GMA Dove Awards Crown New Christian Music Royalty: Wickham, Lake Among Top Winners

The 57th annual GMA Dove Awards, celebrating the Christian and Gospel music community's top artists, songs, and albums, aired on TBN and TBN+ on Friday night, October 9. The prestigious event, hosted for the fourth consecutive year by singer-songwriter Tauren Wells, was held on October 6 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, where many talents were recognized for their contributions.

Phil Wickham, Josiah Queen, and Brandon Lake emerged as the top winners, each taking home three honors, while Tasha Cobbs Leonard secured two awards. Phil Wickham was crowned Artist of the Year, and his album Song of the Saints earned him Worship Album of the Year. He also won Children’s Recorded Song of the Year for his work on “Follow The Light.” In his acceptance speech for Worship Album of the Year, Wickham expressed his gratitude, stating, “God has given us reason after reason to worship him. To be able to write songs with amazing people and to think that people sing them to Jesus blows my mind.”

Josiah Queen's track “Dusty Bibles” earned him both Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year. His album Mt. Zion was also recognized with the Recorded Music Packaging of the Year award. Accepting the Song of the Year honor, Queen thanked his co-writers John Michael Howell, Zac Lawson, and Dylan Thomas, reflecting on his journey: “I grew up following the Dove Awards because I looked up to so many of you writers and musicians. In saying that and getting this, it’s a huge honor. The greatest honor I can have as a human is to serve Jesus,” adding that opening his Bible and spending time with Him completely changed his life during hard times.

Brandon Lake was honored as Songwriter of the Year (Artist) and his album King of Hearts won Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. He also received the Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year award for “The Jesus I Know Now,” a collaboration with Lainey Wilson. Wilson, accepting the award alongside Lake, emphasized the role of creators: “There’s a line in the song that says, ‘He says who I am and it ain’t what I do.’ I want to remind all the creators, we are not just singers. We’re not just songwriters, we are connectors.” Earlier in the evening, Wilson and Lake delivered a powerful performance of their award-winning song.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard's project Tasha was recognized as Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year, and her song “Church” won Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year, which she also performed during the show. Cobbs Leonard shared her journey with the album, stating, “God took me on a journey over the past year and a half…I’ve seen sides of Him that I’ve never seen before. The goodness of God and who He is is absolutely amazing.” Jamie MacDonald, known for hits like “Left It In The River,” was named New Artist of the Year. MacDonald’s acceptance speech revealed a personal journey: “I spent two decades waiting tables and trying to write songs. I was trying to heal after years of addiction and shame. I got ahold of a CeCe Winans record and it changed everything and I began singing the truth over myself.”

The evening was also filled with memorable performances. Amy Grant and Natalie Grant paid a heartfelt tribute to the late singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Amy Grant remarked, “What a rare artist…she felt like she belonged to all of us. Her music crossed generations and genres and boundaries of all kinds, and faith was woven into who she was, how she lived, and the music she made.” They performed Parton's “How Great Thou Art” and “I Will Always Love You.” Amy Grant later shared with Billboard her appreciation for Parton’s deep-rooted faith and the honor of singing with Natalie Grant, whose voice she described as capturing “the colors of the stratosphere.” Other performances included Anne Wilson with “Who I Am,” Chosen Road with “A God Thing,” Hope Darst with “Mighty Name of Jesus,” and Hulvey with a choreography-filled performance of “Rich Like This” and “Dave.” Host Tauren Wells joined Naomi Raine for “This Is What a Miracle Feels Like,” and Tye Tribbett further energized the audience with “I Want It All Back.”

Sarai Rivera’s “Tu Voz” was honored as Spanish Language Recorded Song of the Year. Rivera shared the song's inspiration, saying she wrote it when “I needed His voice to be louder than the fears, than the lies…today I’m a living testimony that His voice keeps echoing louder and louder.” The show also extended to the nearby Ryman Auditorium, where Elevation Worship performed “So Be It.” Influential Gospel music songwriter Richard Smallwood was celebrated with a special performance by Jonathan McReynolds, Kierra Sheard, Donald Lawrence, Maurette Brown Clark & Ted Winn, who sang classics like “The Center of My Joy” and “I Love The Lord.” The inaugural GMA Community Impact Award for Peace and Purpose was presented to God Behind Bars, an organization dedicated to bringing faith-based messages to those in prison. Jamie MacDonald, freshly crowned New Artist of the Year, closed the joyous evening with a soulful rendition of “Left It In The River.”

Key winners in major categories at the 57th annual GMA Dove Awards included:

• Artist of the Year: Phil Wickham
• Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year: “Dusty Bibles,” Josiah Queen
• Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year: King of Hearts, Brandon Lake
• Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year: “Broken Angels,” The Grascals and Dolly Parton
• Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year: “More Than This,” Cece Winans feat. Todd Dulaney
• Worship Recorded Song of the Year: “God I’m Just Grateful,” Elevation Worship and Chandler Moore
• Worship Album of the Year: Song of the Saints, Phil Wickham
• Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year: “Still (Live),” Jonathan McReynolds and Jamal Roberts
• Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year: Tasha, Tasha Cobbs Leonard
• New Artist of the Year: Jamie MacDonald
• Song of the Year: “Dusty Bibles,” Josiah Queen
• Spanish Language Recorded Song of the Year: “Tu Voz,” Sarai Rivera
• Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year: “No Survivors,” Jeremy Camp feat. Skillet
• Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year: Could Be Tonight, Hulvey
• Feature Film of the Year: David
• Television Series of the Year: The Chosen