Almost three decades ago, Francesca Battistelli’s parents played the Fox Theatre. Her mother, an actress, was co-starring with Yul Brynner in a revival of “The King and I,” while her father was in the orchestra pit, working as assistant conductor for the musical.
Next week, their daughter will take the same stage with her fellow female vocalist nominees during a performance at the 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards, Christian music’s version of the Grammys.
It’s the first time the venerable show, dedicated to celebrating gospel and contemporary Christian music, has been held outside of Tennessee.
While veterans such as Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin will perform on the production, which airs Easter Sunday on GMC, the Doves also have an eye on emerging talent such as Battistelli.
The pretty 25-year-old singer, a past recipient of two Dove trophies, is nominated for four awards, including artist of the year and song of the year for “Beautiful, Beautiful,” from her 2010 album, “My Paper Heart.”
“It’s really surprising. It’s something I saw happening maybe 10 years from now. But to have your peers patting you on the back and saying you’re doing a good job is really gratifying,” Battistelli said recently, gracefully tucked into a chair at a Starbucks in Canton.
The Orlando native, a self-professed theater “nerd” who listened to Christian artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman and dc Talk growing up, moved to the Atlanta area last fall after spending a few years in Nashville. Her husband Matt Goodwin, former percussionist for Newsong and now the drummer in Battistelli’s band, grew up in Valdosta and Atlanta.
After getting married in summer 2009 and giving birth to Matthew Elijah last September, the time seemed appropriate for Battistelli to leave her Nashville home and the threesome reassembled near Goodwin’s family.
If that sounds like a hurricane of major events, it was. And adding to the whirlwind, Battistelli released her third album, “Hundred More Years,” in March.
The lilting, poignant title track, written with friend Ben Glover, spawned the album’s name.
“I knew I was pregnant at the time we were writing, but I didn't want to tell [Ben] because it was early [in the pregnancy]. We were talking about the moments in life that you want to cherish forever. It’s one of my favorites on the album because it’s so personal and such a good picture of my life right now,” Battistelli said with a smile and contented look in her striking green-blue eyes.
The album reached No.16 on the Billboard 200 album chart, while the first single, “This Is the Stuff," an easily relatable mid-tempo pop song, hit No. 12 on Billboard’s Christian Songs chart.
Though the contemporary Christian genre has exported many artists onto mainstream pop radio – Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Switchfoot -- Battistelli isn't actively seeking a crossover audience.
“If it’s supposed to happen, it will happen. But I've never had this drive to make it happen,” she said. “I’m perfectly happy where I am and perfectly busy where I am.”
However, she acknowledges that opportunities for her music to be used in TV shows have been hugely rewarding.
She recounted a story from a fan who told her that after hearing Battistelli’s “It’s Your Life” on an episode of “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” the fan not only sought out the song, but sought out God.
The thoughtful pop-rock tune also made a pronounced appearance in “The Biggest Loser,” making Battistelli cry when she saw the episode.
“I hadn’t even watched that season, but when my song was on, it was like, this is just so amazing,” she said.
Regardless of how she fares at the Doves, Battistelli is eager to attack the rest of 2011, which includes a series of summer festival shows, a fall tour with Jeremy Camp and possibly a spate of Christmas concerts – all methods of getting closer to her fans, whom she loves to communicate with on Facebook and Twitter.
But, she is quick to turn the credit for her success elsewhere.
“It’s not me. It’s God using music to really speak to [my fans],” Battistelli said. “This is something I thought could maybe happen one day and all of a sudden, it’s really happening.”
Award show preview
42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards
Performers include Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Chris Tomlin, Point of Grace, Kenny Rogers, Natalie Grant, Francesca Battistelli, Janet Paschal and Laura Story. 8 p.m. Wednesday. $25-$200. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St N.E., Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com. Show airs 7 and 9 p.m. April 24 on GMC.
About the Author
