2026 Dove Awards Winners: Who Won the Most and What the Results Show
The 57th Annual GMA Dove Awards ended in a three-way tie at the top. Phil Wickham, Brandon Lake and Josiah Queen each won three Doves. Wickham was named Artist of the Year, Queen's "Dusty Bibles" won Song of the Year, and Jamie MacDonald was named New Artist of the Year.
The show was held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in early October and broadcast on TBN on October 9, 2026, with Tauren Wells hosting for the fourth year in a row. This guide covers every winner by category, the numbers behind the night, and what a Dove Award does and does not tell you about a song's popularity.
The headline winners at a glance
- Artist of the Year: Phil Wickham
- Song of the Year: "Dusty Bibles" (writers Josiah Queen, Zac Lawson, Dylan Thomas and John Michael Howell)
- New Artist of the Year: Jamie MacDonald
- Songwriter of the Year (Artist): Brandon Lake
- Songwriter of the Year (Non-Artist): Jacob Sooter
- Producer of the Year: Jonathan Smith
Who won the most: the scoreboard
Three artists finished level on three Doves each:
- Phil Wickham (3): Artist of the Year; Worship Album of the Year for Song Of The Saints; Children's Recorded Song of the Year for "Follow The Light" with Brandon Engman and Angel.
- Brandon Lake (3): Songwriter of the Year (Artist); Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for King Of Hearts; Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year for "The Jesus I Know Now" with Lainey Wilson.
- Josiah Queen (3): Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year for "Dusty Bibles"; Recorded Music Packaging of the Year for Mt. Zion.
Tasha Cobbs Leonard won two: Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year for TASHA and Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year for "Church", her collaboration with John Legend. The animated film DAVID also won twice: Feature Film of the Year, and Christmas/Special Event Album of the Year for its soundtrack.
Nominations versus wins
When the nominations were announced at the end of July, producer Jonathan Smith led the whole field with 14, followed by Jacob Sooter with 12 and Steven Furtick with 11. Among artists, Phil Wickham led with nine and CeCe Winans led the female artists with seven.
How those nominations turned into trophies is the interesting part:
- Phil Wickham turned nine nominations into three wins, including the biggest one of the night.
- Jonathan Smith won Producer of the Year, and his name also appears in the producer credits of two winning albums: Song Of The Saints and the DAVID soundtrack.
- Jacob Sooter won Songwriter of the Year (Non-Artist) and is a credited producer on Brandon Lake's winning album King Of Hearts.
- Steven Furtick is a credited writer on two winning songs, "The Blessing" and "God I'm Just Grateful".
- CeCe Winans won Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year for "More Than This" with Todd Dulaney. According to the Gospel Music Association, it is the second year in a row she has won that category.
The pattern is worth noticing. The most-nominated names are often the people behind the records, not the artists on the cover, because one producer or writer can be credited on many nominated songs and albums at once.
Full list of 2026 Dove Award winners by genre
The Gospel Music Association lists 39 winning entries this year, including the six general awards above. Here are the rest, grouped by genre.
Pop, rock, rap, worship and inspirational
- Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song: "Dusty Bibles", Josiah Queen
- Pop/Contemporary Album: King Of Hearts, Brandon Lake
- Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song: "No Survivors", Jeremy Camp (ft. Skillet)
- Rock/Contemporary Album: Plastic Wine, Strings & Heart
- Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song: "ROB HELL", indie tribe, nobigdyl. and Torey D'Shaun (ft. Jon Keith)
- Rap/Hip Hop Album: COULD BE TONIGHT, Hulvey
- Worship Recorded Song: "God I'm Just Grateful", Elevation Worship and Chandler Moore
- Worship Album: Song Of The Saints, Phil Wickham
- Inspirational Recorded Song: "The Blessing", Andrea Bocelli, Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe
- Children's Recorded Song: "Follow The Light", Brandon Engman, Phil Wickham and Angel
- Christmas Recorded Song: "We Three Kings", We Are Messengers
Gospel
- Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song: "Still (Live)", Jonathan McReynolds and Jamal Roberts
- Traditional Gospel Recorded Song: "Church", Tasha Cobbs Leonard and John Legend
- Gospel Worship Recorded Song: "More Than This [Radio Edit]", CeCe Winans (ft. Todd Dulaney)
- Contemporary Gospel Album: TASHA, Tasha Cobbs Leonard
