This year’s theme for the K-LOVE Fan Awards was community. At every turn, the 10th annual installment of the fan-curated event embodied this concept.
“Tonight’s theme is community, and I can’t be here tonight without thinking of you as part of that community because you welcome us into your cities and your towns, you welcome us into your cars where you listen to K-LOVE, and into your homes, and I just want to say, ‘Thank you so much,’” enthused two-time K-LOVE Fan Award winner Matthew West midway through his performance of the title-cut from his first double album, “My Story Your Glory.”
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Before introducing three special K-LOVE listeners onstage and sharing their unique stories, the seven-time K-LOVE Fan Awards host went on to explain the video footage scrolling behind him. “I’ve had cameras rolling at the Opryland Hotel all weekend,” he confessed, “because I wanted to highlight this beautiful community — every single one of you coming from all over, each with a story to tell. And I have to believe that you want your stories to be about a greater cause than just yourselves.”
This theme of community, which West so beautifully put on display, was represented across all 15 of the evening’s performances — all of which consisted of thoughtful collaborations. While West spotlighted K-LOVE fans during his time on stage, other artists chose to collaborate with loved ones. Multigenerational band We The Kingdom, obviously, knows a thing or two about familial collabs. During their moving rendition of “Jesus Does” they welcomed their good friend, Anne Wilson, into the fold with each singer taking the mic at the end of the song to share how Jesus has personally delivered them. For Franni, it was deliverance from self-harm. For Ed, it was deliverance from drugs and alcohol. For Anne, it was deliverance from tragic loss.
Meanwhile, an emotional Jeremy Camp introduced his daughters — Bella, 18, and Arie, 17 — as they joined the hitmaker to sing “Getting Started.” His wife, Adie, and young son, Egan, looked on from the audience, smiling from ear to ear.
Family wasn’t the only source of the night’s unforgettable pairings. Several fan favorites invited their country music friends to “cross over.” Colton Dixon and Platinum-selling country sweetheart Gabby Barrett performed their duet of “Build A Boat” live for the first time on the Fan Awards stage, opening the two-hour-plus show. Meanwhile, chart-topping country crooner Russell Dickerson joined Cody Carnes on “Ain’t Nobody,” the first solo No. 1 of Carnes’ career.
Other artists banded together for select tributes. Bart Millard, West and Mac Powell led an all-star moment honoring Steven Curtis Chapman and his record-breaking run of 50 No. 1s — the most of any artist in Christian music history. Additionally, two students from The Covenant School harmonized with Blessing Offor on “Brighter Days,” a song performed at the school’s talent show days before the Nashville shooting.
Lauren Daigle used her performance slot to highlight fellow co-writer Jason Ingram, who accompanied her on piano during her stripped-down performance of “Thank God I Do” that put the focus squarely on her vocal. “Gratitude” co-writers Brandon Lake and Benjamin William Hastings joined forces for the fierce ballad that fans unanimously voted both Worship Song of the Year and Song of the Year. MercyMe also performed “Then Christ Came” with co-writer David Leonard, and CAIN welcomed “I’m So Blessed” co-writer West to the stage — among other friends — as the 2023 K-LOVE Fan Awards hosts closed out the show.
“It feels so fitting,” the group’s Logan Cain remarked in regards to the theme of community. “Our first time hosting, and we’re talking about everybody else and how we do this together, and that is so true.”
The communal thread was also woven into collaborations among good friends as Tasha Layton and Jon Reddick — who have led worship together for years at their church — shared lead on her No. 1 hit, “How Far,” and his Worship Song of the Year nominated track, “I Believe It (The Life of Jesus).” Later on, dear friends Rachael Lampa and Andrew Ripp — who are in a small group together — collaborated on Lampa’s K-LOVE Fan Award-winning single, “Perfectly Loved,” and Ripp’s “Fill My Cup,” nominated for Song of the Year.
“I can’t believe the theme of this year is community, because I would not have done this without my people,” Lampa confessed as she took the podium to accept the award for Breakout Single of the Year. “We have to remember this is our family — this is the family of God. We’re brothers and sisters. We weep with those who weep; we rejoice with those who rejoice… All of that is in this room, and we’ve got to stick together. God is just smiling down right now on His kids, and I just love that feeling.”
Rounding out the parade of one-of-a-kind collaborations, early on in the lineup, Powell enlisted Jason Crabb for a revival-stirring rendition of “New Creation,” and Katy Nichole and Big Daddy Weave delivered a live, string-laden version of chart-topping hit “God Is In This Story.”
All of the fan-voted songs, as well as each of the evening’s dynamic performances personified the essence of “we’re in this together” as the K-LOVE Fan Awards commemorated a decade of impact. It seems appropriate considering the Fan Awards celebrate songs of hope that wouldn’t be possible without the community shared between the artists and their fans.
A nine-time K-LOVE Fan Award winner, Daigle accurately described this symbiotic relationship during her acceptance speech for Female Artist of the Year. “We write songs, and we hope that someday they mean something in the world. But then something miraculous happens, and God steps in, and He starts to breathe His life onto a song,” she offered. “And then it interacts with your story, and then all of a sudden, we get answers and responses — like, we didn’t know this song would have this type of impact, and then it does because of who He is, because of His power and His might in a song.”
2023 K-LOVE Fan Awards Performance Setlist
“Build A Boat,” Colton Dixon & Gabby Barrett
“New Creation,” Mac Powell & Jason Crabb
“Then Christ Came,” MercyMe & David Leonard
“God Is In This Story,” Katy Nichole & Big Daddy Weave
“My Story Your Glory,” Matthew West & K-LOVE Fans
“How Far” / “I Believe It (The Life of Jesus),” Tasha Layton & Jon Reddick
“Getting Started,” Jeremy Camp & Daughters (Bella & Arie)
“Ain’t Nobody,” Cody Carnes & Russell Dickerson
“Jesus Does,” We The Kingdom & Anne Wilson
“Brighter Days,” Blessing Offor & The Covenant School Students
“Perfectly Loved” / “Fill My Cup,” Rachael Lampa & Andrew Ripp
SCC Medley (“The Great Adventure” / “For The Sake of the Call” / “I Will Be Here” / “Dive” / “Don’t Lose Heart”), Bart Millard, Matthew West, Mac Powell & Steven Curtis Chapman
“Thank God I Do,” Lauren Daigle & Jason Ingram
“Gratitude,” Brandon Lake & Benjamin William Hastings
“I’m So Blessed,” CAIN & Friends
