Dolly Parton, Kanye win big at 2021 Grammy Awards

Originally published in Christian Headlines

Dolly Parton and Kanye West took home big wins at the 2021 Grammys.

Parton won “Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song” and West won “Best Contemporary Christian Music Album,” at the award show on Sunday.

Additionally, PJ Morton won “Best Gospel Album” and Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music won “Best Gospel Performance/Song.”

West’s 2021 win comes amid some of the most popular Christian artists dropping albums. Among the nominations for “Best Contemporary Christian Music Album” were Hillsong Young & Free’s All of My Best Friends and Tauren Well’s Citizen of Heaven. Additionally, Holy Water by We the Kingdom and Run to the Father by Cody Carnes were also nominated.

Jesus Is King, released October 25, 2019, was a controversial album for a few reasons. Primarily, a portion of Christians were skeptical of Kanye’s conversion to Christianity and thought the news was nothing more than a signature Kanye marketing tactic to drum up hype for the album.

West’s song Closed on Sunday, which is about the fast-food restaurant Chick-fil-A, also came under fire by some liberal commentators who thought Kanye was promoting a “homophobic” company, despite Chick-fil-A adamantly denying that it discriminates against members of the LGBTQ+ community. Nonetheless, 86 percent of Google users reportedly liked the album.

Parton and Zach Williams also broke ahead amid a crowded nomination with some of Christian Music’s most popular artists. Lecrae, Kari Jobe partnered with Chris Brown and others, and Tauren Wells also had songs nominated for the “Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.”

In recent years, Parton began making Christian music again as she became much more vocal about her faith. This isn’t the first song she has collaborated with Christian artists on. In 2019, Parton worked with For King & Country on their Grammy Award-winning song “God Only Knows”.