Christian Voice Magazine Announces 2011 SGM Fan Awards and Country Gospel Music Fan Awards Ballots

Nomination Ballots Now Available for Both Southern Gospel and Country Gospel Music Fan Awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011 SGM Fan Awards as presented annually by Christian Voice magazine. The nomination ballot marks the first of a two-phase process in which Gospel music fans may list nominations for their favorite artists within the Southern Gospel music genre.

Christian Voice magazine has also announced the new Country Gospel Music Fan Awards, with the inaugural CGM Fan Awards ceremony being held this spring. Like the SGM Fan Awards, the initial nomination ballot is now available for fans to list nominations for their favorite Country Gospel artists.

Both ballots can be accessed by visiting ChristianVoiceMagazine.com. Nominations are being accepted through February 28, 2011. The final ballots listing the Top 5 finalists in each category will be available March 1, 2011.

Both awards ceremonies will be held in Pigeon Forge, TN at the Smoky Mountain Convention Center. The inaugural CGM Fan Awards will take place at 6pm, Saturday, April 30, 2011, and the 7th Annual SGM Fan Awards will take place at 6pm, Thursday, May 5th, 2011.

Visit ChristianVoiceMagazine.com to view voting guidelines and to access the SGM and CGM Fan Awards nomination ballots.

Support your favorite Southern and Country Gospel artists with your nominations and make plans to attend the CGM Fan Awards and the SGM Fan Awards in the beautiful Smoky Mountains this spring!

Legacy Five Announces New Pianist

From Legacy Five's email newsletter February 2/11:

Trey Ivey to join Legacy Five

Legacy Five is pleased to announce that 21 year old Trey Ivey will be joining Legacy Five as their new pianist. Trey is from Cleveland, Georgia but will soon make Nashville, Tennessee his new home.
Trey played the piano for The Mike Lefevre Quartet from November 2006 until March 2010 and most recently was the pianist for The Old Paths.
Scott Fowler of Legacy Five states, "I first heard Trey a couple of years ago at the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. I remember thinking then that this young man was a great player and would do nothing but get better. I made a mental note to myself to keep an eye on Trey. When Tim Parton announced he would be leaving, I knew I needed to make contact with Trey. All of the Legacy Five guys are excited to have Trey a part of our team."
Trey states, "I am so thankful that God allows me to do what I love to do. I am very excited about joining Legacy Five and look forward to seeing what the future holds. It is a real honor to follow in the footsteps of two of my heroes, Roger Bennett and Tim Parton."
Trey will begin traveling with Legacy Five on February 12, but will not officially assume the role of pianist until Tim's departure on February 28.
For more information, visit www.legacyfive.com

Vanessa Feltner Returns to Radio This Month

New Single Is Follow-Up to First Ever Charting Song – “God Will Provide”!


MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – (February 1, 2011) – Rising soloist and international recording artist Vanessa Feltner is excited about the release of her new single to Southern Gospel radio. The new single, titled “You Are Holy,” was released last month through the Rick Hendrix Company.

Chris Unthank, Editor-in-Chief of AbsolutelyGospel.com said, “There are so many exciting things happening in Vanessa’s ministry worldwide, so it’s exciting that we in the United States get to hear her music and be a part of her ministry. This song is just a beautiful worship song, and I can’t wait for people to hear it and worship along!”

“You Are Holy” is the fifth single from Vanessa to hit American airwaves. Her previous single, “God Will Provide,” became Vanessa’s first ever charting song on the Singing News Top 80 chart – the Southern Gospel industry’s most watched and respected airplay report.

“You Are Holy” is the title cut from Vanessa’s latest release. The new release will be available within the coming months. DJs interested in receiving the new singles should contact the Rick Hendrix Company or visit http://www.rickhendrix.com . “You Are Holy” has an immediate add date.

Vanessa recently signed an exclusive publicity agreement with Southern Spin Entertainment.

Until Vanessa’s new site is up and running, you can find out more information on her and her ministry by visiting her MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/vanessafeltnermusic or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/vanessafeltner .

About Vanessa Feltner
Vanessa Feltner was raised singing Gospel music by her father – respected songwriter Charles Feltner (“I’ll See You In the Rapture”). She sang with her father for years until she was contracted to sing in five-star hotels throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East in 1994. She was privileged to sing for the President and Vice President of Indonesia twice and was hired by their country to compose songs for social campaigns and performed those songs at a concert for the political and government workers there. Vanessa is currently contracted in South Korea and will be returning to the States early next year.

