Butterworth is the son-in-law of Bill and Betsy Luoto of McMinnville Covenant Church in McMinnville, Oregon. His group has been in existence six years. Butterworth, the lead vocalist, and bass player Seth Davis started the group in 1997 while they were students at Azusa Pacific University in southern California. The group released its first album, Hero, last summer through Reunion Records in Nashville.

A song written by Butterworth and Reggie Hamm from the Hero album, "Tangled Web," was nominated for Rock Recorded Song of the Year. And the album was among five nominated in the Recorded Music Packaging of the Year division.

Others nominated for New Artist of the Year include Big Daddy Weave, Jeff Deyo, Paul Colman Trio, the Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus and Souljahz.

Michael W. Smith and Toby McKeehan (known as tobyMac) received nine nominations and Kirk Franklin received eight nominations in different categories for the Dove Awards. Smith, tobyMac, Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe and Third Day were nominated for Artist of the Year.

Smith (who is also with Reunion Records) helped give Butterworth and his band an early boost for their album when they teamed up for a benefit concert that raised funds for a Nashville area Christian school last year. Daily Planet visited the North Pacific Conference and hosted a concert at McMinnville Covenant Church in November before heading to Holland for a European tour that ended in early December.

Daily Planet began a winter tour in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 10. The band is performing every weekend for the next few months, according to Betsy Luoto, the vice chair of the North Pacific Conference. The band is hoping to be at a McMinnville Christian festival called "Glory in the Grove" during the summer. Daily Planet and Jars of Clay were the keynote performers at last year's event.

Butterworth and wife, Marisa, are both musically inclined, having met at Azusa Pacific. The two eventually sang together in the university choir. Marisa helps behind the scenes for Daily Planet and has been an assistant for another noted Christian artist, Joy Williams.