Tomlin factor... Chris has all but become the first name in "Worship Music"... and even though Jesus Messiah is perhaps the least impressive song on Hello Love, it oozes with the possibility of winning simply because of who sings it... I'm sure that Smitty will make it a closer race than it's been in past years, but Tomlin will probably edge him out...

Now, i know that Mighty to Save is pretty old in comparison, but it's really taken off (thanks to Laura Story) and found its way into churches across the world more and more this year... for that, and the fact that it's a really moving song, it gets my vote... no offense to Natalie or Meredith, but their songs, while good in their own right, don't really stand out for me...