On Tuesday (March 26), the Gospel Music Association (GMA) has announced a new category dedicated to Hispanic representation in Christian music for the annual Dove Awards. The award for Spanish-language cult recorded song will make its debut at the 55th GMA Dove Awards, which will take place on Tuesday, October 1 at the Allen Arena in Nashville. Nominations will be announced on July 24.
The new award, which will recognize the talent of worship singers and songwriters, joins two other pre-existing Latin music categories: Spanish album of the Year, established in 1998, and Spanish-language Recorded Song of the Year, created in 2017 ( The bands Generación 12 and Miel San Marcos were the winners of these awards, respectively, last year).
The initiative responds to a 30% increase in Hispanic music entries submitted to the awards show over the past five years, as well as the continued growth of Hispanic music in genres such as worship, urban, pop and rock.
“We are witnessing the explosion of this genre internationally, without precedent or barriers,” Justin Fratt, executive vice president of the Gospel Music Association, said in a press release. “For us, it was an honor to support our colleagues from various Latin American and Spanish-speaking countries, celebrating the greatness of their music.”
The effort was supported by other Latin Christian industry labels including CanZion, Capitol CMG/Universal, Creation Music, Curb Records, Heaven and Sony/Provident, according to the release.
Henry Alonzo, CCO of Christian music publishing and distribution company Adarga Entertainment Group, says Billboard Español that its audio and video streaming numbers have recently quadrupled, and that its artists – which include Miel San Marcos, Alex Campos and Jesús Adrian – have reached the same stages as those in other genres of Latin music. “This is all thanks to the work done by the same industry that supports artists of this genre,” he said.
Since its inception in 1964, GMA has served a very diverse community of creatives and professionals in the Christian and Gospel music industry. Its mission is to exhibit, promote and celebrate gospel music. Through the GMA Foundation and the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the association seeks to preserve the legacy of the pioneers of the genre while celebrating the work of contemporary artists with events such as the Dove Awards.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/gma-dove-awards-new-spanish-category-1235641875/
