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MOBILE, Alabama - - Integrity Gospel recording artist Israel and New Breed received four nominations during The Recording Academy’s announcement of nominees for the 49th Annual GRAMMY® Awards.

This Dove and Stellar Award-winning group took home the most GRAMMY® Award nominations from among the Gospel/Christian artists , Gnarls Barkley, rapper T.I. and recognized today, joining artists like Beyonce Justin Timberlake who also were among the top nominees with four each.

In addition to being nominated for multiple albums, lead vocalist Israel Houghton was also recognized for his writing on Best Gospel Song.  Their nominations are:

 - Best Gospel Performance for “Not Forgotten” from their album Alive in South Africa
 - Best Gospel Song for “Not Forgotten”
 - Best Traditional Gospel Album for Alive in South Africa
 - Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album for A Timeless Christmas

“We are humbled, honored and appreciative of these highly esteemed nominations,” said Israel Houghton. “The Alive in South Africa project was an unbelievable experience for us.  I must say being multi-nominated is a dream come true for me, New Breed and so many people who have labored to make this project a success.”

This year’s nominations make a total of six GRAMMY® Award nominations received thus far by this ground-breaking group which defies categorization, winning over fans and critics of Gospel, Praise and Worship and Contemporary Christian music.  In addition to their GRAMMY® nominations, Israel and New Breed are also winners of three Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Award and a NARM Award.  Most recently, the group took home five nominations for the 22nd Annual Stellar Awards (to be held January 13 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.)  The 49th Annual GRAMMY® Awards ceremony will be held on February 11 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. and will be broadcast live on CBS from 8-11:30 p.m.(ET/PT).

Israel and New Breed are distributed to the Christian retail by Provident-Integrity Distribution and to the general market by Columbia Records/Sony-BMG Distribution.

Contact Information

Shannon Walker
Integrity Label Group Media Relations
251.776.5083
shannonw@integinc.com

Tricia Whitehead, Spinhouse Public Relations
615.599.7746
Spinhouse@bellsouth.net