Nominations for the 56th Annual GMA Dove Awards have been unveiled, with Brandon Lake, Steven Furtick and Phil Wickham each scoring top-tier placement on this year’s leaderboard. Lake and Furtick tally nine nods each, while Wickham earns eight nominations.
Lake’s Platinum-certified crossover hit, “Hard Fought Hallelujah (feat. Jelly Roll),” and “King of Hearts” lead single “That’s Who I Praise” are set to go head-to-head in the coveted Song of the Year category. “Hard Fought Hallelujah (feat. Jelly Roll)” will also vie for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year and Short Form Music Video of the Year (Performance). Meanwhile, “That’s Who I Praise” will contend for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year. Lake’s additional nominations are comprised of honors for “I Know A Name,” with Elevation Worship, and Naomi Raine’s “Rest On Us (Flow) [Live],” which he co-wrote. Moreover, Lake is recognized among the nominees for Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year (Artist).
While best known as the senior pastor of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Elevation Church and, now, a member of Christian music supergroup Sons Of Sunday, Furtick’s nominations affirm just how prolific he is as a lyricist as he maintains co-writing credit on numerous nominated selections recorded by Lake, Elevation Worship and Elevation Rhythm.
Once again up for Artist of the Year, Wickham’s slate of nominations includes honors for recent single “The King Is In The Room,” personal creed “The Jesus Way” and 2024’s full-length holiday offering, “Hallelujah! It’s Christmas,” among others. Incidentally, Wickham and Lake’s documentary chronicling their annual “Summer Worship Nights” co-bill, “For the One,” is a contender for Feature Film of the Year.
Rising acts like Forrest Frank and Josiah Queen, who secure seven and four nominations respectively, stand out among this year’s crop of nominees with Frank placing two entries in the Song of the Year bracket, courtesy of “Good Day” and “UP! (feat. Connor Price),” and Queen notching a nod in the same category for his debut single, “The Prodigal.” Additionally, buzzworthy newcomers such as Leanna Crawford, Patrick Mayberry, Jamie MacDonald, Megan Woods, bodie, JWLKRS Worship, Abbie Gamboa, SEU Worship and Emerson Day all land first-time nominations.
Aside from the star-studded nominee announcement, for the first time since 1999, the GMA Dove Awards will return to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 7, 2025. The show will air exclusively on TBN and the TBN+ app on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Eight-time Dove Award winner Tauren Wells is slated to co-host for the third consecutive year.
Ahead of the 2025 awards ceremony, the Gospel Music Association will celebrate the opening of the first-ever Museum of Christian & Gospel Music in downtown Nashville on Oct. 3. The museum is just steps away from the historic Ryman Auditorium and is poised to display everything from artists’ personal memorabilia to one-of-a-kind artifacts, custom outfits, instruments and more; as well as house the inaugural GMA Hall of Fame, which will showcase the legacy and impact of hundreds of luminaries who have shaped the genre.
2025 GMA Dove Award Nominees
Song of the Year
“Counting My Blessings,” Seph Schlueter
(Writers) Seph Schlueter, Jordan Sapp, Jonathan Gamble
“Good Day,” Forrest Frank
(Writers) Forrest Frank
“Goodbye Yesterday,” Elevation Rhythm (feat. Gracie Binion)
(Writers) Gracie Binion, Steven Furtick, Mitch Wong, Josh Holiday
“Hard Fought Hallelujah,” Brandon Lake (feat. Jelly Roll)
(Writers) Brandon Lake, Jelly Roll, Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, Benjamin William Hastings
“Still Waters (Psalm 23),” Leanna Crawford
(Writers) Leanna Crawford, Jonathan Gamble, Justin Mark Richards
“That’s My King,” CeCe Winans
(Writers) Kellie Gamble, Jess Russ, Lloyd Nicks, Taylor Agan
“That’s Who I Praise,” Brandon Lake
(Writers) Brandon Lake, Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings, Zac Lawson, Micah Nichols
“The Prodigal,” Josiah Queen
(Writers) Josiah Queen, Jared Marc
“The Truth,” Megan Woods
(Writers) Megan Woods, Matthew West, Jeff Pardo
“UP!,” Forrest Frank (feat. Connor Price)
(Writers) Forrest Frank, Connor Price
Artist of the Year
New Artist of the Year
Abbie Gamboa
Caleb Gordon
Songwriter of the Year (Artist)
Chris Brown
Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year
“Goodbye Yesterday,” Elevation Rhythm (feat. Gracie Binion)
“Still Waters (Psalm 23),” Leanna Crawford
“That’s Who I Praise,” Brandon Lake
“Your Way’s Better,” Forrest Frank
Worship Recorded Song of the Year
“At the Altar,” Elevation Rhythm (feat. Tiffany Hudson & Abbie Gamboa)
“I Know A Name,” Elevation Worship (feat. Chris Brown & Brandon Lake)
“Mighty Name of Jesus (Live),” The Belonging Co. (feat. Hope Darst)
“The King Is In The Room,” Phil Wickham
“What A God (Live),” SEU Worship (feat. ONE HOUSE, Kenzie Walker, Chelsea Plank & Roosevelt Stewart)
Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year
“Child of God,” Forrest Frank
“Heaven On My Mind,” TobyMac
“I Believe - Devotional,” Phil Wickham
“The EXILE,” Crowder
“The Prodigal (Deluxe Edition),” Josiah Queen
Worship Album of the Year
“Here I Am” EP, JWLKRS Worship
“Move of God (Live),” SEU Worship
“Sold Out, Sincerely,” Benjamin William Hastings
“We Must Respond (Live),” Bethel Music
“When Wind Meets Fire,” Elevation Worship
Feature Film of the Year
“For the One”
“Reagan”
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
“The Forge”
“The King of Kings”
Television Series of the Year
“God. Family. Football.”
“House of David”
“Jesus: Refugee, Renegade, Redeemer” with Bear Grylls
“The Chosen”
“When Hope Calls”
For a full list of nominees, visit doveawards.com.
