NATALIE GRANT

Best Female Artist

Best Female Artist Runners-up:

2. Francesca Battistelli

3. Rebecca St. James

Profile By Grace S. Cartwright

When we reached Natalie Grant, it was an early morning in Nashville, but the bubbly singer was as upbeat as ever. Her ready laugh and lilting dialogue make it easy to see why fans voted her “Best Female Artist” in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards. Grant was also recently crowned “Female Vocalist” at the 2009 Dove Awards for the fourth consecutive year. Though she has sold countless records, this Seattle-born wife and mother would rather gush about her husband and toddler twins than about her recent accolades. She happily gave CCM and her fans nine inside looks at her life of late.

MAKE ME OVER

Known for her signature style and classy outfits, Natalie admits, “I am a bit of a shopaholic. I love to shop at Nordstrom. They don’t have one in Nashville, but I have a Nordstrom radar on my head. Every time we’re in a city, I go straight to Nordstrom. My other obsession is Target. You can find everything at Target. And you go in and you need toilet paper, but you can never leave spending under $100!”

HOME

She may have the title of “Female Vocalist of the Year,” but she’s the first to tell you her favorite title is “Wife and Mom.” “This year I am celebrating 10 years of marriage in August; and we have twin daughters. They are 2-years-old—Gracie and Bella. They are a lot of fun, and we are right in the phase where we are thinking about potty training. I am such a rookie parent,” she laughs, “And I am a Twitter-a-holic, so I twittered, ‘I need advice on how to potty train!’”

WE ARE ALL THE SAME

“I am a good cook, and I think that surprises people,” Natalie says. “I think people might think I have a callous on my finger from dialing take-out. I love to cook, and I don’t get to do it all the time; but I pride myself on being a really good cook. I’m not a very good baker, because I’m not good at things that take precision. I like to create things.”

SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

With a lengthy list of hit singles, Natalie says she still loves to sing her smash single from 2005, “Held.” “It’s gotten to the point now where I’ve sung it so many times, it can feel a little old until you look into the audience,” she says. “I always say I have the best seat in the house, and I can see people’s faces; and I wonder what their story is. That’s a pretty special moment for me every night.”

IN BETTER HANDS

Natalie loves her fans. “There was this really sweet girl who booked me to come in concert,” she shares. “And, you know, when you go, you don’t know the background, but when I got there…this girl booked the concert herself, and she’s paying for it herself. She had gotten three part-time jobs. I couldn’t believe that someone had done this to bring me in. It must have been 2004, and the Doves had just happened. I didn’t win so she made me my own trophy and gave it to me in the concert! It was really sweet, and I still have it.”