Christian music singer Forrest Frank has announced that he will no longer attend awards ceremonies, saying he believes awards for his music are unnecessary because he already has “the greatest award of all time”.
Frank took to social media to explain his absence from the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards.
“As Christians, it’s hard to know where the line in the sand is between being in the world and not of the world,” he said. “Where’s the line in the sand drawn?”
For Frank, that line is drawn at award shows.
“I’m convicted, personally, that a line that I can draw is that I will not receive a trophy for something that is from Jesus and for Jesus,” he told his followers.
However, other artists have questioned Frank’s decision to reject awards while continuing to profit from Christian music.
“Won’t receive a trophy for something for Jesus, but will take the profits from something from Jesus for Jesus. Maybe I’m missing something here lol,” commented Jelly Roll, a secular musician known for collaborating on Christian songs.
Christian American band Kings Kaleidoscope also responded to Frank’s “non-participatory stance”, arguing that the simple solution is not to submit music for consideration in the first place, pointing to artist Frank Ocean as an example.
“Then you have zero chance of winning,” the band wrote. “To be considered, you have to submit your music, which it looks like you or your label/publisher have. Why not just bypass that altogether? That’s what we’ve always done.”
As The Christian Post reports, Frank is currently nominated for several Dove Awards. “Good Day” and “Up!” are nominated for Song of the Year, “Your way’s better” is up for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, and “Heavin on this Earth” has been nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year.