NRT's John Hisel and Kaitlyn Barbour discuss the 7th Annual We Love Christian Music Award nominees for Worship Album of the Year, Church Worship Album of the Year and Worship Song of the Year.
In our special 7TH ANNUAL WE LOVE CHRISTIAN MUSIC AWARDS editorial series, members of the NRT staff have a back-and-forth discussion about this year's nominees. In Part 3 of our series, NRT contributor John Hisel and Social Media Manager Kaitlyn Barbour discuss the nominees for our three Worship categories.
John - Hey Kaitlyn! Today we are chatting about the worship awards. It was a great year for Praise and Worship with all kinds of good albums. What things jump out at you from all of these amazing records and songs that released in 2018?
Kaitlyn - This year was definitely filled with tons of amazing worship songs and albums! I loved a lot of them, especially some of Hillsong's releases, in addition to Elevation and Steffany Gretzinger. What about you?
John - I think it has been really interesting to see the different churches and ministries branch out. For example, Steffany Gretzinger's solo effort really stood out apart from an album under the Bethel name, and the very different directions that the various Hillsong groups have gone. Hillsong Worship is straight (and good) congregational worship, UNITED has a license to do pretty much whatever they want, and Young + Free is more what UNITED started out as. That said, I think it's one of the strongest years in recent memory for albums from individual worship leaders.
Kaitlyn - I agree with you! It's been so exciting to see different worship artists utilize more musical and lyrical innovation this year. Speaking of which, let's talk about the Encounter Award for Worship Album of the Year. What are your thoughts about the contenders for this category?
John - All five of the records in this category are really good. I was particularly surprised by how good Pat Barrett's was from beginning to end, having not really heard as much of his stuff outside of Housefires. But, his self titled album is something I've been able to listen to top to bottom over and over while still hearing and finding new things. However, it's hard for me to not to lean towards Phil Whickam's Living Hope as the winner in the category. I was curious what direction Phil would go, but this album checks every box for me. Songs that are easy to sing along to, yet still creative lyrically. Top notch instrumentation and some things that are really unique, and Phil's voice that really tops it all off. I feel like the song "Living Hope" is one that we'll be singing for a long time. What about you?
Kaitlyn - All the albums this year are so diverse, so it's so hard to compare them all to each other! I agree with you about Phil Wickham. His recent album Living Hope was very high in both quality and production value. I really enjoyed the other albums though! I especially loved Steffany Gretzinger's album Blackout. I hadn't really gotten into any of her music until the release of this album. When it first came out, I listened to it nonstop and there are several songs on it that have helped me through the current season of my life. One of these songs is "Oxygen," which talks about how Jesus gets us through every moment and how, as long as we take our walk with Christ one step at a time and look to Him for guidance, He will lead us through even the most challenging of situations. I also love her song "Bright Ones." It's cool how she sings her own rendition of this song, even though it was also featured as the title track of Bethel Kids' new re-branded musical sound earlier this year. I just love all the songs on this album and think it's a worthy contender for sure!
John - Those are great thoughts on Steffany's record! I love the direction that Bethel is moving as a whole–keeping the Bethel albums while also giving the different artists room to put out their own stuff. So who do you think all the NRT voters are going to lean towards?
Kaitlyn - It's hard to say, especially since people have such different tastes regarding the kind of worship music they listen to. I'm going to have to go with Phil Wickham though. He has a huge following and each of his album releases get better and better! I think a lot of voters will agree, especially since several of the songs on Living Hope have been circulating around churches for a little while now.
John - I would have to agree. The excellence of that album coupled with how well known Phill is made it the likely winner for me. Let's turn to the Chorus Award, which celebrates the best worship albums from churches this past year. What do you think about the nominations as far as albums for corporate worship go?
Kaitlyn - This year's nominations definitely make up a star-studded cast. I have personally gotten to sing and lead several of the songs featured in these albums, so it could definitely be hard to predict which album will win since a lot of them have had singles circulated around churches. I think the albums that made it definitely deserve to be nominated. There's Hillsong, which comprises 2/5ths of the nominees. They consistently write and record amazing, worshipful songs, so the competition is already fierce! Then there's Elevation Worship, who I think is the best at writing anthems of praise out of the five. But Jesus Culture is also extremely popular, especially in churches attended by younger generations, and the same goes for Planetshakers. So it'll for sure be a tough choice for voters! Personally, I'm rooting for Young & Free's III because of the musicality of their songs. I think, since all five of these albums contain such rich lyrics, it might boil down to the sound of each release.
