The readers have spoken—and the fan clubs have spoken even louder! Once again we've provided an opportunity to vote for your favorites in Christian music. And once again, with more than 3,000 participants, the favorites are the usual suspects.
The top 5 Best Male Artists are the same as those in 2006 … and in 2005 … and in 2004. Only the order has changed ever so slightly, but Jeremy Camp has come out on top again. Picks for Best Female Artists haven't changed much in the last couple of years either. Though she hasn't done much in music over the past year, Rebecca St. James remains the far-and-above favorite.
Of course, technically speaking, Skillet would have run away with everything if we had let "Panheads" have their way. No question, Skillet took Best Group or Band of 2007 handily. But let the record also show that both lead singer John Cooper and guitarist Ben Kasica placed high as Best Male Artist, not to mention keyboardist Korey Cooper (also submitted as "John Cooper's wife"), drummer Lori Peters, and their imaginary friend "Korey Peters" as Best Female Artist. Fans also tried to award Skillet with Best New Band, ignoring the fact that this year marks their ten-year anniversary. And though Comatosetechnically won out for Best Album of 2007, we just don't feel that it's right to award the same album two years in a row.
Which left the door open for Casting Crowns to score their first Best Album of the Year win with The Altar and the Door. As for Best New Artist, the young band Rush of Fools claimed top honors, with The Almost living up to its namesake for second place.
We'd also like to give special props to fans of the Sydney-based worship band Garage Hymnal, who made a remarkably strong showing late in the survey, though not quite enough to place them among the finalists—you can learn more about the band at www.garagehymnal.com.
Lastly, congratulations to Janet Meyer from La Crosse, Wisconsin! She's our randomly selected winner among those who took part in the survey, and will receive 15 free CDs of her choosing from our friends at Christianbook.com.