This Is Your Time, the 13th recording from Reunion
artist and two-time Grammy Award winner Michael W. Smith, received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), it was announced
this week.
“It is an honor to have This Is Your Time, recognized by my peers in the
music industry,” said Smith. “This was an important project for me
personally, and I continue to pray that the music impacts those who
listen. I believe the nomination is also a special tribute to Cassie
Bernall, and I am very proud of that.”
“This Is Your Time is a career record for Smitty,” said George King,
General Manager, Reunion Records. “It gives me great personal
satisfaction to see that after 14 albums, Michael continues to have an
unbridled passion and fire for his craft and his mission.”
“We are thrilled to add a Grammy Award nomination to the growing list of
accolades for this album,” said Dean Diehl, General Manager, Reunion
Records. “This Is Your Time, continues to shine as one of Michael’s
all-time best records.”
Released in November of 1999, This Is Your Time, generated the highest
first-week sales for a recording by a Christian artist in the history of
SoundScan and has received gold certification from the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA). The title cut, inspired by the
life and death of Columbine High School student Cassie Bernall, won
Gospel Music Association Dove Awards for Song of the Year and Short Form
Music Video of the Year at The 31st Annual Dove Awards.
Since the release of his debut album in 1983, Smith has garnered 25 Dove
Awards; two Grammy Awards; an American Music Award; one platinum album;
eight gold albums; and 25 #1 Christian radio singles. Smith’s latest
recording, Freedom, released November 21 and debuted at #1 on
SoundScan’s Top Christian Albums chart and Top Christian Instrumental
Albums chart. The recording marked the highest debut for an
instrumental album in the history of SoundScan’s Top Christian Albums
chart.
The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards telecast will originate from the Staples
Center in Los Angeles on February 21, 2001, and will be broadcast on CBS
at 8 p.m. (EST/PST). The show will reach a worldwide audience of nearly
2 billion in 180 countries.
