THE 4th ANNUAL STEPFWD AWARDS HONORING CHRISTIAN CREATIVES

What a night to remember! Held at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, the StepFWD Awards saw hundreds of artists, producers, and fans come together to celebrate the incredible talent in the UK Christian and Gospel Music community. At the heart of StepFWD Awards is the principle taken from Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour.”

Hosting the event were the incredible Noel Robinson and Philippa Hanna who made a phenomenal duo that shone on stage. Opening the event with prayer, Noel Robinson handed the awards ceremony to God, as all the music and artists celebrated are working to bring glory to Jesus’ mighty name.

Tolu Adebekun, COO of AStepFWD expanded on how music is often talked about in terms of an ‘industry’, but for Christian artists music is also a ministry with a wide reach. As such, Philippa Hanna coined the term “mindustry” to represent Christian music being both.

The first performance by Reblah made waves in the audience, as he had the whole room up on their feet declaring the name of Jesus. His collaboration with KMO Shamaal ‘Need You’ went on to win

Rap Song of the Year, one of the 23 awards handed out during the evening, including Song of The Year winners for each category based on UK Christian Charts, plus the Annual Music awards and Honour awards. (See list below of all winners)

The first award of the evening, Indie | Folk | Acoustic Song of the Year, was awarded to ‘Human Like Me’ by Sarah Téibo. This beautiful song with its raw emotion stems from Sarah’s experience with thyroid cancer, which affected her vocal cords, reminding us that God can do incredible things in healing and restoration, his power shown in weakness.

Music Video of the Year, presented by Croydon Deputy Civic Mayor Cllr Chatterjee, went to ‘Mirror Mirror’ by Still Shadey, a powerful artistic piece that showcases teenagers who were given the opportunity to explore who they see in the mirror. Still Shadey and his brother Y Shadey delivered the most energetic performance of the awards supported by BIMM Birmingham Gospel Choir, the winners of this year’s University Gospel Choir of the Year (UGCY) competition.

The performance by Dani Miche and Saintz had everyone up and clapping to Saintz’ recent single ‘Hope Future Destiny’. Founder of UGCY Lorraine Wright-Boateng MBE presented Pop Song of the Year. This was given to ‘Gonna Be Okay’ by Jerub, who had an impressive four songs nominated for this category.

Big Church Festival’s Tim Jupp presented the New Artist of the Year award to Sondae, which was met by rapturous applause from the crowd. Muyiwa Olarewaju OBE presented the Reggae Song of the Year, which went to ‘I Love You (God We Love Riddim)’ by Shadrach ft. Joshua Kesler.

For International Artist of the Year, we had a video presentation by Jackie Patillo of the GMA Dove Awards. The extraordinary talent and heartfelt artistry of winner Brandon Lake, who won no less than three Dove Awards this year, has touched countless lives across the globe.

Limoblaze performed his wonderful song ‘No Greater Love’, supported by BIMM Birmingham Gospel Choir. Limoblaze was recognised as Male Artist of the Year and his collaboration with Annatoria ‘Put it on God’ won Afrobeat Song of the Year. Annatoria and Laura Ehio moved the hearts of the audience as they declared ‘Be Still’ in a stunning duet. Both exceptional vocalists also made a real splash on the red carpet.

Electronic | Dance Song of the Year, presented by Kristina and Chris Jones from Beckview Studios, was given to ‘Joy’ by Rave Jesus, Martin Smith ft. Faye Simpson and Pat Knight-Scott – an excellent example of an infectious dance tune that can speak to audiences not drawn to traditional worship sounds.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Peter Kerridge (RIP), former CEO of Premier Gospel, whose legacy is remarkable. His dedication to supporting and promoting Christian and Gospel music has left an indelible mark on the community, helping it to grow and thrive. Audrey Grey was awarded The John Paculabo Award for Industry Development. Audrey is a former
CEO of the UK’s Gospel Music Industry Alliance (GMIA) and has worked tirelessly to shape and grow the music industry, being a driving force in the addition of Gospel qualifications to RSL Awards, meaning the skills of Gospel musicians are being officially recognised for the first time.

Outstanding Contribution Award was given to Andrea Encinas who has been instrumental to the remarkable growth of the UK choir scene from LCGC days and now. The Lavine Hudson Award for Vocal Excellence was awarded to Michelle John, whose vocal talent has seen her perform across the world stages, now brilliantly showcased in her first Gospel album ‘God Is’.

The audience was also treated to an incredible spoken word performance by Dai Wooldridge, Poetess Jess and Joshua Luke Smith, with BIMM. Philippa Hanna and Noel Robinson closed the evening with their performance of ‘Breaker of Chains’.

Full List of Awards

Annual Music Awards

• Female Artist of the Year – ANNATORIA
• Male Artist of the Year – LIMOBLAZE
• New Artist of the Year – SONDAE
• ● International Artist of the Year – BRANDON LAKE
• ● Duo/Group of the Year – LZ7
• ● Album of the Year – “VICTORY SOUNDS” SINACH
• ● Music Video of the Year – ‘MIRROR MIRROR’ STILL SHADEY
• ● Producer of the Year – TBABZ

Song of the Year

• Contemporary Worship – ‘GARMENT OF PRAISE’ MARTIN SMITH
• Contemporary Gospel – ‘VICTORY IS MY NAME’ SINACH FT. ISRAEL HOUGHTON
• RnB | Soul – ‘FOUNTAIN’ ANNATORIA FT JOE L BARNES
• Electronic | Dance – ‘JOY’ RAVE JESUS, MARTIN SMITH, FAYE SIMPSON, PAT KNIGHT-SCOTT
• Indie | Folk | Acoustic – ‘HUMAN LIKE ME’ SARAH TEIBO
• Pop – ‘GONNA BE OKAY’ JERUB
• Rock | Alternative – ‘WE’LL BE ALRIGHT’ IAN YATES
• Afrobeat – ‘PUT IT ON GOD’ LIMOBLAZE, ANNATORIA
• Rap – ‘NEED YOU’ REBLAH, KMO SHAMAAL
• Reggae – ‘I LOVE YOU (GOD WE LOVE RIDDIM)’ SHADRACH FT JOSHUA KESLER
• Chillhop | Lo-Fi – ‘GRATITUDE’ SXXNT., SARA DAMON

Honour Awards

• Outstanding Contribution Award – ANDREA ENCINAS
• Lavine Hudson Award for Vocal Excellence – MICHELLE JOHN
• The John Paculabo Award for Industry Development – AUDREY GRAY
• Lifetime Achievement Award – PETER KERRIDGE (RIP)

StepFWD Awards celebrates and champions the UK Christian music scene returning in 2025 for the fifth year in running. StepFWD Awards 2024 was kindly supported by Compassion UK who made the event possible.