What an incredible night we had at the StepFWD Awards on 22nd November! It was such a pleasure to witness the best of British Christian music artists coming together to celebrate one another and glorify God, who made all this possible. Hosted by Faith Child and Jennifer Lee Moon, the evening was filled with music and emotion, joy and laughter, testimony and triumphs. 

You can find the full list of winners here

We were blessed with many talented performances throughout the evening, starting with some wonderful praise by Evans Ogboi, supported by the winners of University Gospel Choir of the Year 2025, Kent Gospel Choir. The second performance of the night was from our amazing hosts Saint Church who led us in a beautiful moment of worship. 

A memorable moment was definitely the award for RnB/Soul Song of the Year, won by Kaye-Marie, who was sitting in the balcony. Everyone waited in anticipation for her to appear downstairs, and she definitely made an entrance in an incredible outfit that was the envy of all. 

Our next performance was from the star of this year’s show – Elle Limebear. Winner of Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year, Elle performed ‘Vulnerable’ which had just received Indie/Folk/Acoustic Song of the Year. This powerful performance moved the room, with Elle laying everything before the Lord, secure in the knowledge of God’s unconditional love. 

One of the next awards to be presented was global talent of the year, and, after his viral hit ‘No Turning Back II’, I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone that Nigerian artist Gaise Baba was a worthy winner of this award. 

The next three performances all stirred the room into a heartset of praise and adoration for our God. The indomitable duo Esther Durin and Kaye-Marie got everyone up on their feet and singing along to their beautiful set. Then we were honoured to have the dynamic Swedish sibling trio Lin D leading us in praise, followed by KXC asking God to move through their powerful music. 

The Honour Awards were truly a special moment to celebrate some of the top talent in our industry.Tim Jupp was genuinely shocked to receive the Outstanding Contribution Award, though everyone else knew he was a truly deserving recipient (Read why here). And the John Paculabo Award for Industry Development recognised the incredible work of Peter Meadows, David Payne and Geoff Shearn (Read more here).

Marizu and Tonfunmi Adorna brought fire to the stage in their performances. And ‘I Know’ DC3’s performance of the Rap Song of the Year raised the heat even higher. 

The next performance was a breath-taking routine from dance crew Flawless and GGD who owned the stage with their insanely in-sync street dancing. Having witnessed so many talented musicians throughout the evening, I felt it was a true blessing to be able to see the music used in a new and different way for the glory of God. 

The last – but by no means the least – performance of the night came to us from last year’s winner of the Vocal Excellence Award Michelle John, with special guest Hildia Campbell, who ended the evening on a grateful note. 

But that isn’t all. Another very exciting moment happened at the StepFWD Awards: a ground-breaking announcement from our wonderful founder and CEO O’Neil Dennis. AStepFWD, the organisation behind the UK Christian Charts, has partnered with the Official Charts Company to introduce the Official Christian & Gospel Singles Chart, due to go live in early 2026. For the first time, the Christian and Gospel community will have an official presence within the UK music industry. 

With the Christian music industry growing rapidly, and more people hungering for hope, this announcement couldn’t have come at a better time.