Leading U.S. music rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) saluted the writers and publishers of the past year's most-performed songs on Christian radio and television during the annual Christian Music Awards last night at the company's Music Row offices in Nashville.

By contributing two songs each to the most-performed list, genre-bender tobyMac, perennial favorite Steven Curtis Chapman, top-tier producer/songwriter Chris Stevens, and promising young singer/songwriter Jason Walker shared the Songwriter of the Year title, while "Lose My Soul," recorded and co-written by TobyMac and Stevens, garnered Song of the Year honors. Universal Music Publishing Group also earned its third consecutive Publisher of the Year crown, as host Jody Williams, BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville, along with Senior Director Thomas Cain and Director Beth Mason, of BMI's Writer/Publisher Relations Department in Nashville, presented awards spanning five categories: Christian Rock, Contemporary Christian, Inspirational, Urban Gospel and Southern Gospel. BMI Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations Phil Graham joined his staff on stage for the presentation of the night's top honors, Song, Songwriter, and Publisher of the Year.Advertisement

During the ceremony, the audience enjoyed intimate live performances of award-winning songs. The Booth Brothers delivered a stirring rendition of "What Salvation's Done for Me"; a new band called Caleb, featuring Caleb & Will Chapman, sons of Steven Curtis Chapman, offered a poignant performance of their father's hit "Cinderella"; and, as the uplifting conclusion, tobyMac performed his hit "Boomin'."

BMI also recognized the industry-shaping career of esteemed Christian music executive Billy Ray Hearn. Among numerous other influential endeavors, Hearn is the co-founder of genre-cornerstone Sparrow Records, which has launched and supported the careers of Christian and gospel greats, from Steven Curtis Chapman and CeCe and BeBe Winans to Switchfoot and Amy Grant.

A complete list of the 2010 BMI Christian Award winners is available at www.bmi.com.