Natalie Grant and Jonathan McReynolds served as sociable co-hosts for the evening; This was McReynolds’ first co-host of the event, while Grant hosted it back in 2007.
We the Kingdom gave the first performance of the evening, brought the tumultuous folk rock of “God So Loved” to the stage and welcomed the international children’s choir His Little Feet. The evening’s first prize, Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year, went to Koryn Hawthornes I AM.
From then on, this year’s GMA Dove Awards performances of CCM, gospel, rap / hip-hop, worship, southern gospel and more seemed to merge into a seamless showcase for the breadth and depth of the genre as a whole, from hard hit hip -Hop from KB, Hawthorne’s simmering R&B, the folk worship style of Daigle, The Isaacs’ Bluegrassy “The American Face”, CAIN’s mix of rock, country and folk, and the communal worship style of Elevation Worship.
Grant and CeCe Winans, two of the leading singers in gospel and Christian music, held court during the evening. As soon as Grant took the stage, the crowd fell silent and the participants stood at attention as she put on “My Weapon” and together with the Belonging Co. choir gave an impressive, string-filled performance.
Winans has had a great year working with Carrie Underwood on Great Is Thy Faithfulness (by Underwoods My savior Album) and to have her own “Believe for It”, which is currently in the top 15 posterGospel Airplay Chart. It provided a stunning live rendition of the song that was both powerful and elegant.
Winans, one of the most highly awarded entertainers in gospel music, was added to her awards, winning four categories on the evening including Gospel Artist of the Year, Gospel Worship Album of the Year (Believe in it), Gospel Worship Song of the Year (“Believe for It”), and Inspirational Song of the Year (“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” with Underwood).
Later that evening, We the Kingdom returned to the stage as the winner in the Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year category. They also took home the Pop / Contemporary Album of the Year honor holy water. Members of the intergenerational group, led by popular songwriter / producer Ed Cash, hugged after stepping on stage to receive the award.
Jason Ingram also took home four honors over the course of the evening, including Songwriter of the Year (non-artist).
“I’ve been making music for a long time and that means so much to me,” said Cash, who is also known for his work on CCM hits like Chris Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God” and “Made to Worship”. “It means so much because I saw God intervene in my family in miraculous ways.” About the honor, he said, “God thought it right for whatever reason, so I want to give him all the credit . “
Major collaborations during the ceremony included Mali Music and McReynolds, who teamed up on Best Thing and Jump Ship, and Dante Bowe’s collaboration with Kelontae Gavin. Matt Redman later appeared on KB’s performance of “10k”, which featured an excerpt from Redman’s “10,000 Reasons (bless the Lord).”
Not only did KB deliver one of the most electrifying performances of the evening, but also delivered one of the most impressive acceptance speeches of the evening for winning the Rap / Hip-Hop Album category for his project His glory alone.
“Impressive. I was 16 years old when someone gave me a Christian hip-hop CD. It had a guy on the cover who had dreadlocks like mine, a red bandana went over his forehead and a red bandana went over his mouth and the album was called Bloody streets. I said, ‘Look, I don’t have a degree from Lifeway Christian Bookstores, but this isn’t Christian rap, this man is about to rob a bank.’ He said, ‘No, that’s Christian hip hop. They’re taking it home. ‘ I’ve been in a dark, dark place. I took the album home with me. I listened to it from cover to cover and the eighth song was a gospel presentation and I believed in Jesus listening to this album, ”he said while the crowd cheered. “I swore to the Lord Jesus that I would spend my life reproducing this moment for people around the world.” He turned to Wes Writer, one of his collaborators on the album, and added, “It dawned on me straight: The gentleman behind me, Wes, who co-founded this project, heard my album a few years ago, believed in Jesus and now he’s helping me make records. “
Elevation Worship has collected victories in four categories through its work with Brandon Lake and Kari Jobe. “Graves into Gardens” with Lake was named song of the year, while “The Blessing” was named song of the year by Elevation Worship, Jobe and Cody Carnes. Elevation Worships work with worship music collective Maverick City Music on the album Cellar of the old church won worship album of the year while Lake was named songwriter of the year (artist). “Graves into Gardens” was also named Music Packaging of the Year.
Maverick City Music has stormed poster‘s Christian and Gospel charts with “Jireh” (with Elevation Worship, Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine) and their current single “Promises” last year and took poster Music Award at the beginning of the year for the best gospel album. The group was named New Artist of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards.
For King & Country, Joel and Luke Smallbone received the evening’s greatest honor, Artist of the Year. It was one of three wins for the duo during the ceremony. Last year they earned a poster Christian Airplay was a hit with “Together” with Kirk Franklin and Tori Kelly, this year “Amen” followed.
“It’s been a little bumpy, it’s been a strange couple of years,” Luke told the audience, sharing his own struggle with larynx surgery a few months ago. “You can’t say a word for about five days. So you wait eagerly to see what’s going to happen,” he recalled the days after the procedure.
“I felt fine for about two days after the operation, when some of these thoughts came to my mind: ‘What if I can’t do this anymore? What if my vote is taken? Brothers? What if I can’t write songs or perform? ‘ When you start asking these questions, there comes a point where you think, ‘Who am I if I can’t sing?’ “Luke said. “I felt that God was really, really clearly saying, ‘It was never about a song that you can sing. It was never about a performance, a show, or the mistakes you’ve made in the past, or those good things or failures that “might take place in the future. I love you. ‘”He added,” I’m up here … more convinced than ever that the power of music is changing. “
See a selected list of winners below:
Song of the year: “The Blessing” by Kari Jobe (Authors: Kari Jobe, Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Steven Furtick)
Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year: We the Kingdom
Gospel Artist of the Year: CeCe Winans
Gospel Worship Album of the Year, Believe for It, CeCe Winans
Recorded Gospel Worship Song of the Year, “Believe for It,” CeCe Winans
Artist of the Year: for King & Country
New Artist of the Year: Maverick City Music
Worship Song of the Year: “Graves into Gardens”, Elevation Worship feat. Brandon Lake
Rap / Hip-Hop Album of the Year: His glory alone, KB
Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Change is coming, Joseph Habedank
Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year: Koryn Hawthorne
Inspirational Movie of the Year: A Week Away
Songwriter of the Year (non-artist): Jason Ingram
Songwriter of the Year (Artist): Brandon Lake
Rap / Hip-Hop Song of the Year: “Deep End”, Lecrae
Pop / Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year: “Famous For (I Believe),” Tauren Wells
Inspirationally recorded song of the year, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, Carrie Underwood feat. CeCe Winans
Pop / Contemporary Album of the Year: holy water‘We the Kingdom
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