Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song
As far as music industry award ceremonies go, none are bigger or more prestigious than The Grammy Awards. The Grammy’s, as they are affectionately known, take place annually in cities across America with the iconic golden gramophone awarded to recognise outstanding talent in the music industry of the United States.
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song is universally regarded as the ultimate prize in the career of any Christian musician. The award is given to recognise the best talent in the American Christian Music Industry and, importantly, elevates the status of the genre to a level that matches the importance and legitimacy of more high-profile genres of music.
The Grammy Awards began in the 1950’s, around the time of the Hollywood Walk of Fame project. This project had the aim of recognising those who had made significant contributions to the entertainment and music industry throughout history. However, the parameters that were set around who could earn a place on the walk of fame quickly made it evident that some of the biggest names in music would fail to make the cut.
In response to this, the Recording Academy of America decided to begin an annual awards ceremony to ensure that those who were excelling within the music industry would be recognised for their efforts. The event modelled itself on similar award ceremonies for film and television, namely the Oscars and the Emmys, and soon became one the largest award ceremonies in the United States.
After having the name chosen through a mail in contest, where approximately 300 contestants submitted the name ‘Grammy’ as an abbreviation for gramophone, the first award ceremony was held in 1959. This ceremony was held simultaneously in California and New York, making it a wide-reaching bi-coastal event that distributed 28 awards spanning various genres and performance types.
First awarded in 2015, the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song, combined two previously separate categories, those being Best Contemporary Christian Music Song and Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance.
This change was initiated in 2014 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in an attempt to “clarify the criteria and represent the current culture and creative DNA of the Gospel and Contemporary Christian Music communities, and better reflect the diversity and authenticity of today’s Gospel Music Industry”.
The winners of the most recent Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song were Zach Williams and Dolly Parton in 2021. This was Dolly Parton’s second win, after also winning the previous year for a song she performed with the Christian music duo ‘for King & Country’, a rare accomplishment few other Christian musicians have ever achieved. Despite this, you can be sure that the majority of Christian musicians are looking to create their own legacy and aiming to hit such heights. As the Christian music industry’s rapid growth and prosperity continues, the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song continues to be the most sought-after accolade in the business.