Dove Awards in 1992 for Male Vocalist and New Artist. His first self-titled album was produced by Brown Bannister and featured major Christian radio hits in "Solid As The Rock", "Mary Did You Know" and "In Christ Alone" He left the Gaither Vocal Band in 1994. Michael was named GMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 1994. In addition to being named Male Vocalist of the Year, his single, "Holding Out Hope To You" won Inspirational Song of the Year and his 1994 recording, "Hope", was Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Scandal English's Christian music career abruptly came to a halt on May 6, 1994, just one week after the 25th GMA Dove Awards where he had received four Dove Awards, including Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. English learned that Marabeth Jordan, with whom he had an affair, was pregnant with his child. (Jordan sang with the group First Call; First Call and English had just completed a tour for unwed mothers.) Both English and Jordan were married to other people at the time. English was pressured by Warner Alliance to make a public apology, and he was eventually dropped by the label. Warner removed all promotions, marketing, which halted sales of English's records, and Christian radio stations pulled English's songs off the air. He also returned his Dove Awards to the Gospel Music Association. English and his wife Lisa, who were married for 11 years and had a daughter, divorced. English stayed with friends Ashley and Wynonna Judd during his recovery period, and did not perform gospel music for three years. In late 1994, English signed a record contract with Curb Records to produce mainstream pop music. A duet with Wynonna Judd, titled "Healing" (a song English had originally recorded for his album "Hope"), introduced English to a secular audience when the song was featured in the 1994 movie Silent Fall. Comeback In September 1996, English released a pop album, Freedom. The album's first single, "Your Love Amazes Me" (a cover of country music singer John Berry's 1994 hit), peaked at No. 10 on the adult contemporary chart but only hit No. 105 on the main chart. At both the 1996 and 1997 Dove Awards, his co-production for album projects by The Martins won Southern Gospel Album of the Year. He also produced albums he had already started for The Stamps Quartet, The Gaither