Sunday Edition Announces Engagement of Chris Unthank to Noel Lowrance

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – (January 31, 2011) – Sunday Edition, one of Middle Tennessee’s favorite groups, is proud to announce the engagement of group member Chris Unthank to Noel Lowrance of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

In addition to singing with Sunday Edition, Chris is the son of Deon & Susan Unthank (administrators of AbsolutelyGospel.com, formerly SoGospelNews.com – the internet’s largest e-zine dedicated to Southern Gospel music). He is also the co-founder of SSE Group, Inc., a publicity and web-publishing firm dedicated to assisting emerging artists in the field of Southern Gospel. Chris was recently appointed the editor-in-chief of AbsolutelyGospel.com earlier this month.

Noel, originally from Waco, Texas, currently resides in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She is currently working as the church secretary at Turning Point Assembly of God, the couple’s home church. Noel is the daughter of Rev. Johnny and Brenda Lowrance. Rev. Lowrance was the writer of the hit song “Mender of Broken Wings.”

The happy couple has set the date for their wedding for Saturday, August 27, 2011. The wedding will take place at Turning Point Assembly of God in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The couple is planning to reside in Murfreesboro, Tennessee where Chris plans to remain a vital part of Sunday Edition, SSE Group, Inc. and AbsolutelyGospel.com.

For more information on the wedding, visit http://www.chrisandnoel.com.

For more information on Sunday Edition, visit them on the popular social networking site Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sundayedition . Sunday Edition’s MySpace can be found at http://myspace.com/thesundayedition/. Fans can visit Sunday Edition’s Shoutlife at http://www.shoutlife.com/sundayedition/.

About Sunday Edition
Sunday Edition was formed back in the early 70’s as an all-male quartet. Now, 30 years later, the group has reformed as the family trio consisting of Deon Unthank, Amy Marie Unthank, and Chris Unthank. The group has a rich sound with a wide variety of influences which range from traditional southern to country and progressive southern to black gospel.

2nd Generation Named “One to Watch” For 2011

OAK GROVE, Ark. – (January 31, 2011) – Diamond Award winning trio 2nd Generation was recently named as one of 10 new artists to watch this year by AbsolutelyGospel.com (formerly SoGospelNews.com).

The article, called “Ones-to-Watch 2011: New Faces. Fresh Sounds.”, was a part of the December 15, 2010 update for the popular e-zine and mentioned new artists that the staff of AGM felt would make the biggest impact in 2011.

The article had this to say about 2nd Generation, “Brenda Denney and Elaine Robinson started 2nd Generation five years ago with their brother and took their name from being the 2nd generation in their family to enter into music ministry. Rocky Logan is now the group's third member! This group has been making great waves over the years - including the Diamond Award win for the Sunrise Award this past summer, and a nominations for Fan Favorite Artist of the Year in the 2009 SGN Music Awards!”

Brenda Denney of 2nd Generation said, “We are absolutely thrilled to mentioned in a group with so many great artists – many of which are our friends or people that we have come to admire over our time on the road. We are privileged to be mentioned as ‘ones-to-watch’ and hope that we can live up to the expectations put before us!”

2nd Generation was included alongside such names as Freedom, Statement of Faith Trio, The Taylors, Rod Burton, and others. To read the entire article – visit http://absolutelygospel.com/index/content/articles/feature-ones-to-watch-2011-new-faces.-fresh-sounds/ .

In addition, 2nd Generation ranked two songs on the AbsolutelyGospel.com Top 100 Songs of 2010 chart. The group’s hit singles “The Blood Covered It All” and “I’ll Not Fear the Crossing” ranked at #54 and #67 respectively according to the year-end figures of the AbsolutelyGospel.com Top 40 Weekly Chart.

“Radio has been so kind to us,” mentioned Elaine Robinson of 2nd Generation. “We are thankful for the love they have shown us this year, and we look forward to an even better 2011!”

You can view the entire list by visiting http://absolutelygospel.com/index/content/articles/feature-top-100-songs-of-2010/ .

For more information on 2nd Generation – visit http://www.2ndgenerationministries.com.

You can also find out more information about the group on their MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/2generation. The group’s ShoutLife can be found at http://www.shoutlife.com/2ndgeneration.

About 2nd Generation
2nd Generation is based out of the Oak Grove, Arkansas. 2nd Generation has appeared at churches, state fairs, Singing in the Sun, Trinity Broadcasting Network, the Jim Bakker Show, Branson Gospel Music Convention, and many other events. The group’s current project, their sophomore album I See a City, has spawned off four hit singles including the #1 Fan Favorite songs “Feel the Joy” and “The Blood Covered It All.”