Dove Awards 2026: Phil Wickham Wins Artist of the Year
Phil Wickham was named artist of the year at the 57th GMA Dove Awards in Nashville, while Josiah Queen's Dusty Bibles won song of the year. See the key winners.
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Phil Wickham took the top prize at the 57th annual GMA Dove Awards, the biggest night in Christian and gospel music. The worship singer was named artist of the year at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on October 6. Josiah Queen won song of the year for "Dusty Bibles", Brandon Lake collected several awards, and Jamie MacDonald was named new artist of the year. Singer-songwriter Tauren Wells hosted for the fourth year in a row. The show aired on TBN and the TBN+ app on October 9. Phil Wickham's big night Wickham went into the ceremony leading the field with nine nominations, according to The Tennessean. Alongside artist of the year, he won worship album of the year for Song of the Saints and children's recorded song of the year for "Follow the Light". He received the artist of the year award from Chris Tomlin and began by reading an inspirational passage. "Honestly, I think this is so beautiful tonight," he said. "Sometimes I struggle receiving this because that's what it's all about." Accepting the worship album award, he told the crowd: "To be able to write songs with amazing people and to think that people sing them to Jesus blows my mind." He beat Brandon Lake, CeCe Winans, Josiah Queen and Lauren Daigle for the top award. Josiah Queen and Brandon Lake Josiah Queen's "Dusty Bibles" won both song of the year and pop/contemporary recorded song of the year. He also won recorded music packaging of the year. On stage he thanked his co-writers John Michael Howell, Zac Lawson and Dylan Thomas. "I grew up following the Dove Awards because I looked up to so many of you writers and musicians," he said. "The greatest honor I can have as a human is to serve Jesus." Brandon Lake won songwriter of the year (artist) and pop/contemporary album of the year for King of Hearts . He also shared country/roots recorded song of the year with Lainey Wilson for "The Jesus I Know Now", which the two performed during the show. "We are not just singers. We're not just songwriters, we are connectors," Wilson said. Key winners Artist of the year: Phil Wickham Song of the year: "Dusty Bibles", Josiah Queen New artist of the year: Jamie MacDonald Pop/contemporary album of the year: King of Hearts, Brandon Lake Worship album of the year: Song of the Saints, Phil Wickham Country/roots recorded song of the year: "The Jesus I Know Now", Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson Contemporary gospel album of the year: Tasha, Tasha Cobbs Leonard Bluegrass recorded song of the year: "Broken Angels", The Grascals and Dolly Parton Spanish language recorded song of the year: "Tu Voz", Sarai Rivera Rock/contemporary recorded song of the year: "No Survivors", Jeremy Camp feat. Skillet Rap/hip-hop album of the year: Could Be Tonight, Hulvey Feature film of the year: David Television series of the year: The Chosen Other winners and stories Jamie MacDonald, known for "Left It In The River", won new artist of the year and closed the show with the song. "I spent two decades waiting tables and trying to write songs," he said, describing how a CeCe Winans record changed his life after years of addiction. Tasha Cobbs Leonard won contemporary gospel album of the year for Tasha and traditional gospel recorded song of the year for "Church". Sarai Rivera's "Tu Voz" won the Spanish-language award. A tribute to Dolly Parton One of the most emotional moments was a tribute to the late Dolly Parton, who also won bluegrass recorded song of the year with The Grascals. Amy Grant and Natalie Grant sang "How Great Thou Art" together, then closed with Parton's "I Will Always Love You". "She felt like she belonged to all of us," Amy Grant said. Gospel songwriter Richard Smallwood was honoured with a performance by Jonathan McReynolds, Kierra Sheard, Donald Lawrence and others. Elevation Worship performed "So Be It" at the nearby Ryman Auditorium, and the first GMA community impact award went to God Behind Bars, a prison ministry. Other recent industry honours we have covered include the SOCAN Awards . What's next An encore of the show airs on TBN and TBN+ on October 16 at 7:30pm and 10pm ET. The Gospel Music Association has published the complete winners list on its website. For more awards coverage, see our Billboard Music Awards page. Sources: Billboard | USA Today / The Tennessean