Brandon Lake secured his second Song of the Year title at the 12th annual K-LOVE Fan Awards. Following his win in 2023 for career-defining original “Gratitude,” Lake picked up a trophy for “Hard Fought Hallelujah (feat. Jelly Roll)” at the 2025 ceremony. One of the biggest singles of the year, in terms of radio play, streams and crossover appeal, the immediate hit swiftly resonated with a broad spectrum of listeners, who connected with its raw honesty. When Lake added country sensation Jelly Roll to the track, the frenzy surrounding the honest recording entered an entirely new stratosphere.
Together, Lake and Jelly Roll have taken “Hard Fought Hallelujah” to the Grand Ole Opry, “American Idol,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and Stagecoach, country music’s premier festival, where they performed the powerful duet in front of an audience of 75,000 people.
Jonathan Roumie (“The Chosen”) and Michael Iskander (“House of David”) presented the 2025 Song of the Year to Lake, with Roumie proclaiming the award the “holy mic drop.”
Lake took the podium to accept the accolade, saying, “Jelly’s going to be so pumped. It’s crazy to see what this song has done.” Before he could continue, Jelly Roll interrupted his acceptance speech, appearing via video from a tour date in Las Vegas.
“I’ve been praying for a song like this,” Jelly Roll said. “What a beautiful story — from a jail cell to a K-LOVE Fan Award.”
Calling the collaboration a “long shot,” Lake closed his remarks by encouraging everyone gathered that fame isn’t a prerequisite for influence. “More revival will happen at dinner tables than it will on stages like this,” he offered. “It doesn’t take a platform and a microphone to be a revivalist… Walk across the street, be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Lake won all four categories in which he was nominated this year, upping his K-LOVE Fan Awards count to nine, after winning Worship Song of the Year for “That’s Who I Praise,” Male Artist of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “Hard Fought Hallelujah (feat. Jelly Roll).”
