Every year your submissions amaze me. Hall and Oates! What?! This bracket has a lot of diverse genres represented.
I had too many nominations, so I had to eliminate some; I chose to eliminate from people who had nominated more than one, rather than just my six lowest seeds. The first round always takes the longest, so I’ll give until Sunday at 8 pm PST for you to vote.
I have decided not to mess with She-Who-Is-Christmas, and gave Amy Grant the #1 seed. Lisby, I’ve done all I can do, it’s in the people’s hands now.
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The first CD Elaine and I ever bought was “Our Hymns”… it was followed not long after by “Our Christmas”, which has the #1 seed collaboration with Amy Grant and Sandi Patty, nominated of course by Lisby Rogers Curtis Gemeroy. They face worship music king, #16 Chris Tomlin, nominated by Tracy Wilson.
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I know, I know…how could I make Julie Andrews an #8 seed? Start yelling. The Queen of Genovia, Mary Poppins, Maria was nominated by Davida Ankeny Brown and Carol Sherwood. She faces I-can’t-believe-they-are-still-around #9 Hall & Oates, nominated by Robin Mohr. (I mean Julie should be fine. SHE’S the true Maneater.)
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#5 Sara Groves follows her usual course and changes the standard melody, in this nomination by Martha Wood and Bethany Bylsma. She faces #12 Mercy Me, nominated by Erin Heasley Knoch. How this one will go, I can only imagine.
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Robin Mohr also nominated some Gen X angst in #4 Sixpence None the Richer. I am Gen X, and angst works on this song for me. The duo faces #13 Josh Groban, nominated by Erin Wilson.
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Jere Witherspoon nominated #6 Ella Fitzgerald, and this one really grabbed me. Her pipes face off against the #11 Celtic Women, nominated by Kati McKee and Willow Githens.
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#3 Bruce Cockburn is a favorite of many, and while he hasn’t been one I’ve loved, he captures the emotion of this song well for me. The tune doesn’t really match the harsh reality of the lyrics, but Cockburn’s version brings it out. David Sherwood nominated this. He faces Twila Tschan’s nomination of #14 Bing Crosby…who gets a low seed for the opposite reason; he sounds to me like he’s going through the motions on this song.
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We’ve established in previous years that, like a Pavlovian dog, I am conditioned to be mesmerized by distortion pedals. Josh Reid nominated #7 Project 86, and not only does it have distortion, but it has the aforementioned harsh emotional tone to match the lyrics. They face #10 Mahalia Jackson, always worthy of respect, nominated by Kathleen Connell Edge and David Sherwood.
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Bethany Bylsma always manages to surprise me with some version I’ve never heard and that just grabs me. This year, it’s #2 Yolanda Adams. And against everything I’ve said up above about emotion and matching the lyrics, I just love listening to this one. She faces Nate Macy and Robin Mohr’s nomination of #15 Tammy Wynette.
There you go! Share! Get out the vote! Make sure to vote by Sunday at 8 pm PST!!