Last week, Singing News announced the finalists for their annual Fan Awards. Subscribers to the June issue will vote to determine the winners, which will be announced in September during the National Quartet Convention.

This year, I thought I’d compare the current slate of finalists with 2008’s and comment on some of the differences. Along the way, I’ll interject a few words about my personal picks.

Favorite Artist of the Year – There are no changes from 2008. I still favor Triumphant for this category.

Male Quartet – The Gaither Vocal Band has been replaced by Brian Free & Assurance in the Male Quartet category for 2009. One wonders if this is due to the line-up change of the GVB that made them no longer a quartet, or if Brian Free & Assurance actually got more votes. Since the GVB didn’t appear on the Top Ten ballot either, I’m thinking it must be the former. If that’s the case, though, there’s no category where they would fit, which hardly seems fair. Again, I’m picking Triumphant, but I would have switched to the GVB if they had been in the Top Five this year.

Mixed Group – Same five as 2008, and my pick is still the Perrys.

Trio – The Whisnants have replaced the Talley Trio, which is a surprise to me. It would have been less of a surprise if Karen Peck & New River had bumped out one of the 2008 groups. Seeing the Whisnants here is less of a shock than an appearance by Hissong or the Pfeifers in the Top Five, though. With KP&NR out, my pick is now the Booth Brothers.

Soloist – One of last year’s nominees, Mark Lowry, had joined the Gaither Vocal Band as their fifth vocalist before the nomination process started in 2009, so he no longer qualified for a nomination in the soloist category. Moving into Lowry’s place is Charlotte Ritchie, which I think is great. She’s a terrific singer.  My personal favorite of the five, though, is Janet Paschal.

Male Singer – Michael Booth is out. Scott Fowler is in. I’d have picked Brian Free for the final ballot ahead of Fowler, and my overall recommendation in this category remains Arthur Rice.

Female Singer – Taranda Greene gets the nod over Janet Paschal this year. It was hard for me to narrow the Top Ten down to five, but Lauren Talley would have been my first pick. Of the five that remain, I’d choose Karen Peck.

Horizon Individual – Obviously, this list is different from last year due to the nature of the category. Pat Barker is the only returning nominee, and that may help him in the voting. It will come down to who is the better salesman for their respective nominee: Randy Shelnut (for Pat Barker), Gerald Wolfe (for Jacob Kitson), or Danny Riley (for Bruce Taliaferro). I favored Kitson earlier this year, but now I’m partial to Bruce Taliaferro. I’d be surprised to see Breana Crist or Morgan Easter win since Crist is an ensemble singer and Easter hasn’t really made a mark with a big solo yet.

Horizon Group – Three nominees return this year in the Horizon Group category: Crabb Revival, Crist Family, and Soul’d Out Qt. Of the five groups that remain, I like the Crist Family best.

Young Artist – Amber Nelon Thompson and Joseph Habedank are the two 2008 finalists who return for 2009. Habedank is head and shoulders over his competition in terms of talent. His singing defines the sound of the Perrys, plus he’s a pretty good songwriter. As we’re often reminded, though, this isn’t a talent competition…at least not entirely. Jacob Kitson may win with the backing of Gerald Wolfe, who is a terrific emcee, or one of the girls (Amber Thompson, Morgan Easter, or Brooklyn Collingsworth) may pull off an upset.

Tenor – Jason Waldroup and Archie Watkins are out of the running. Eric Phillips and David Sutton step into their place. My favorite from the five that remain is Brian Free.

Lead – This category has a greater amount of turnover than most of the stable categories, since two of 2008’s finalists are no longer singing. Matt Dibler, Scott Fowler, and Jonathan Wilburn are out; McCray Dove, Clayton Inman, and Bill Shivers are in; Ronnie Booth and Gerald Wolfe return.

Why do voters vote for lead singers in the Male Singer category, but leave those same names off when they vote in the Lead category? Both Arthur Rice AND Scott Fowler made the Top Five in the Male Singer category where the competition comes from four other categories (tenor, baritone, bass and soloists), but neither Rice nor Fowler is a finalist here. Odd.

That aside, my favorite of the five finalists is McCray Dove.

Baritone – Melton Campbell and Doug Anderson are out. Scott Inman and Steve French are in. Mark Trammell is still the man!

Bass – My choice is Eric Bennett. The finalists for this category are the same as 2008.

Soprano – Charlotte Ritchie replaces 2008’s finalist Connie Fortner. My choice in this category is Lauren Talley, and yeah, you can stop whining that she isn’t a true “soprano” already. She’s nominated as the soprano because she’s most often featured on the soprano part. McCray Dove’s range is closer to a baritone’s, but I’ve never heard anyone complain about him being nominated as a lead.

Alto – It’s interesting that Carol Woodard is a 2009 finalist, replacing 2008 finalist Susan Whisnant, considering that Woodard announced her retirement in early February. Woodard continued to tour through the end of March, though, so there’s no question that she was eligible for a nomination. My pick for favorite Alto is Debra Talley.

Musician – Gordon Mote is one of the most amazing piano players traveling today. I’d love to see him win. I was pulling for Jeff Stice earlier this year, but Mote set the bar high when I saw him recently. Kim Collingsworth, Tim Parton, and Jeff Stice are the returning nominees. Mote and Roy Webb have replaced Matthew Holt and Stewart Varnado as the finalists in this category.

Songwriter – The finalists this year are almost the same as 2008. Dianne Wilkinson has replaced Kyla Rowland. Mark Bishop, Jim Brady, Rodney Griffin, and Ronny Hinson have returned. This category has been automatic for Griffin for so long that I’d just like to see someone…anyone…win besides Griffin…not that I dislike Griffin’s songwriting, but he isn’t the only one worthy of recognition. This year, I’d go with Ronny Hinson.

Album – My pick is When God Ran by the Kingsmen. (Obviously, the finalists in this and the Song category change every year.)

Song – I love some “Old White Flag!”