The 2015 Dove Awards nominations are in, and Lecrae is leading the field.
He earned seven nominations, including Artist of the Year and Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year. For King & Country follows with five nominations, while Crowder, Chris Tomlin and Matt Maher received four each.
This year’s nominations stretch across contemporary Christian music, gospel, worship, rap, rock, Southern Gospel and nearly every point between them. The Dove Awards have never been particularly interested in making one genre carry the entire conversation.
The Artist of the Year category brings together For King & Country, Francesca Battistelli, Kari Jobe, Lecrae and MercyMe. Lauren Daigle, Danny Gokey and NF are among the nominees for New Artist of the Year, while Erica Campbell, Fred Hammond, Israel & New Breed, Jonathan McReynolds, Tamela Mann and Tasha Cobbs compete for Gospel Artist of the Year.
The Song of the Year field includes Crowder’s “Come as You Are,” MercyMe’s “Greater,” Lauren Daigle’s “How Can It Be,” Needtobreathe’s “Multiplied” and Casting Crowns’ “Thrive.” Apparently, narrowing an entire year of Christian music down to one song was not already difficult enough.
Here is a look at the nominees in several of the night’s biggest categories.
Artist of the Year
For King & Country
Francesca Battistelli
Kari Jobe
Lecrae
MercyMe
New Artist of the Year
The New Artist of the Year nominees include pop, worship, rap and singer-songwriters whose careers were already moving quickly before the Dove Awards made the introduction official.
About a Mile
Danny Gokey
I Am They
Lauren Daigle
NF
Song of the Year
Song of the Year honors both the recording and the writers behind it. This year’s field includes songs about grace, faith, perseverance and the recurring discovery that God’s plans are often larger than whatever was happening when the first verse began.
“Come as You Are”
Crowder
Ben Glover, David Crowder and Matt Maher, songwriters
“Greater”
MercyMe
Barry Graul, Bart Millard, Ben Glover, David Garcia, Mike Scheuchzer, Nathan Cochran and Robby Shaffer, songwriters
“He Knows My Name”
Francesca Battistelli
Francesca Battistelli, Mia Fieldes and Seth Mosley, songwriters
“Hope in Front of Me”
Danny Gokey
Bernie Herms, Brett James and Danny Gokey, songwriters
“How Can It Be”
Lauren Daigle
Jason Ingram, Jeff Johnson and Paul Mabury, songwriters
“Multiplied”
Needtobreathe
Bear Rinehart and Bo Rinehart, songwriters
“Overwhelmed”
Big Daddy Weave
Michael Weaver and Phil Wickham, songwriters
“This Is Amazing Grace”
Phil Wickham
Jeremy Riddle, Josh Farro and Phil Wickham, songwriters
“Thrive”
Casting Crowns
Mark Hall and Matthew West, songwriters
“We Believe”
Newsboys
Matthew Hooper, Richie Fike and Travis Ryan, songwriters
Songwriter of the Year: Artist
Bart Millard
Chris Tomlin
Lecrae Moore
Matt Maher
Phil Wickham
Songwriter of the Year: Non-Artist
Ben Glover
David Garcia
Dianne Wilkinson
Jason Ingram
Seth Mosley
Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year
Chris Tomlin
For King & Country
Hillsong United
Lecrae
MercyMe
Gospel Artist of the Year
Erica Campbell
Fred Hammond
Israel & New Breed
Jonathan McReynolds
Tamela Mann
Tasha Cobbs
Southern Gospel Artist of the Year
Booth Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
The Collingsworth Family
The Isaacs
The 46th Annual GMA Dove Awards will be held Oct. 13 at Allen Arena on the campus of Lipscomb University in Nashville. The ceremony will air Oct. 18 on TBN.
See the complete list of nominees at DoveAwards.com.