Fans voted Jamie MacDonald’s “Left It In The River” their Song of the Year at the 13th annual K-LOVE Fan Awards, marking only the second time an artist has won Song of the Year with a selection from their label debut. Brandon Lake was the first, receiving the honor in 2023 for “Gratitude.”
Jonathan Roumie, the lead actor in “The Chosen,” and Christian music legend Michael W. Smith were on hand to present Song of the Year, the final award of the evening. Unfortunately, MacDonald was unable to be there in-person to accept her first K-LOVE Fan Award; but she recorded a video message for fans in her absence.
“I am shocked. I am grateful, and I just want to thank the fans for singing with me this whole year at the top of your lungs. This song has been so fun to carry, so fun to sing live,” MacDonald shared. “I’m so sorry I’m not there tonight. I’m actually on tour, getting ready to sing that song tonight; but I just want to thank my whole team for rallying with me and supporting me as a new artist, helping this song get out to so many people. Shout-out to my co-writers — Colby Wedgeworth and Jonathan Gamble; and Aaron Robertson for producing the heck out of this track — I’m just so grateful I get to do this with all of you guys.”
“Left It In The River” appears on MacDonald’s 16-track self-titled debut and became the rising songstress’ second consecutive No. 1 behind her chart-topping smash, “Desperate,” which she performed at the K-LOVE Fan Awards in 2025.
Following her Opry debut, the emerging singer-songwriter just wrapped the spring leg of her tour with Phil Wickham. She’ll rejoin Wickham’s “Song Of The Saints” arena jaunt in the fall, but first, she’ll spend the summer on the road with TobyMac.
Heading into the 2026 fan-voted awards ceremony, MacDonald was nominated in three different categories. In addition to Song of the Year, she also garnered nods for Female Artist of the Year and Artist of the Year.
Hosted by Lauren Daigle and Sadie Robertson Huff, the 2026 K-LOVE Fan Awards honored the year’s biggest faith-based artists, songs, films, television series, books, podcasts and more as fans voted for their favorites across 11 categories. With winners publicly revealed during an exclusive broadcast on May 29 via Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the show is now available to watch on demand on TBN+ with an encore network presentation airing June 5.
