Hillsong UNITED Receives 5 Dove Awards Including Artist of the Year

Hillsong UNITED was honored with five GMA Dove Awards Tuesday night at the 45th Annual GMA Dove Awards held at Lipscomb University. UNITED swept all five categories they were nominated for including Artist of the Year and Song of the Year awards. 

As well as their Artist of the Year and Song of the Year awards, UNITED was presented with Contemporary Christian Performance of the Year, Worship Song of the Year and Pop Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year – all with their hit single “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).” Representing UNITED and Hillsong Church at last night’s awards were worship leader Jonathan Douglass (JD) and Steve McPherson, manager of Hillsong Music Publishing.

"We are completely humbled that a bunch of everyday ordinary church kids would have the honor to be recognized for what we do, which in a nutshell is to glorify Jesus and help people connect with Him,” shares JD on their Dove Awards. “So these awards are all trophies to the glory of God and represent people hearing the Gospel and encountering His presence."

In addition to the five awards UNITED received, GMA presented Hillsong Church with the Lifetime Achievement Award for their significant impact in the Christian and Gospel Music industry. The award honors the pioneering spirit of Hillsong Church, which celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2013. In 1983, Brian and Bobbie Houston founded the Hills Christian Life Centre in the Hills District of Sydney, Australia. It has grown from a congregation of 45 to what is said to be the largest local church in Australian history. It has now expanded to be a global church with local expressions in significant cities; with churches in Australia, London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Cape Town, Stockholm, Germany, Kiev, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Each week, tens of thousands of people across the globe call Hillsong Church ‘home’ and the reach, impact and influence of this local congregation is seen across many nations.

Last year, UNITED released ZION, their most successful and fastest selling album to date. ZION produced UNITED’s No. 1 hit song and now multiple-Dove winning “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” which was the group’s first No.1 radio single, cracking the longest reign on Billboard's airplay/sales/streaming-based Hot Christian Songs chart. Currently the single has been on the chart for 54 weeks and counting, spending 45 of those weeks at No. 1. The single also received RIAA Gold Certification earlier this year. The lyric video for “Oceans” has a staggering 18 million views.