Lauren Daigle, Zach Williams Top 48th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominees

Top row L to R: Zach Williams, Lauren Daigle, Chris Tomlin. Bottom row L to R: Crowder, Kirk Franklin, NEEDTOBREATHE.

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) announced today the nominees for the 48th Annual GMA Dove Awards. The awards show will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville at 6:30 p.m. CST. Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) will exclusively air the awards show on Sunday, October 22, reaching over 100 million viewers in the U.S., plus global and multi-platform distribution. Voting for the final winners will run August 21 through August 28.

Zach Williams and Lauren Daigle lead artist nominations with five, followed by Chris Tomlin, Crowder, Kirk Franklin and NEEDTOBREATHE with four nods each. Top nominated writer/producer Wayne Haun scored six nods, and Bernie Herms and David Garcia have five nods each.

“I’m thrilled to celebrate another year of Dove Awards nominations!” GMA President Jackie Patillo stated. “Our artists and creatives sacrifice year-round to share their sound with the world. Our theme this year is Sound the Remedy, we believe the message of Gospel and Christian music offer’s God’s remedy to the world.”

The GMA Dove Awards celebrate the contributions of artists from every style of Christian/Gospel music. Nominees are determined by over 1,500 professional members, and winners will be voted on by the entire GMA membership of nearly 2,500.

The nominees in the following categories were revealed on Facebook Live today:

Artist of the Year
Chris Tomlin, sixsteprecords/Sparrow Records
for KING & COUNTRY, Word Entertainment
Hillsong United, Hillsong Music Australia/Sparrow Records
MercyMe, Fair Trade Services
tobyMac, ForeFront Records

Song Of The Year
“Chain Breaker” – (writers) Jonathan Smith, Mia Fieldes, Zach Williams
“Come Alive (Dry Bones)” – (writers) Lauren Daigle, Michael Farren
“Even If” – (writers) Bart Millard, Ben Glover, Crystal Lewis, David Garcia, Tim Timmons
“Eye Of The Storm” – (writers) Bryan Fowler, Ryan Stevenson
“Feel Invincible” – (writers) John Cooper, Seth Mosley
“Great Are You Lord” – (writers) David Leonard, Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan
“King Of The World” – (writers) Sam Mizell, Becca Mizell, Natalie Grant
“O Come To The Altar” – (writers) Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye
“The Lion & The Lamb” – (writers) Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Leeland Mooring
“Thy Will” – (writers) Bernie Herms, Emily Lynn Weisband, Hillary Scott
“What a Beautiful Name” – (writers) Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood

Worship Song of the Year
“Ever Be” – (writers) Bobby Strand, Chris Greely, Gabriel Wilson, Kalley Heiligenthal
“Fierce” – (writers) Chris Quilala, Joshua Silverberg, Mia Fieldes
“O Come To The Altar” – (writers) Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye
“The Lion & The Lamb” – (writers) Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Leeland Mooring
“What a Beautiful Name” – (writers) Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood

Contemporary Gospel/Urban Worship Album of the Year
Let Them Fall In Love – CeCe Winans
Worship Journal Live – Fred Hammond
One Way – Tamela Mann
Secret Place – Vashawn Mitchell
Demonstrate – William Murphy

New Artist of the Year
Bri (Brianna Babineaux), Marquis Boone Enterprises/Tyscot Records
Micah Tyler, Fair Trade Services
Social Club Misfits, Capitol CMG Label Group
Steven Malcolm, Word Entertainment
Zach Williams, Provident Label Group

Gospel Artist of The Year
CeCe Winans, Pure Springs Gospel
Kirk Franklin, Fo Yo Soul Recordings/RCA Inspiration
Tamela Mann, TillyMann Music Group
Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Motown Gospel
Travis Greene, RCA Inspiration

Bluegrass/Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year
“Don’t Give Up On Me” – Bradley Walker
“Little White Church House” – Doug Anderson
“When Grandpa Sang Amazing Grace” – The Nelons
“Back to God” – Reba McEntire
“Rocks” – The Isaacs

Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year
The Very Next Thing – Casting Crowns
Rise – Danny Gokey
The River – Jordan Feliz
Lifer – MercyMe
Chain Breaker – Zach Williams

Inspirational Film Of The Year
Ben Hur – (producers) LightWorkers Media, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sean Daniel Company
The Case For Christ – (producers) Triple Horse Studios, Pure Flix Entertainment
I’m Not Ashamed – (producers) Visible Pictures, Big Film Factory, Pure Flix Entertainment
Priceless – (producer) Roadside Attractions
The Shack – (producers) Netter Productions, Summit Entertainment

For a full list of nominees, visit doveawards.com.