Lecrae

NASHVILLE (AP) - Christian rapper Lecrae leads the pack of nominees for the 46th annual Dove Awards with seven nominations, including artist of the year, thanks to his chart-topping album, "Anomaly."

The Gospel Music Association announced on Wednesday the nominees for the awards, which will be held on Oct. 13 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Grammy-winning artist, who was a co-host of the awards show in 2014, topped the Billboard 200 albums chart last year with his seventh studio album. Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, who perform as for KING & COUNTRY, have five nominations including artist of the year, and Crowder, Matt Maher and Chris Tomlin have four nominations each.

Francesca Battistelli, Kari Jobe and Mercy Me round out the artist-of-the-year nominations.