Adding to a huge year highlighted by numerous award nods—including nominations for two GRAMMY® Awards, a GMA Dove Award and a Billboard Music Award—decorated Sparrow Records singer-songwriter Matthew West can now add an Emmy nomination to that ever-growing list. West was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Original Music and Lyrics for his song “The Heart of Christmas” from the film The Heart of Christmas.

The 64th Primetime Emmy® Awards
 program will air on September 23rd, live on ABC Television at 8e|5p. The nominations were announced by the The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on Thursday morning (7/19), presented by Kerry Washington of "Scandal" and Jimmy Kimmel, who is hosting the Emmys.

“I am honored to have had the chance to be a part of the movie The Heart of Christmas,” says West. “When I wrote the song, I never even imagined being recognized in this way, but I am thankful and hope this Emmy® nomination will shine a greater light on this little movie with a big heart.”

THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS movie inspired by GRAMMY®-nominated singer-songwriter Matthew West’s viral holiday hit, "One Last Christmas," debuted on gmc (Gospel Music Channel) on Dec. 4, 2011, and was the highest-rated gmc world-premiere movie in the history of the cable channel. West’s Christmas album, The Heart of Christmas, also released in late 2011 features the title track and theme song for the movie along with the viral hit “One Last Christmas,” which was a Top 10 hit at mainstream AC radio, and appearances by GRAMMY® winners and nominees Vince Gill, Amy Grant and Mandisa from American Idol.

The gmc world-premiere movie stars include Candace Cameron Bure (Make It or Break It, Full House), Burgess Jenkins (Remember the Titans, The Reaping), Kelsey Kingsbury, George Newbern (Father of the Bride, Justice League), Dendrie Taylor (The Fighter, Sons of Anarchy, True Blood), and GRAMMY®-nominated recording artist Matthew West. THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS is based on a true story that made national headlines when a community in central Illinois decorated their houses for Christmas several weeks early for a two-year-old boy battling a rare form of leukemia. The movie unfolds as one family’s grief is eased by the love and support of their community and the life-changing legacy their son, Dax Locke, left behind, which reminds us all to cherish every moment.