The 56th Annual GMA Dove Awards took place on October 7, 2025, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, with live performances and emotional moments that celebrated faith and community. Brandon Lake was the most awarded artist of the night, taking home five honors, including Songwriter of the Year (Artist) and Song of the Year for his powerful hit “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” co-written with Jelly Roll, Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, and Benjamin William Hastings.
Forrest Frank was named Artist of the Year, while Leanna Crawford claimed the title of New Artist of the Year. CeCe Winans won two awards, including Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year for “Come Jesus Come,” a collaboration with Shirley Caesar. Israel & New Breed’s “Coritos de Fuego” earned them the Spanish Language Recorded Song of the Year.
The night was full of memorable performances. For KING + COUNTRY, joined by Taylor Hill, opened the show with their stirring rendition of “World On Fire.” A surprise moment occurred when Ben Fuller invited 8-time Grammy winner Carrie Underwood to perform their nominated song “If It Was Up To Me.” Steven Curtis Chapman, recently inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, performed with Lady A and Vince Gill for a special Opry 100 tribute.
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Israel & New Breed, along with Unified Sound, brought together an ensemble of artists like Aaron Moses, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, and others for an unforgettable Latin performance. CeCe Winans led an emotional, acoustic version of “Come Jesus Come,” while Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll, joined by Jon Batiste, closed the night with a rain-drenched version of “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”
Host Tauren Wells set the tone with an inspiring monologue, reminding the audience that the evening was a celebration of faith, not fame. He encouraged everyone to remember that without Jesus, none of their accomplishments would be possible. Many of the winners echoed these sentiments in their speeches, with Jelly Roll emphasizing the importance of walking out of the awards show and actively showing Jesus to the world.
Notable Winners:
Artist of the Year: Forrest Frank
New Artist of the Year: Leanna Crawford
Song of the Year: “Hard Fought Hallelujah”
Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year: “Come Jesus Come” – CeCe Winans, Shirley Caesar
Spanish Language Recorded Song of the Year: “Coritos de Fuego” – Israel & New Breed, Unified Sound (ft. Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Nate Diaz, Aaron Moses, Lucia Parker)
Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year: “God Problems” – Live Breathe Fight – Tamela Mann
Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Loving You – The Nelons
Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year: “The Jesus Way” – Phil Wickham
Feature Film of the Year: The King of Kings – Director: Jang Seong-ho
Memorable Quotes:
CeCe Winans, upon receiving the Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year: “We don’t do this for the award, we do it for Jesus.”
Jelly Roll, upon winning Song of the Year: “The world is hearing about Jesus like never before. Now show them Jesus through your actions.”
Autumn Nelon, upon receiving Southern Gospel Album of the Year: “This is the last album I made with my family, and I know they are looking down, proud of us.”
#GMA DoveAwards #BrandonLake #CeCeWinans #JellyRoll #SongOfTheYear #WorshipMusic #ForrestFrank #LeannaCrawford #LatinMusic #GospelMusic
