Tauren Wells, Zach Williams, Matthew West and MercyMe were among those honored at the 49th Annual GMA Dove Awards
The 49th Annual GMA Dove Awards were celebrated on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 live from Allen Arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. The show will be televised on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) on Sunday, October 21th at 8 p.m. CT/9 p.m. ET.
First-time nominee, Tauren Wells took home four of his eight nominations. Wells was honored with four awards for Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year.
Wells, the former lead singer for Christian rock group Royal Tailor, performed his number-one single “Known” from his solo debut album, Hills and Valleys, and performed “War Cry” with Social Club Misfits.
“While it’s great to pose for all these pictures and getting to hold all these trophies, this doesn’t matter as much as what is happening inside our hearts,” said Wells backstage.
As far as other wins, Zach Williams took home Artist of the Year; Reckless Love was named Song of the Year; Matthew West was honored as Songwriter of the Year and Inspirational Film of the Year was awarded to “I Can Only Imagine,” among other awards.
The evening also included many outstanding performances, including first time collaborations with Kirk Franklin and Tori Kelly, Jason Crabb and Rascal Flatts, as well as Natalie Grant and Koryn Hawthorne.
Other highlights included performances from Big Daddy Weave, Cory Asbury, Lauren Daigle, Newsboys, For KING & COUNTRY, Jekalyn Carr, Social Club Misfits, Zach Williams. KB, Anthony Brown & Group TherAPy with 1K Phew.
Chris Tomlin, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Bart Millard, Devon Franklin, Bill Gaither, Jasmine Murray, Matthew West, Dr. Bobby Jones, Brian Courtney Wilson, Brian and Jenn Johnson, Chonda Pierce, Erwin Brothers, Israel Houghton, Joel Houston, Jonathan McReynolds, Jordan Feliz, Joseph Habedank, Rebecca St. James, Trace Adkins and The Walls Group were among the night’s presenters.
A full list of winners is available at https://doveawards.com/awards/2018-winners/. For more information on the Dove Awards, go to www.doveawards.com.
Here’s a look at some of this year’s winners:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Zach Williams
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Tauren Wells
SONG OF THE YEAR: “Reckless Love” – writers Caleb Culver, Cory Asbury, Ran Jackson, (publishers) Bethel Music Publishing, Richmond Park Publishing, Watershed Music Publishing
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR (ARTIST): Matthew West
SOUTHERN GOSPEL ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Gaither Vocal Band
GOSPEL ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Tasha Cobbs Leonard
INSPIRATIONAL FILM OF THE YEAR: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE (directors) The Erwin Brothers, (producers) Kevin Downes and Cindy Bond
The GMA Dove Awards celebrate the contributions of artists from every style of Christian/Gospel music. Nominees are determined by GMA’s professional members, and winners are voted on by the entire GMA membership. (Pictured: Tauren Wells – left. Photo by Jamie Gilliam.)
