After being locked out of the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards in 1999 because they were too secular, Sixpence None the Richer not only returned this year, they took Group of the Year honors.
R&B/gospel group Anointed,meanwhile, took home two awards of their own.
The awards were handed out Thursday, in a ceremony at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. The award's syndicated broadcast is being shown in various markets during the next few weeks. (For stations and times, see the official Web site, www.doveawards.com.) Sixpence None the Richer also performed "Melody of You," a single from their upcoming album, at the show, according to the show's publicist.
Sixpence None the Richer had previously won the Dove Award for Best Alternative/Modern Rock Album, in 1996, for their release The Beautiful Mess. But their 1999 radio hit, "Kiss Me" (RealAudio excerpt), was disqualified from consideration from the 1999 awards because it didn't meet the Gospel Music Association's criteria for a Christian song.
Members of the group and representatives from the Gospel Music Association were unavailable for comment.
"Kiss Me" is on the group's eponymous fourth album, the first on which it aimed for an audience beyond just Christian-music fans. The song got a boost when it was featured in the TV show "Dawson's Creek" in 1998. It also appeared on the soundtrack of the 1999 film "She's All That."
The GMA excluded the song from consideration for the 1999 Dove Awards based on newly implemented criteria designed to ensure that nominated songs and groups had explicitly Christian content. Those criteria were relaxed for this year's awards.
Sixpence None the Richer are finishing up their next album in Nashville, according to the band's official Web site.
The R&B vocal group Anointed's self-titled fourth album took the Dove Award for Contemporary Album of the Year, while the single "Anything Is Possible" won the award for Urban Song of the Year.
Dove Award mainstay Steven Curtis Chapman was the night's big winner, taking home six awards, including Artist of the Year. The pop singer now has won 44 Dove Awards since releasing his first album in 1987. His album Speechless got the nod this year for Best Pop/Contemporary Album.
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