Fervent Records’ Francesca Battistelli became the Dove Awards’ “darling” tonight as predicted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution winning three awards, including the top honors for “Artist Of The Year” and “Female Vocalist Of The Year.” She also won the award for “Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song Of The Year” for the smash hit "Beautiful Beautiful." These accolades come on the heels of the successful release of Battistelli’s sophomore album Hundred More Years, which debuted at No. 1 on the Christian Album Chart and No. 16 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart. The album is available everywhere now.

“I want to make this moment last a hundred years!” shares Battistelli. “I’m so thankful for all of my fans, friends and family that have supported me along the way and helped make this night possible. I’m blessed to have each and every one of you in my life.”

The 42nd Annual Dove Awards show will be broadcasted on The Gospel Music Channel (GMC) on Sunday, April 24th at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Battistelli’s smash No. 1 single “This Is The Stuff” is the perfect introduction to an album that takes the treasures of her debut My Paper Heart one-step further. Working with producer Ian Eskelin, she has crafted a CD that is every bit as hooky and infectious as its predecessor but whose subject matter, as befitting a young woman whose life has changed so dramatically, addresses a wider spectrum of the human experience.

Hundred More Years released to rave reviews and is the follow-up to her debut My Paper Heart which delivered the smash No. 1 single “Free To Be Me” and hit singles “It’s Your Life,” “I’m Letting Go” and “Beautiful, Beautiful.” With over 430,000 albums sold and well over 900,000 downloads to date, Battistelli has become the best-selling new artist in the genre in the past eight years. To date Battistelli has earned a Grammy nomination (Best Gospel Song Performance), five Dove Awards and 15 Dove Award nominations. Her music has also been featured on TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, and several other television and movie outlets.

For additional information on Francesca Battistelli, please visit http://www.francescamusic.com/.