The 2017 Dove Awards nominations are in, and Lauren Daigle and Zach Williams are sharing the lead.
Both artists earned five nominations, while Chris Tomlin, Crowder, Kirk Franklin and Needtobreathe follow with four each. Writer and producer Wayne Haun received six nominations, and Bernie Herms and David Garcia earned five apiece.
The Artist of the Year category brings together Chris Tomlin, For King & Country, Hillsong United, MercyMe and TobyMac. Between them, the nominees cover pop, worship and enough arena-sized choruses to keep the evening moving even if the acceptance speeches do not.
Zach Williams also appears in New Artist of the Year and Song of the Year with “Chain Breaker.” Daigle received a Song of the Year nomination for “Come Alive (Dry Bones),” while MercyMe’s “Even If,” Hillary Scott’s “Thy Will” and Hillsong Worship’s “What a Beautiful Name” also landed in the category.
This year’s nominees stretch across contemporary Christian music, gospel, worship, rap, rock, bluegrass, country and roots music. Here is a look at several of the night’s biggest categories.
Artist of the Year
Chris Tomlin
For King & Country
Hillsong United
MercyMe
TobyMac
New Artist of the Year
The New Artist of the Year field includes gospel, pop and hip-hop performers who had already gathered significant attention before the Dove Awards made the introduction official.
Bri
Micah Tyler
Social Club Misfits
Steven Malcolm
Zach Williams
Song of the Year
“Chain Breaker”
Jonathan Smith, Mia Fieldes and Zach Williams, songwriters
“Come Alive (Dry Bones)”
Lauren Daigle and Michael Farren, songwriters
“Even If”
Bart Millard, Ben Glover, Crystal Lewis, David Garcia and Tim Timmons, songwriters
“Eye of the Storm”
Bryan Fowler and Ryan Stevenson, songwriters
“Feel Invincible”
John Cooper and Seth Mosley, songwriters
“Great Are You Lord”
David Leonard, Jason Ingram and Leslie Jordan, songwriters
“King of the World”
Sam Mizell, Becca Mizell and Natalie Grant, songwriters
“O Come to the Altar”
Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick and Wade Joye, songwriters
“The Lion & the Lamb”
Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson and Leeland Mooring, songwriters
“Thy Will”
Bernie Herms, Emily Weisband and Hillary Scott, songwriters
“What a Beautiful Name”
Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood, songwriters
Worship Song of the Year
“Ever Be”
Bobby Strand, Chris Greely, Gabriel Wilson and Kalley Heiligenthal, songwriters
“Fierce”
Chris Quilala, Joshua Silverberg and Mia Fieldes, songwriters
“O Come to the Altar”
Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick and Wade Joye, songwriters
“The Lion & the Lamb”
Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson and Leeland Mooring, songwriters
“What a Beautiful Name”
Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood, songwriters
Gospel Artist of the Year
CeCe Winans
Kirk Franklin
Tamela Mann
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Travis Greene
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
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
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
Inspirational Film of the Year
Ben-Hur
The Case for Christ
I’m Not Ashamed
Priceless
The Shack
The 48th Annual GMA Dove Awards will be held Oct. 17 at Allen Arena on the campus of Lipscomb University in Nashville. The ceremony will air Oct. 22 on TBN.
See the complete list of nominees at DoveAwards.com.