Word Entertainment scores big with a total of 19 nominations for the first-ever NewReleaseTuesday.com fan-voted We Love Christian Music Awards with nods in key categories including "Song of the Year," "Male Artist of the Year," "Female Artist of the Year" and "Group of the Year." Public voting is open now through January 14, 2013 at www.theWELOVEAWARDS.com.

With a total of 19 nominations across the board and throughout a variety of Christian music sub-genres, Word Entertainment continues to cement its elite status in the Christian entertainment scene. "I am so proud of all our artists, songwriters and our entire Word Entertainment family to be recognized by NewReleaseTuesday.com and the fans for our efforts," said Word Entertainment President and CEO Rod Riley.  "We believe music has the power to truly change people's hearts and to see that we are making an impact and really reaching people means so much. We are also grateful to NRT, Grand Canyon University and certainly the fans for supporting our artists."

"Word Label Group's 19 total nominations reflect the strong year the label has had," added NewReleaseTuesday.com founder, Kevin McNeese. "They continue to partner with innovative artists that dominate the charts and capture fans hearts, all while being bold for the gospel. All of their nominations are well deserved and we are thrilled to see their artists recognized in the We Love Christian Music Awards!"

Among the 19 nominations, Group 1 Crew's latest release Fearless spawned three nominations including "Video of the Year," "Best Collaboration of the Year" and "Best Cover Art of the Year." In addition, CCM new artists for KING & COUNTRY's debut album, Crave, accrued three nominations including "Song of the Year," "Video of the Year" and "Best Lyric Video of the Year."

Fans can vote for their favorite nominees in all 24 categories as well as write in their own selection for a runner-up winner in each category. In addition, voters can write in the artist that has most impacted them this year for "The 2012 Award." The awards will be held in January 2013 (location and date TBD). NewReleaseTuesday.com in conjunction with Grand Canyon University serve as sponsors of the awards.

Word Entertainment Nominees:

BIG DADDY WEAVE (1)

• Song of the Year "Redeemed"

CHRIS AUGUST (3)

• The Hook Award (Best Pop Artist or Group)
• Male Artist of the Year
• Best Collaboration "He Said"

FOR KING & COUNTRY (5)

• The Hook Award (Best Pop Artist or Group)
• New Artist of the Year
• Song of the Year - "The Proof Of Your Love"
• Video of the Year - "The Proof Of Your Love"
• Best Lyric Video - "Busted Heart (Hold on to Me)"

FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI (1)

• Female Artist of the Year

GROUP 1 CREW (5)

• The BPM Award (Best Electronic Artist or Group)
• The Vibe Award (Best Urban/Rap Artist or Group)
• Video of the Year - "He Said"
• Best Cover Art of the Year - Fearless
• Best Collaboration - "He Said"

NEEDTOBREATHE (2)

• Best Live Show
• Best Collaboration (Bear Rinehart) - "Take the Time"

SIDEWALK PROPHETS (2)

• The Inspo Award (Best Adult Contemporary Artist or Group)
• Group of the Year

About Word Entertainment
A leader in the music industry for over 60 years, Word Entertainment, a Warner/Curb company, is a unique, comprehensive entertainment company comprised of multi-faceted artist service departments including publishing, merchandising, booking, and online initiatives. Word Entertainment represents some of the top names and brands in music, including Meredith Andrews, Chris August, BarlowGirl, Francesca Battistelli, Big Daddy Weave, Jason Castro, Patrick Ryan Clark, Everfound, for KING & COUNTRY, Group 1 Crew, Dara Maclean, Point Of Grace and Sidewalk Prophets and is home to 25 Entertainment, Word Distribution (representing Curb Records and Big Idea/VeggieTales among others), Word Print, Word Films, Word Music Publishing and Word Label Group's Word Records, Word Worship and Fervent Records.