2025 K-LOVE Fan Awards: Song of the Year Nominees

“The lyrics for ‘Desperate’ were inspired by several ongoing life situations that were weighing heavy on our hearts but completely out of our control. Writing this with Jonathan [Gamble] and Jordan [Sapp] was truly a gift because both have become like brothers to me, and it was a safe space to share some really deep struggles that day, which led to the completion of this song,” Jamie MacDonald says of her historic No. 1, which rose to the top of the charts in only 12 weeks. “Since writing it, this song has been my anthem when I haven’t had the words to pray through some of those same situations I’m still walking out. I truly hope it becomes a tool for you as well.”

“I wanted to share this song with somebody that had a really beautiful and hard-fought story, and the first person that came to mind was Jelly,” Brandon Lake shares of asking country music innovator Jelly Roll to collaborate on “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” “I’m honored that I was the call,” Jelly Roll says in response. “I’m a Brandon Lake fan… What he’s doing for Christian music, even outside of Christian music — he’s taking it further than I’ve seen anybody take it in a long time.”

“This song just speaks about our identity in Christ and who we are called to be… Knowing who we are starts with just knowing what the Lord did for us,” Josh Baldwin says of “Made For More,” his first No. 1. “As you listen to this song, I pray that the Lord will begin to reveal who you are in Him. I pray that you will be reminded that the Creator of the universe has called you by name; and He’s brought us from death to life. We’ve been created for so much more than we could even imagine.”

“I’ve had some of the most amazing times that one could ever have on this Earth, and I’ve also walked through some things that have hit me very hard,” TobyMac offers of the story behind chart-topping confection “Nothin’ Sweeter.” “I don’t think we’re that different from one another in that we all experience some beauty and some things that leave us utterly confused and deeply hurting. I wrote ‘Nothin’ Sweeter’ because I have been uptown and downtown; I have seen the good of this life and the sorrow by the bitter graveside; and I’ve landed on this: There is nothin’ sweeter in this life than the love of God. It’s what I want to wake up to and what I go to bed to — there’s nothin’ sweeter than His unfailing love.”

“If ‘I Can Only Imagine’ was written for my father when he passed away, this song was absolutely written for my [father-in-law], Frank,” MercyMe frontman Bart Millard says of the man who inspired “Oh Death” after graduating to eternity in November following a battle with leukemia. “It’s a weird, bipolar-type song,” Millard adds of the group’s latest radio offering. “It makes you want to dance with this New Orleans kind of vibe, but it’s talking about the one thing that we, as believers, don’t really like to talk about, and that’s death… If we believe what we say, and death really has lost its sting and it’s not the end — it’s more of a door we walk through — then what are we so afraid of? We should kind of have a little bit of swagger and be like, ‘Take that, death. We win.’”

“I can tell you, I wouldn’t be here right now if somebody wasn’t praying for me. Ask my mama. She’s my first text; she’s my first call. Mama’s praying right now, I’ll betcha, and I need it,” Crowder shares of the inspiration behind the chart-topping hit he wrote with Ben Glover, Jeff Sojka and Cochren & Co.’s Michael Cochren. “This song is about hitting your knees, knowing that prayer works; it’s effective. God intervenes and is active; and things can change. Amen? Amen!”

“This song has been so special to me as it was inspired by my Great Aunt Maurine. I got to meet her at 103-years-old, and even then she could recite almost the entire Bible, and she was still impacting people all around her,” Leanna Crawford shares of the matriarch who, on the cusp of going blind in her 40s, decided to memorize the majority of the Bible. “My hope and prayer with this song is that you will feel peace with these lyrics and be inspired to hold God’s Word deeply in your heart.”

I am continually blown away by the impact ‘Take It All Back’ is making,” Tauren Wells remarks of the single he originally recorded with hip-hop artist Davies and family band We The Kingdom before later reimagining it alongside Skillet frontman John Cooper. “I think people are tired of letting the enemy steal, kill and destroy the things they value in life. Many times, we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond. This song is a faith response — a response of victory and determination to believe God against all odds.”

“This is a song that talks about how great our King Jesus is. You cannot be still and listen to ‘That’s My King.’ We’re going to have church on this one!” CeCe Winans declares of the single that secured the Gospel music icon a GRAMMY® earlier this year. “This [anthem] is a continuation of the Holy Spirit saturating songs in such a way that when people hear them, great things are happening.”

“I wrote this song out of my deepest struggles. I believe we all go through times where we feel unworthy or unaccepted or unloved. This song is about the truth of what God says about us and how God views us. Once we know that truth, it allows us to walk in freedom,” newcomer Megan Woods asserts of the No. 1 hit she penned with Matthew West and Jeff Pardo. “My heartfelt prayer is that this song would drown out the lies of the enemy and that it would serve as a daily reminder of God’s truth. I hope it brings you comfort, strength and the assurance that you are so deeply loved and cherished by God.”