- Traditional Gospel Album: Revival: Live in Dallas, Lisa Knowles-Smith & The Brown Singers
- Gospel Worship Album: Live at Redemption Church, Red Worship
Southern gospel, bluegrass and country
- Southern Gospel Recorded Song: "No Rock", Jeff & Sheri Easter
- Southern Gospel Album: Good Answers, Karen Peck & New River
- Bluegrass Recorded Song: "Broken Angels", The Grascals and Dolly Parton
- Country/Roots Recorded Song: "The Jesus I Know Now", Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson
- Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album: American Morning: Side A - EP, Chosen Road
Spanish language
- Spanish Language Recorded Song: "Tu Voz", Sarai Rivera
- Spanish Language Worship Recorded Song: "Solo Hay Uno", Joel Rocco and Enoc Parra
- Spanish Language Album: Lamento en Baile, Daddy Yankee
Film, television, video and special projects
- Feature Film: DAVID
- Television Series: The Chosen
- Christmas/Special Event Album: DAVID (Soundtrack from the Angel Original Film), Various Artists
- Long Form Music Video: The Resurrection Of A King, Tommee Profitt
- Short Form Music Video (Concept): "World On Fire", for KING & COUNTRY and Taylor Hill
- Short Form Music Video (Performance): "Have Your Way", Katy Nichole
- Musical/Choral Collection: We Shall Behold Him: A Tribute to Dottie Rambo
- Recorded Music Packaging: Mt. Zion, Josiah Queen
Five takeaways from the results
- A new generation reached the top. Josiah Queen won Song of the Year with "Dusty Bibles", and Jamie MacDonald, whose "Left It in the River" was also a Song of the Year nominee, took New Artist of the Year.
- Country and Christian music keep meeting. Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson's "The Jesus I Know Now" won Country/Roots Recorded Song and was performed on the show. Dolly Parton appears on the bluegrass winner "Broken Angels" with The Grascals, and Amy Grant and Natalie Grant performed a tribute to her.
- Producers and writers shape the field. Jonathan Smith, Jacob Sooter and Steven Furtick were the three most-nominated people of the year, and their credits run through several winning records.
- Gospel spread its wins widely. The six gospel categories went to five different acts; Tasha Cobbs Leonard was the only one to win twice.
- Faith-based screen work is part of the story. DAVID won two Doves, and The Chosen was named Television Series of the Year for its fifth season.
Dove Awards vs. the charts: what a win measures
A Dove is a peer award, not a popularity ranking. Nominees are chosen by Gospel Music Association professional members from submitted entries (more than 2,800 this year), and members vote again in a final round, which in 2026 ran from August 7 to 14.
Billboard's Christian charts work the other way round. They are built from data: radio audience, streaming and sales. Our explainer on how the Hot Christian Songs chart is calculated walks through that formula.
That difference is why the two lists don't always agree. A song can lead the streaming numbers and still lose a Dove to a track that industry voters rate more highly, and an album can win its genre category without ever reaching the top of an all-genre chart. The charts tell you what listeners played; the Doves tell you what the people who make Christian and gospel music chose to honour.
Use both. For a playlist of the year's most-played songs, start with the charts. For the records the industry rated best, start with the Dove winners above.
Watch the highlights
TBN, which broadcast the ceremony, has posted highlights including performances from CeCe Winans, Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson, and Tasha Cobbs Leonard.
Frequently asked questions
Who won Artist of the Year at the 2026 Dove Awards?
Phil Wickham.
What won Song of the Year?
"Dusty Bibles", recorded by Josiah Queen and written by Josiah Queen, Zac Lawson, Dylan Thomas and John Michael Howell.
Who won the most Dove Awards in 2026?
Phil Wickham, Brandon Lake and Josiah Queen tied with three each. Tasha Cobbs Leonard won two, the most of any female artist.
Who votes for the Dove Awards?
Professional members of the Gospel Music Association select the nominees and vote on the winners. It is not a public fan vote, so the results reflect the industry's view rather than streaming or sales.
More rankings and explainers are on the ChristianRanks blog, and the latest lists are on the ChristianRanks home page.
Sources: Gospel Music Association, "57th Annual GMA Dove Awards: See Full List of Winners" (October 9, 2026); the official 2026 winners and nominees pages on doveawards.com; GMA's nominations announcement as reported by Patheos (August 1, 2026). Checked October 23, 2026.