SN Fan Award Changes

According to a thread over at SouthernGospelNews.com and various other blogs, the Singing News Fan Awards are in for a major overhaul this year.

They are basically doing away with most of the awards (including the "part" awards) and streamlining the guidelines on a few others.

My initial reaction is mixed... I hate to see the part awards go away. I think this is a very poor decision. This genre is unlike any other and the different types of voices that make up the groups is a big part of that identity. I mean really, how do you compare a tenor with a bass singer? It just doesn't make any kind of sense. This is an awful change.

They are also getting rid of the DJ awards, which is a good thing. Really! No one even cared (sorry DJ's, but it's true). The stations are so regional anyway that it makes very little sense to have DJ awards for people most people have never nor will ever even hear.

They are combining the various group awards into just one "favorite group" award. This one I'm not quite as upset about, but truly prefer it the way it was.

Another big problem with the new setup is the Horizon Individual and the Young Artist awards. Come on, these are now basically the same award eliminate repeat winners in the YA award. It makes MUCH LESS sense to keep both these awards around than it would to keep the part awards.

That's my perspective, what is yours?