Cross Country the Band Wins Entertainer of the Year;
Del Way Wins Male Vocalist;
Sonya Isaacs Wins Female Vocalist;
Ricky Skaggs Wins 3 Awards, 1 for Musician of the Year;
George Strait Wins Mainstream Inspirational Song of the Year;
Tracy Lawrence Wins Inspirational Video of the Year.
Contact: Kim Dettwiller, 615-330-5656
NASHVILLE, October 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- Power Source Music Group announced today the winners of the 14th Annual Inspirational Country Music Award Show (ICM awards). Honorees received their awards during a star-studded ceremony taped broadcast from Trinity Music City USA Auditorium.
By winning three Inspirational Country Music Awards, the Grammy, CMA and IBMA award winning, country and bluegrass artist, Ricky Skaggs, can add inspirational country to his list of awards and genres. Skaggs was selected as the Musician of the Year and Ricky Skaggs & The Whites won Mainstream Country Artist of the Year and Inspirational Bluegrass Artist.
Multi-award winning country giant, George Strait and his single, "I Saw God Today", received the Mainstream Inspirational Song of the Year. Other big winners included, Cross Country the Band winning Entertainer of the Year with Del Way receiving Male Vocalist of the Year and Sonya Isaacs taking home Female Vocalist of the Year for the second straight year.
Multi-platinum recording artist, Collin Raye, hosted the annual award show that was held tonight at the Trinity Music City USA and was taped with a live audience to be aired on several broadcast networks. The show will be airing on: Comcast On Demand; CMT Loaded; Sky Angel's Angel Two Network; Cornerstone TeleVision; The Worship Network; National Religious Broadcaster (NRB); CTS Television Canada; Faith TV; and TCT Networks. All reaching over 500 million people and/or subscribers in the United States, Canada and over 170 nations throughout the world.
Inspirational Country Music Award Show highlights:
• The Isaacs opened the show with stunning "Mamma's Teaching Angels How To Sing" as a tribute to the late Dottie Rambo.
• Award-winning country legend, Collin Raye gave a heart-touching, inspirational performance of "Helping Hands";
• Tracy Lawrence showed why he is called "one of the premier voices of his generation" with his performance of "The Book You've Never Read." Tracy's new project, he describes it as "inspirational," features all new songs which will soon be released to Christian radio;
• Greg McDougal had a powerful performance of his current single "Loving You" that featured Tammy Cochran. He wrote the single for his children. The McDougals have four beautiful children, three of which have been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Tammy Cochran lost her two brothers to Cystic Fibrosis. Tammy Cochran's breakthrough hit "Angels In Waiting" was inspired by her two brothers. She later became a spokesperson for Cystic Fibrosis;
• Lyric Street's Phil Stacey showed why he was a standout on American Idol last year with his performance of his new single, "Identity." Growing up with a pastor father and both grandfathers, his music reflects the Southern and Contemporary gospel music the family listened to at home.
• Additional star-studded performances included: Point of Grace, Del Way, CrossCountry The Band, Russ Murphy, Sandra Dee, James Payne, Last Light Band, Mike Rimmey, Tommy Brandt, and Austin's Bridge.
Following is the list of winners in the 21 categories voted on by the CCMA membership:
Entertainer of the Year
CrossCountry the Band
Male Vocalist
Del Way
Female Vocalist
Sonya Isaacs
Vocal Duo
Bellamy Brothers
Vocal Group or Band
Last Light Band
Mainstream Inspirational Country Song
"I Saw God Today"
George Strait
Mainstream Country Artist
Ricky Skaggs & The Whites
Christian Country Song
"Heroes"
Branded
Songwriter
Russ Murphy
Legend / Pioneer Award
Dennis Agajanian
Video
"Till I Was A Daddy Too"
Tracy Lawrence
New Artist
Danny Ray Harris
Musician
Ricky Skaggs
Comedy Act
Barry McGee
Radio Personality
Robby Lynn
Radio Station
WJCR Upton, KY
Inspirational Bluegrass Artist
Ricky Skaggs & The Whites
Youth In Music Award
The Springs
Music Evangelist of the Year
James Payne
Faith, Family, & Country Movie
Facing The Giants
Television Network
Trinity Broadcast Network
The annual Inspirational Country Music Awards are dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent among artists who perform Christian and Inspirational Country music. Inspirational music is inspired by Faith, Family, and Country(tm). The member-voted ICM Awards Show is the keynote event of Inspirational Country Music Week (ICM Week), in Nashville, TN. The convention and show are presented by the 501C-3 not-for-profit corporation, founded in 1992, The Christian Country Music Association. www.ccma.cc.
The ICM Awards is sponsored by: Cloud Ten Pictures: Saving God starring Ving Rhames and The Genius Club staring Stephen Baldwin; Sam Ash Music, Gibson Guitar and Diamond Disc Records.
Please visit www.icm-awards.com for show highlights and TV airtimes and dates.
