Below is a comprehensive list of all Covenant Award Categories. To be eligible to submit for the 41st Annual Covenant Awards, GMA Membership is required.
Eligible Submissions for the 41st Annual Covenant Awards must be released between May 1st, 2018 and JULY 31st, 2019
Submissions will be open from APRIL 15th UNTIL AUGUST 31st
Submit for the 41ST Annual Covenant Awards below
Super Early Bird Rates are in effect April 15th, 2019 - April 30th, 2019
Early Bird Rates are in effect May 1st, 2019 - June 30th, 2019
Standard Rates are in effect July 1st, 2019 - August 31st, 2019
General Categories
Album Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the artist (solo or group) and can be from any genre of music. “Albums” must be at least 6 songs or over 25 minutes in length. The submitted Album must have been released either commercially or to media during the qualifying time period. Albums submitted in the General “Album Of The Year” category may also be submitted under one separate “Album” category (example: Praise & Worship Album Of The Year, Folk/Roots Album Of The Year etc). May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Artist Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the artist (solo or group) and can be from any genre of music. “Artist” does not have to have released an album or project during the submission year, but may qualify through other efforts such as, but not limited to, touring, radio airplay and impact. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Female Vocalist Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the solo female artist or female lead vocalist of a group and can be from any genre of music. “Female Vocalist” does not have to have released an album or project during the submission year, but may qualify through other efforts such as, but not limited to, touring, radio airplay and impact. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Male Vocalist Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the solo male artist or male lead vocalist of a group and can be from any genre of music. “Male Vocalist” does not have to have released an album or project during the submission year, but may qualify through other efforts such as, but not limited to, touring, radio airplay and impact. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Group Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to a Group or Duo and can be from any genre of music. “Group” does not have to have released an album or project during the submission year, but may qualify through other efforts such as, but not limited to, touring, radio airplay and impact. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Breakthrough Artist Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to a Group, Duo or Sol Artist and can be from any genre of music. A “Breakthrough Artist Of The Year” is defined as an artist who has not released more than two projects (albums or EPs) during the previous three qualifying years and has never been nominated for a Covenant Award in this category. “Breakthrough Artist Of The Year” does not have to have released an album or project during the submission year, but may qualify through other efforts such as, but not limited to, touring, radio airplay and impact. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Producer Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the Producer or Production team (more than one Producer working in tandem). The qualifying Producer must have produced at least one album during the qualifying year. Submissions for Producer of the year may include samples of all of their produced projects during the qualifying period. May be submitted by the Producer, their agent, or an artist(s) for whom the Producer has worked during the qualifying period.
Song Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the songwriter(s) of a specific recording released during the qualifying period either commercially or through other avenues such as radio or the Internet. A Canadian must write 50% or more of a qualifying song. Although the song may be co-written by a non-Canadian, only the Canadian writer(s) will qualify to win the Covenant Award. May be submitted by the songwriter(s), the artist who recorded the song or their agent.
Radio Single Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the artist (group, duo or solo artist) for a specific song that obtained radio airplay in Canada and was released during the qualifying period. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Recorded Song Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the artist (group, duo or solo artist) for a specific recording released during the qualifying period either commercially or through other avenues such as radio or the Internet. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Album Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this category. It is awarded to the artist (solo or group) and can be from any genre of music. The International Album must be at least 6 songs in length or over 25 minutes in length. The submitted album must have been released either commercially or to media during the qualifying time period. The International Album category is for an album from a non-Canadian artist judged to have had a significant impact in Canada during the qualifying period. May be submitted by the artist or their agent.
Collaboration Of The Year All judges and GMA members vote on this category. It is awarded to the artist (solo or group) and can be from any genre of music. The Collaboration must be a work by Canadian solo artists, duos or groups that do not normally perform together. This may include two or more solo artists, or solo artist(s) with a group or two or more groups working together.
Album Artwork Design – awarded to the designer of a CD, DVD, Video or Single by a Canadian artist.
Video Of The Year – awarded for a single concept or live video recording. Awarded to the artist.
Song & ALbum CATEGORIES
SONG OVERVIEW
Select judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the writers of a song within a specific genre (see definitions and examples). The submitted song must have been released either commercially or to media during the qualifying time period. A Canadian must write 50% or more of a qualifying song. Although the song may be co-written by a non-Canadian, only the Canadian writer(s) will qualify to win the Covenant Award. Artists or writers may submit multiple songs but an individual song may only be submitted into one genre (example: Southern Gospel, Praise And Worship, Instrumental). A song submitted in a genre category may also be submitted in the general “Song Of The Year” category. May be submitted by the artist(s), writer(s) or their agent.
ALBUM OVERVIEW
Select judges and GMA members vote on this. Awarded to the artist within a specific genre (see definitions and examples). An album must be a least 6 songs or over 25 minutes in length. The submitted album must have been released either commercially or to media during the qualifying time period. Artists or writers may submit multiple albums but an individual album may only be submitted into one genre (example: Southern Gospel, Praise And Worship, Instrumental). An album submitted in a genre category may also be submitted in the general “Album Of The Year” category. May be submitted by the artist(s), writer(s) or their agent.
GENRE DEFINITIONS
Children – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Children’s music. Previous winners include: God Rocks!, Dian Layton, Outside The Lines.
Country – a work by a Canadian artist or writer in the Country or Bluegrass field. Previous winners include: High Valley, Cheryl Dunn and Paul Brandt.
Folk – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Folk or Roots music. Previous winners include: Ali Matthews, Steve Bell, Carolyn Arends and Newworldson.
Francophone – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Francophone music. An album in this category music be at least 75% Francophone. Previous winners include: Andréanne, The Kry, Tabitha Lemaire.
Gospel – a work by a Canadian artist or writer in the Gospel (sometimes referred to as Black Gospel) or Caribbean music field. Previous winners include: The Toronto Mass Choir.
Inspirational – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Classical, Traditional or Inspirational music (sometimes referred to as easy listening). Previous winners include: Tenore, Mark Masri, 4Given, Sean And Aimee Dayton, Lianna Klassen.
Indigenous – a work by a Canadian Indigenous artist or writer. Previous winners include: Cheryl Bear, Yvonne St. Germaine.
International – a work by a non-Canadian artist. Previous winners include Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche and MercyMe.
Jazz/Blues – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Jazz or Blues music. Previous winners include: Mike Janzen Trio, Sean Spicer.
Pop – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Pop or Contemporary music (sometimes referred to as Top 40 or CHR). Previous winners include: Greg Sczebel, Sebastian Demrey and Amanda Falk and The Color.
Praise And Worship – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Praise And Worship music. Previous winners include: Starfield, The City Harmonic, Friday’s Cry, Brian Doerksen, Jody Cross and Matt Maher.
Rap – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Rap or Hip-Hop music. Previous winners include: Fresh I.E., Manafest, Promise D’Apostle.
Rock – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Rock music. Previous winners include: downhere, Kiros, Stereotrap, Thousand Foot Krutch, Secret And Whisper.
Seasonal – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Seasonal music. Seasonal music refers to music created specifically for Christmas, Easter, Lent or other seasonal event. Previous winners include: Ali Matthews, Stephanie Mainville and The Toronto Mass Choir.
Southern Gospel – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Southern Gospel music. Previous winners include: The Torchmen, The Hunters and Canada’s Double Portion.
Urban – a work by a Canadian artist or writer of Urban, R&B or Soul music. Previous winners include: Jason Ray, Chelsea Nisbett, Drew Brown and Manuela.