First Dance was in the First Round of the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominating Ballot for Best R&B Song of the Year.

It also won Honorable Mention in the 9th Annual Billboard Songwriter's Contest! First Dance placed in the top 500 out of over 20,000 entrants in this prestigious popular music contest.

Singer/Songwriter Donna Stearns was a guest on WBAI 99.5 FM on January 1, 1999 and First Dance, written for her own wedding, was one of the featured songs which was aired. Here is what the music industry is saying about this heartfelt wedding song:

Beautiful song!
---Billy Porricelli, MPL

Beautifully written and produced!
---Bob Leone, Songwriters' Hall of Fame

A truly beautiful and moving piece of work.
---Shawn Rhodes, WBAI 99.5 FM, New York City

First Dance is a great song. I'm suggesting it to my clients
---Grace Albion, DJ, The Pros

The trick is to write about the Very Personal in a way that makes it Universal so that it touches everyone in a Very Personal way. Donna has done this wonderfully in First Dance. It touches you.
--George Wurzbach, Songwriters Guild of America

It's in the style of Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson's "A Whole New World." Every bride who hears it will love it.
---Jason Kendall, New York Theatrical Director and Producer.

"First Dance" was performed live in THE INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL 2000. Played for the wedding scene in "All's Well That Ends Well," reviewer David Lipfert commended the performance-- "A versatile trio of musicians -- Slade Decker, Gome Sarig and Donna Stearns . . . "

Independently produced and released for distribution only on the Internet via this website, Donna Stearns was the only artist to ever have a song put on the Grammy nominating ballot with this kind of distribution model. After her successful entry, the Grammys changed their nominating requirements to demand that all internet-only releases be backed by a major label.