John - This is a category with five heavyweights, no doubt. As with the other category, it's easy to see the quality of the worship albums that are coming out getting ratcheted up. What I love about these nominations particularly is how wildly different they are stylistically. You've got Planetshakers, whose songs are amazing and instrumentally so technical that they sometimes don't get sung or played as much. Then, Y+F with their youth oriented focus, but much deeper lyrics this time around. Elevation Worship specializes in songs that are hymn-liken like with three or four theologically meaty verses wrappped around a soaring bridge. Jesus Culture does Pentecostal style worship like noone else, and the Hillsong that started it all with an album full of songs that are mostly scripture set to very well written worship songs. Having led many of these songs already like you have, I think the voting could really go any direction. I think there are quite a few churches that will be singing Elevation's "Here Comes Heaven" this Christmas season, which could give that album a boost!
Kaitlyn - True. I bet it'll just come down to the voters' church backgrounds and whatever songs they've been singing at their churches. I'm going to guess Elevation Worship will win, though, like you mentioned. I know their single "Won't Stop Now" is wildly popular in churches at the moment. I guess we'll have to wait and see! But the Worship Song of the Year award is a little more diverse in that not all the worship song nominations are corporate. Do you have any favorites in this category?
John - There are five pretty incredible and powerful songs nominated here, and I honestly wouldn't be able to argue with any of them winning. However, "Reckless Love" is the 900-pound gorilla so to speak. That song is just everywhere–radio, streaming, YouTube, and at every camp and church gathering you can find. There are songs I personally like quite a bit better, but I've never been somewhere "Reckless Love" has been sung and NOT seen it be powerful. Particularly in youth gatherings (which is where I have led it most), the presence of God is obviously there. There is just something about it.
Kaitlyn - For sure, "Reckless Love" has been one of the worship songs I've led the most recently. It's really popular in my church right now and I agree, the Holy Spirit moves powerfully when congregations sing it. I could also say the same thing about "Won't Stop Now." But I think one of the more underrated songs on this list is my favorite: Kari Jobe's "Cover the Earth." I've always loved her music, especially her collaborations with her husband, Cody Carnes. I've been listening to this song recently and I think it has so much potential to lead congregations into the presence of God, but I don't know if many churches are including it in their worship sets yet. Another song that has a good chance is Phil Wickham's "Living Hope," because of Wickham's popularity as a worship artist and the song's singability (which is always important for worship songs to possess). Whichever song the voters choose, it will probably be one they have sung before and enjoy singing.
John - I agree with you that "Cover The Earth" is a great song, and I would add that many of the songs Cody and Kari collaborate are on are incredible. As of now, though, I don't think they get the distribution that the other four on this list do, which hampers their chance to win a voting situation like this. "Won't Stop Now" is as anthemic as it gets, which gives it a chance for sure. "Who You Say I Am" has the cache of the Hillsong name behind it while also being a great and incredibly meaningful song. My personal favorite is "Living Hope," and I would say it has a fighting chance to win the award. It's also a very meaningful song, and easy to sing even if you've only heard it a time or two. So, all that said, which song do you think comes away with it in the end?
Kaitlyn - I would have to give it to "Reckless Love," just because it's been circulated so often in worship gatherings, church settings, and on the radio that it's become one of the genre's most recognizable and singable songs this year. What about you?
John - It is going to be tough for any of these songs, as good as they are, to beat "Reckless Love." As you said, it is everywhere on radio, and even things like Cory Asbury being on Roadshow this past year and singing it there have just expanded its reach. So, I'd say we agree on a clear winner here! Like we've mentioned a couple of times, though, what a great year for praise and worship music in general!
Kaitlyn - Definitely. And it seems the worship songs get better and better every year! I'm excited to see the direction songwriting churches, worship artists, and collectives take in their approach to their craft in the new year.
NOTE: Voting is now open through Friday, January 25, 2019 at WeLoveAwards.com. Winners will be announced during our Facebook Live broadcast from Visible Music College's Memphis campus on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
Assembled from the four corners of North America and many other corners in between, the NRTeam is comprised of staffers whose energy is equally dispersed towards loving music and writing about the music they love.
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