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Ten months ago, they were still star-struck schoolboys, little more than mere fans in the audience at the Dove Awards show—Christian music's version of the Grammies.

The five wide-eyed guys, one of 'em still a high school senior, were giddy with giggles, barely believing they were even in the same building with some of the biggest names in the biz.

"Look!" one of the guys practically squealed. "There's dc Talk!!"

"And over there!" another said. "It's Rebecca!!"

"Hey!" added a third. "Isn't that Steven?"

It was all they could do to resist the urge to rush up to their heroes and ask for autographs and a quick snapshot for the scrapbook back at home.

Things'll be quite different at this year's Doves, coming up in April. This time around, all eyes will be on them instead.

"Hey," some fan will say, "isn't that Plus One?"

It's been a wild and crazy year for Plus One, Christian music's answer to the dizzying popularity of boy bands like 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys.

Since their debut disc, The Promise (143 Records/Atlantic), released last May, the quintet with the cover-boy good looks has:

• run away with Campus Life's Best New Artist award, thanks to your votes!

• gone gold with more than 500,000 album sales; The Promise was last year's top-selling single-artist CD in Christian stores.

• had two No. 1 Christian radio hits, "Written on My Heart" and "God Is in This Place." "Written" sat atop the charts for almost two months last summer.

• had a mainstream single, the love song "Last Flight Out," get lots of airtime on about 100 radio stations.

• opened for mega-star Jaci Velasquez on a 60-city tour last fall. They'll headline their own tour this spring, joined by pop princesses Rachael Lampa and Stacie Orrico.

• appeared on NBC's "Days of Our Lives" in front of about 3.5 million viewers.

• performed at the Democratic National Convention last summer, alongside such icons as Stevie Wonder and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

• been nominated for a Dove Award as New Artist of the Year.

• fended off countless screeching, squealing, smitten teen girls. … and even a few of their moms.

Moms?

"Yeah, moms," says Gabe Combs, 21, rolling his eyes. "It's happened at a few concerts. Girls are always coming up to us for autographs or to take pictures. And a few times, even their moms were pushing the limits, trying to hug us and stuff, flirting with us. It was crazy. We had to tell our road manager to get us out of there."

Yep, all the signs of a popular boy band. Maybe not quite the mass hysteria surrounding Backstreet or 'N Sync, but more than just a hint of it nonetheless.

Not that they're complaining.

"We're five guys who love girls," says Nathan Walters, 22. "That's why we've got love songs on our album. We're always going to sing about that."

But that's only a small part of what Plus One is all about.

"Our mission is to bring hope," says Jason Perry, 18. "We have a message that God loves you and cares for you. That's what our name means: It's us plus one, and the one is God."

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