Nashville, TN – The 53rd Annual GMA Dove Awards were handed out Tuesday night, October 18th, 2022, at the Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee to a sold-out audience. The show aired Friday, October 21st, exclusively on TBN and was simulcast on SiriusXM The Message. Co-hosts Erica Campbell and Chris Tomlin led the all-star night of music with performances from across the music community including Gospel, Latin, Hip Hop, and Southern Gospel.
Iconic artist CeCe Winans made Dove Awards history this year as the first Black female solo artist to win Artist of the Year. When accepting her award, instead of an acceptance speech, she sang a few lines from the Andrae Crouch classic, “To God Be the Glory,” moving many in the audience to tears. She and co-writers for “Believe for It” were also awarded Song of the Year. Throughout her incredible career, CeCe has won a staggering 25 Dove Awards including the very first New Artist of the Year award in 1988 with her brother BeBe Winans.
“It’s amazing when we come together and we love each other and we stand for righteousness, it’s amazing what God will do,” Winans said after accepting the award for Song of the Year. “It’s amazing what He’s already done. But He wants to do so much more. I’m believing for God to move in this industry greater than He ever has before. The God we serve responds to faithfulness and the testimonies I’ve heard through this song have blessed my life.”
Choirmaster Ricky Dillard won his first-ever Dove award in the category of Traditional Gospel Album of the Year for his twelfth album, Breakthrough: The Exodus (Live). Young gospel queen Jekalyn Carr picked up the third Dove award of her career. This time, she won Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year for her No. 1 hit, “My Portion.”
For KING + COUNTRY, writer/producer Jeff Pardo, and Phil Wickham led the night with three awards each with Wickham winning Songwriter of the Year – Artist and Worship Album of the Year, Pardo winning Producer of the Year and For KING + COUNTRY winning Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Twenty-year old newcomer Anne Wilson took home two awards including New Artist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year for “My Jesus.” The latter was recently certified gold by the R.I.A.A.
The night was packed with one-of-a-kind performances such as Steven Curtis Chapman’s career-spanning mash-up of his hits such as “The Great Adventure” and “Dive.” Phil Wickham and his electrifying band performed his current Top Ten single, “Hymn of Heaven.”
TobyMac thanked followers for their prayers and support following his son Truett’s unexpected death in 2020 before launching into a spirited performance of “The Goodness” with Nigerian-born singer Blessing Offor. “Thank you for the kindness you showed me and my family as we walked through the deepest valley in losing my firstborn son,” he said. “…There were times I never thought I would ever write another song, much less an up-tempo song or a song that felt like joy. But God is good. He might not always give us what we want, or take away the pain, but He is right here with us. He doesn’t leave. He remains.”
Here are a few of the other winners. For a full list of winners: https://doveawards.com/awards/2022-winners/
Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year: KB, nobigdyl – King Jesus
Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year: Tasha Cobbs Leonard – Gotta Believe
Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year: Maverick City Music ft. DOE, Jonathan McReynolds, Chandler Moore – Breathe
Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year: Lecrae 1k phew – No Church in a While
Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year: DOE – Clarity
Gospel Worship album of the Year: Tribl, Maverick City Music – Tribl Nights Atlanta
Short Form Music Video of the Year: Tauren Wells ft. Aaron Cole – Fake It
The theme of this year’s show was Sound of Heaven, highlighting how all the different styles of Christian and Gospel music come together under one banner of hope. “The music created by the artists assembled tonight covers a lot of ground style-wise,” said co-host Chris Tomlin, “but collectively they represent the sound of heaven.” Co-host Erica Campbell added, “We bring it all together to unite as one for the kingdom of God. One mind, one voice, giving glory to God. That’s the sound of heaven.”
The 53rd Annual GMA Dove Awards are produced by the Gospel Music Association. Jackie Patillo and Justin Fratt serve as showrunners and executive producers, alongside Curtis Stoneberger and Paul Wright as producers. Russell E. Hall returns as director, Michael Nolan as scriptwriter, Scott Moore and Go Live Productions as production manager.
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