Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an award given out annually by Billboard magazine. The award is given to the writer(s) of the song that is voted as the best gospel song of the year by a panel of judges.

Introduction

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an award given out annually by Billboard magazine. The award is given to the best-performing gospel song on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart.

What is the Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song?

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an award given annually to the songwriter(s) of the best-performing gospel song of the year, as determined by Billboard.

This award was first presented in 2007. The award is given to the artist, producer, and songwriter(s).

The winner is determined by performance on the Christian Songs chart, which measures airplay from Christian radio stations.

History of the award

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song was first given out in 2002, as the Gospel music industry began to be monitored more by Billboard. The award is given to the writer(s) of the song, not the artist who recorded it. Prior to 2002, only one award was given out for the entire gospel music industry, regardless of genre.

In 2002, four awards were created specifically for gospel music: Top Gospel Artist, Top Gospel Album, Top Gospel Song, and Top Contemporary Christian Artist. These four awards are now considered some of the highest honors that can be given to a gospel artist or songwriter.

The award for Top Gospel Song has been won by some of the biggest names in gospel music over the past 15 years, including Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, and Hezekiah Walker.

Previous Winners

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an award given out at the annual Billboard Music Awards. The award was first presented in 2002 and has been presented every year since. The award is given to the Gospel song that has the highest charts Billboard in the United States.

2019: “Never Alone” by Tori Kelly

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an award presented at the Billboard Music Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1989 and originally focused on recognizing achievements in the music industry. According to Billboard magazine, the award is reserved for “the biggest hits from mainstream radio over the past 12 months”, and is based on chart performance on Gospel Airplay, sales data, and streaming activity data. The award was first presented in 2019.

Tori Kelly’s “Never Alone” was the inaugural winner of the award.

2018: “You Deserve It” by JJ Hairston and Youthful Praise

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an honor presented annually at the Billboard Music Awards, a ceremony established in 1989 to recognize “distinguished achievement by recording artists and other creators of sonic goodness”. The award was first presented to James Cleveland for the song “Oh How I Love Jesus” in 1993, becoming the only artist to win the award twice following his second victory in 1994. until Hezekiah Walker became the second double winner in 2002. Although gospel songs had been eligible for consideration on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart since its creation in 1958, they did not begin appearing on the Hot Gospel Songs chart until March 2009. The latter chart combines airplay of gospel songs on radio stations that report to Nielsen BDS along with sales and streaming data.

In 2012, BMI awarded Kirk Franklin their “Songwriter of the Year” honor for his work on “You’re Next”. Franklin became the first artist to receive both honors in the same year.

2018: “You Deserve It” by JJ Hairston and Youthful Praise

2017: “Let Them Fall in Love” by CeCe Winans

The BillBoard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an honor presented annually at the Billboard Music Awards, a ceremony established in 1990. The award is given to the songwriters of the best-performing gospel song of the previous year as determined by Billboard.

2017: “Let Them Fall in Love” by CeCe Winans
2016: “Won’t He Do It” by Kirk Franklin
2015: “No Greater Love” by Smokie Norful
2014: “Help” by Erica Campbell featuring Lecrae
2013: “Take Me to the King” by Tamela Mann

Criteria for Winning the Award

To be eligible for the award, a song must have achieved commercial success. This is determined by the song’s performance on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart. A song is eligible for the award if it has spent at least 20 weeks on the chart and has been in the top 10 for at least 13 weeks.

Must be a gospel song

To be eligible for the award, a song must be gospel according to Billboard. This means that the song must have gospel as its main genre, with no more than 50% of the lyrics being about other topics. In addition, at least two-thirds of the song must be about Christian themes, and it must be commercially available on an album or single.

Must have been released as a single

To be eligible, a song must have been commercially released as a single within the eligibility period.

Must have reached top 25 on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart

In order for a song to be eligible for the Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song, it must have reached at least the top 25 of the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart.

How the Winner is Chosen

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an award presented at the Billboard Music Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1990 and originally sponsored by Billboard magazine to recognize the most popular songs in different genres.

A panel of gospel music experts

The winner of the Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is chosen by a panel of gospel music experts. This award is given to the artist who has written and performed the best gospel song of the year.

Chosen by Billboard

Billboard Music Awards are given out annually by the Billboard magazine. The awards are based on US music sales, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, and radio airplay, as measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. The Top Gospel Song category was added in 2009.

The award goes to the artist, as listed on the most recent applicable Billboard Gospel chart, with the highest ranking. If a song is not available for commercial sale, or if it hasn’t been played on radio enough to be tracked by Nielsen BDS, then it is not eligible for the award.

Conclusion

The Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Song is an award presented to the songwriter(s) of the best Gospel song of the year. The award was first presented in 1998 and has been awarded annually since then.