All the American Idol wannabes that worked so hard to attain the prize that eventually went to Jordin Sparks may not want to know what singer/songwriter/worship artist Aaron Shust did to earn the title of New Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards over a month ago. He basically did … nothing.

      Well, obviously he did something. But he did not implement a carefully constructed plan for success to catapult his debut disc, Anything Worth Saying, into the upper reaches of Christian music. Nor did he craft an elaborate maintenance plan for his newly released follow-up, Whispered and Shouted.

      "My songs were played at church and I was playing for retreats and conferences," says Shust as he retraces the life cycle of the rock-skewed worship of Anything Worth Saying. "We made 2000 copies for the church bookstore and got them all back in August 2004. I signed with Brash Records in February 2005, who hooked me up with management in Nashville, and in August 2005 the record was released nationally."

      Even at that point it was not an immediate explosion, yet by the end of 2006 the record had sold 140,000 copies (and is now at over 170,000) and the hit single "My Savior, My God" became the biggest tune of the year at multiple Christian radio formats. In addition, it was downloaded over 85,000 times on iTunes and held at No. 1 on the site's Inspirational chart for more than three months. The song was also the reason Shust took home two other key Dove Awards this year: Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.

      The Dove Awards hoopla did not kick in until Whispered and Shouted was basically completed, but the momentum already underway during its creation had a positive impact upon Shust's artistic vision.

      "This was an important record," Shust admits. "I was writing songs up until the time I was in the studio. The first album was made for the heck of it and the label got interested and picked it up. For this there was pressure, especially after reading 'Is Aaron Shust to be a one-hit wonder?' But pressure keeps me sharp, and overall the second album is better than the first. I believe in it."

      How deeply his fan base embraces that belief is still to be seen, but Shust worked hard to give them something substantial to latch on to. For this pivotal release, tone and presentation, particularly the "flow" of the project via track sequencing, were vital to him

      The Pittsburgh native has been a worship leader at his current home church in Atlanta for quite a few years and that vocation was instrumental in assessing the qualities noted above. "As a worship leader, flow is very important to me," he states. "You cannot just throw songs out, you must plan it. I like the flow of this record; it starts with a bang, gets introspective, gets fun and then comes to a close."

      The commitment to flow was not even hampered by the emergence of lead single "Give Me Words To Speak," a song built upon a snippet featured on his first disc but added to the final selection later in the game. The first four songs on Whispered and Shouted bled together so seamlessly that Shust slotted the single to be track No. 5 rather than the lead-off tune, which makes it easier for radio programmers and listeners to hear.

      Shust just came off a 40-city tour this spring with Mercy Me and Audio Adrenaline and will be featured at numerous summer festivals. In the fall, one month opening for Michael W. Smith is close to confirmation, along with an additional month with Mercy Me and some headlining dates with Building 429.

      In the end, Aaron Shust says he is pleased to be a part of Christian music, which he has listened to since high school. And he will continue to write and perform and lead worship as long as he is led to do so and has the opportunities. Like any faithful music fan he notes, "It makes it cool that I am in this industry, since I have been following it for so long."