Steven Curtis Chapman wins top honors at American Songwriter Magazine Awards; kicks of Live Out Loud Tour to sell-out crowds

Grammy and Dove-nominee Steven Curtis Chapman kicked off his nationwide Live Out Loud Tour last week to 3 out of 4 sold out shows, including a near capacity crowd in Minneapolis, Minnesota on opening night. Sell outs opening week included Ames, Iowa, Bloomington, Illinois, and Chicago. As the tour rolls on, other dates continue to sell out including this weekend's show in Jacksonville, Florida on 2/28, Woodbridge, Virginia (D.C.) on 3/9, Cleveland, Ohio on 3/13 and Atlanta on 3/29, which sold out in six days. Numerous other spring dates are close to selling out.

Chapman is extremely pleased with the tour's kick off. "I've watched in amazement as God has brought the different elements together that have made this tour a reality. I can honestly say that I've never been more excited to see what He has uniquely planned for each night," says Chapman.

Promoters involved with the Live Out Loud Tour are thrilled with the show's success, a must-see event and unique experience in an inspiring environment for the concert-goer. Mike Scanland, tour promoter for JAM Productions, states, "After surviving one of the toughest concert seasons ever after the 9/11 events, in my 16 years of promoting concerts, the pace at which the Steven Curtis Chapman tickets sold is the best of any concert event I've worked with in years. The excitement of his fans is at an all time [high]. We are excited both as promoters but also as Christians about presenting Steven's concerts and supporting his ministry this spring."

Chapman is pictured above during the Minneapolis concert in front of over 4,200 people.

In other Chapman news...

Last week's episode of PAX Networks' Doc, featuring Chapman in a guest-starring role, garnered a strong 1.5 Nielsen rating, a noteworthy feat as the program aired against the Olympics broadcast. This high rating was also the first time that Doc has ranked above their competition on the WB and UPN channels.

Grammy-nominee Steven Curtis Chapman has once again nabbed top honors for American Songwriter Magazine's annual awards. Within the Christian category, Chapman garnered the top spot for Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year as well as Song of the Year for "The Change." Chapman's publishing, Sparrow Song/Peach Hill Songs/Cabinetmaker Music, won top honors as Christian Publisher of the Year as did his Declaration co-producer, Brown Bannister for Producer of the Year.

For the overall categories, which combine the pop, country, Christian, and r&b genres, Chapman was #2 for Songwriter of the Year and #2 for Producer, #3 for Artist of the Year (Destiny's Child #1, Lonestar #2) and #3 for his song, "The Change." The American Songwriter Magazine awards are announced each year, highlighting the talents of the various genres of music such as pop, country, r&b, and Christian. The Christian music data is tabulated from the CCM Update Charts.

Campus Life just announced the winners of their annual Music Awards. Chapman was awarded Campus Life's Best Male Artist of the Year and Declaration was the #2 Album of the Year. "Live Out Loud" was honored as the #3 Song of the Year. Winners are based on votes from the readers of Campus Life and will be announced in the upcoming March/April issue, which features Chapman and Michael W. Smith on the cover.