Steven Curtis Chapman is leaving Sparrow records after 25 years and will release a new Christmas album in October on a new label. Chapman, Christian music’s most-awarded artist, will release Joy on Oct. 16 on Reunion records, a Provident group label. Chapman’s three previous Christmas discs have all been well received. The Music of Christmas, released in 1995, and All I Really Want for Christmas, released in 2005, were both...

Christian music’s annual Dove Awards will be handed out April 19 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. So it’s time for Hoosierlujah to make its feeble attempt at predicting winners in some of the biggest categories. To find out the actual winners, watch the awards ceremony at 8 p.m. April 19 on GMC. Song of the Year Prediction: Laura Story’s Blessings will take the big prize. No other song in the past year has touched so many...

When it comes to picking Grammy winners for the gospel and contemporary Christian music categories, Hoosierlujah is batting about .400. The Christian music awards were announced Sunday afternoon in a pre-telecast ceremony We got two picks right and three wrong. How did you do? We agreed with the Grammy voters on: Best Contemporary Christian Music Song Grammy winner and Hoosierlujah pick: “Blessings,” Laura Story. Songwriter: Laura...

OK. Let’s just get this out of the way. The best Christian song to be nominated for a Grammy this year isn’t even competing in a gospel category. It’s nominated for Best Country Song. The tune is the Dave Barnes-penned “God Gave Me You.” Dave himself recorded it and it charted in 2010, rising to No. 13 on Billboard’s Christian singles chart and No. 21 on the Adult Contemporary chart. But it’s Blake...

It was a banner year for Christian music, from alternative rock to gospel to pop. As Mandisa would say, it was stronger. Strong songs. Strong production. Strong performances. And, as always, a strong message. Here are the Hoosierlujah Top 10 for 2011. 1. Vice Verses   Switchfoot This sonic adventure is Switchfoot at its alt rock peak, both lyrically and musically.  As the title suggests, it explores how we battle our many vices —...