Phil Wickham, CeCe Winans, and Brandon Lake top the nominee list for the 57th annual GMA Dove Awards, the Gospel Music Association's flagship honours ceremony, which Billboard revealed in an exclusive report on July 29, 2026.

The ceremony is set for October 6 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, presented in partnership with the Cantinas Arts Foundation. Tauren Wells — an eight-time Dove winner — returns as host for a fourth consecutive year, while also serving as an executive producer, a two-time nominee, and a scheduled performer. The broadcast follows three days later, airing exclusively on TBN and TBN+ on October 9 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET, with a rebroadcast on October 16. SiriusXM's The Message will simulcast the October 9 airing. Billboard

The artist of the year field spans worship, Gospel, and pop-contemporary: Phil Wickham, Brandon Lake, CeCe Winans, Josiah Queen, and Lauren Daigle. Behind the marquee names, the producers and songwriters who shape the recordings carry the heaviest nomination counts — Jonathan Smith with 14, Jacob Sooter with 12, and Steven Furtick with 11. Those tallies reflect the Doves' structure, which honours both performers and the creative teams behind the work.

Wickham is up for song of the year and worship recorded song of the year. Winans is nominated for Gospel worship album of the year and worship recorded song of the year. Lake's four nominations cut across categories — song of the year, rock/contemporary recorded song of the year, pop/contemporary album of the year, and country/roots recorded song of the year — placing him in more genre lanes than any other top nominee.

The new artist of the year nominees are bodie, Emerson Day, Jamie MacDonald, Megan Woods, and SEU Worship. The contemporary Gospel recorded song of the year category mixes established and cross-genre names: Tasha Cobbs Leonard, ANTHNY, Jonathan McReynolds with Jamal Roberts, Tauren Wells with Pastor Mike Jr., and Mariah Carey featuring The Clark Sisters. Country/roots recorded song of the year nominees include Ben Fuller, Scotty Inman, Ella Langley, Anne Wilson with Cole Swindell, and Brandon Lake with Lainey Wilson — the latter pairing signalling how far the Doves' country category reaches into mainstream Nashville.

Nominees were selected by GMA professional members from more than 2,800 submitted entries. Final round voting runs from August 7 to August 14, 2026. The ceremony's theme, "Together For One," is drawn from Colossians 3:14. GMA president Jackie Patillo oversees the organisation behind the awards. Billboard

Elevation Worship will open Dove Awards Week 2026 with a night of worship ahead of the main ceremony. Tickets and fan experiences for the October 6 event are on sale now.