The 54th annual GMA Dove Awards are set to be broadcast on Friday (October 20). The event hosts artists from every style of Gospel/Christian music under one roof, in an effort to celebrate the powerful genre. The proceedings will be hosted by eight-time Dove Award winner Tauren Wells.
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The multi-instrumentalist has made waves in gospel music by melding aspects of pop and R&B—which will be familiar to even secular audiences—with his religious sensibilities. The results are emotive performances, inspirational songwriting, and soulful vocals.
It’s not hard to see why he has made such strides in his genre. To date, Wells has amassed 10 Grammy nominations, six No. 1’s, two Billboard Music Award nominations, and over 1.1 billion global streams.
Appearing alongside Wells will be Brandon Lake, Elevation Worship, FOR KING + COUNTRY & Jordin Sparks, Lauren Daigle, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Zach Williams & Walker Hayes, and more. Having won a number of Dove Awards himself, Wells knows the impact of this honor all too well.
“It was so fun,” Wells tells American Songwriter of his experience hosting the awards. “I can’t say enough about the teams. At this point in my life, we’re busy. You know, married for 12 years, four kids, music, podcasts–several things.
“Everyone is like, ‘How is this possible?'” he continues. “It’s really not, without great teams. That was reflected at the Dove Awards. GMA (the Gospel Music Association) has pulled off 54 of these now. I was able to prepare with their writers and creatives. We just had a great time with it. It seemed so natural.”
Wells went on to tease memorable performances from this year’s Dove Awards, citing vocal group Take 6 as one of his standout appearances.
“I listened to a lot of their music,” he adds. “I got to meet them. It was one of my favorite moments of the whole night because it was based on great singing. A lot of artistry today is vocal styling. It’s not necessarily powerhouse singing. So, seeing these guys up there, crushing it with a great bass, baritone, and high tenor–it’s almost a lost art.
“These guys are, respectfully, further along in life than me,” he continues. “These are seasoned veterans and they’re still singing incredibly.”
Fans can catch Take 6’s performance and many other sure-to-be stellar appearances on October 20 at 8:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast will be available on TBN and the TBN app. Find a full list of nominees, HERE.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
