NQC Music Awards Nominees

The National Quartet Convention has announced the NQC Music Awards nominees. After two rounds of fan voting, the fan categories are down to five nominations each which were announced yesterday. I was very interested to see how these nominations would compare to the Singing News Fan Awards since they are both voted on by the fans. Here is the complete list with the differences noted:

Bass Singer of the Year  (2)
Eric Bennett - Triumphant Qt
Jeff Chapman - Kingdom Heirs 
Tim Duncan - Canton Junction 
Glenn Dustin - Legacy Five
Tim Riley - Gold City

Baritone Singer of the Year (1)
Jim Brady - Booth Brothers
Rodney Griffin - Greater Vision
Scott Inman - Triumphant Qt
Mark Lowry - Gaither Vocal Band 
Mark Trammell - Mark Trammell Qt

Lead Singer of the Year (2)
Ronnie Booth - Booth Brothers
Michael English - Gaither Vocal Band 
Joseph Habedank - Perrys
Arthur Rice - Kingdom Heirs 
Gerald Wolfe - Greater Vision 

Tenor Singer of the Year (1)
Chris Allman - Greater Vision 
Michael Booth - Booth Brothers 
Brian Free - Brian Free & Assurance 
Ernie Haase - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound 
David Phelps - Gaither Vocal Band 

Soprano Singer of the Year (0)
Lauren Talley Alvey - Talleys 
Brooklyn Collingsworth - Collingsworth Family 
Karen Peck Gooch - Karen Peck & New River
Kim Hopper - Hoppers
Sonya Isaacs Yeary - Isaacs

Alto Singer of the Year (1)
Sheri Easter - Jeff & Sheri Easter 
Connie Hopper - Hoppers 
Libbi Stuffle - Perrys 
Debra Talley - Talleys 
Susan Whisnant - Whisnants 

Soloist of the Year (1)
Mark Bishop
Jason Crabb
TaRanda Greene
Ivan Parker
Guy Penrod 

Musician of the Year (1)
Kim Collingsworth - Collingsworth Family 
Gordon Mote
Jeff Stice - Triumphant Qt 
Kevin Williams - Gaither Vocal Band 
Gerald Wolfe - Greater Vision 

Album of the Year (3)
Celebrate Me Home (Oak Tree) - Perrys 
Let It Be Known - Booth Brothers 
Part of the Family - Collingsworth Family 
Songs From the Heart - Triumphant Quartet 
The Only Way - Greater Vision 

Song of the Year (5)*
Almost Home - Triumphant Quartet 
Ask Me Why - Legacy Five 
Blue Skies Coming - Perrys 
I Believe - Brian Free & Assurance 
I Know a Man Who Can - Greater Vision 
I Want to Know - Mark Trammell Quartet 
Please Forgive Me - Gaither Vocal Band 
Saved By Grace - Triumphant Quartet 
She Still Remembers Jesus Name - Booth Brothers 
Tell Me Why - Kingdom Heirs 
Who Am I - Jason Crabb
*11 songs are nominated, and the Fan Awards only have a top 10

These two categories don't have a Singing News Fan Awards equal. The Fan Awards also have Mixed Group of the Year, but for the NQC Awards this includes trios as well. For the Fan Awards, Favorite Trio is a separate category.

Male Group of the Year
Booth Brothers
Gaither Vocal Band
Greater Vision
Kingdom Heirs
Triumphant Qt 

Mixed Group of the Year
Collingsworth Family 
Hoppers 
Isaacs 
Karen Peck & New River 
Perrys 


For most categories, there are only one or two differences. As a fan who can vote in both, I feel like my votes will be about the same. It will be interesting to see when awards are passed out if the winners will be the same. Several bloggers have shared who they are voting for, and I might do the same.

Most of the differences are in that there are more nominations for the Gaither Vocal Band and Greater Vision. Honestly the only category that really surprised me was Song of the Year. I expected to see both "On the Banks of the Promised Land" and "Peter, James and John" make the cut. I was glad to see "I Want to Know" as a nominee.

What do you think? Were you surprised by any nomination? If you vote in both, will your votes be the same?