(July 22, 2026 – Nashville, TN) – BMI celebrated the best in Gospel music today at the 2026 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards held at BMI’s Nashville office. Multiple award-winning artist and songwriter Kierra Sheardreceived the BMI Impact Award in recognition of her impressive career and impact on the future of gospel music. Sheard was also honored as BMI’s Gospel Songwriter of the Year in a three-way tie with her brother J Drew Sheard IIand Kerry Douglas. BMI’s Gospel Song of the Year went to “Lead Me On,” and Publisher of the Year went to Capital CMG Publishing. The most-performed Gospel songs of the previous year were also announced at the private ceremony hosted by BMI’s CEO, Mike O’Neill; EVP, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer Mike Steinberg and Vice President, Creative, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton.
Douglas and siblings Kierra Sheard and J Drew Sheard II received Songwriter of the Year for each writing three of the most performed Gospel songs of the previous year. Douglas was honored for “Don’t Give Up,” “Windows” and “Without You,” bringing his total BMI Awards up to five, commemorating his successful career. J Drew and Kierra Sheard were recognized for co-writing their hits “All Yours,” “RAIN DOWN ON ME,” and “Send It Down,” marking the second time the duo has been honored with this coveted title, after their first win in 2022.
The BMI Impact Award tributes kicked off with a heartfelt video message from Sheard’s aunt and 2024 BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Music honoree Dorinda Clark-Cole, and her mother Karen Clark Sheard also gave a moving speech congratulating her daughter for the “well-deserved honor.”
To pay homage to Sheard’s illustrious career, tribute performances kicked off with Darrel Walls on “Indescribable,” joined by DOE who gave a soulful rendition of “This is Me.” Tasha Cobbs Leonard ended the tributes by getting the crowd to their feet for an uplifting performance of “Hang On” with Karen Clark Sheard and Tamela Mann singing along from the audience.
Upon presenting Sheard with the BMI Impact Award, Steinberg said, “Today, we celebrate you for inspiring us through all your endeavors: your innovative songwriting, your powerful artistry and your ministry that touches hearts around the world.”
In receiving the afternoon’s highest honor, Sheard thanked her family and members of the audience, sharing, “God has a way to reward faithfulness before He rewards popularity… and tonight is a reminder that if you keep saying yes, He knows exactly where to find you.” She added her appreciation to BMI, saying, “I want to thank you for pushing gospel music forward. You make this industry worth staying in. What matters is what you represent, that someone still believes in a song that is worth protecting and paying for.”
The ceremony concluded with Sheard bringing the audience to their feet singing her hit song “You Are.”
Throughout the afternoon, BMI saluted the 25 most-performed gospel songs of the previous year, leading up to the highly anticipated BMI Gospel Song of the Year award, which went to “Lead Me On” co-written by Jonathan Jay, Chandler Moore and Jeff Pardo. Performed by Moore, the hit song was a lead single and a standout track from his 2024 solo album, Chandler Moore: Live In Los Angeles. The song marked Moore’s first number one as a solo artist and spent an impressive 28 weeks on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay charts overall.
The ceremony, which kicked off with a performance of “I Love the Lord” sung by Keyla Richardson, also highlighted 16 first-time winners, including Adia, Jazze Pha, Travis Finley, Dustin “SLATE” Slater, Keran Vega and more, for co-writing the award-winning songs.
BMI’s Gospel Publisher of the Year went to Capitol CMG for having the highest publisher share percentage of the top 25 songs, including BMI’s Gospel Song of the Year, “Lead Me On.”
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To download high-res photos and video clips from the red carpet and inside the event, go to: https://publicity.
Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, BMI® is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 25 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.5 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on X and Instagram @BMI or stay connected through BMI‘s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.
