How Hillsong UNITED’s “Oceans” Became The Biggest Winner At The 2014 Dove Awards
How Hillsong UNITED’s “Oceans” Became The Biggest Winner At The 2014 Dove Awards. As anticipation builds for this year’s GMA Dove Awards, we take a look back at one of the ceremony’s most memorable nights, when Hillsong UNITED’s “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” became the defining winner of the 2014 edition.
On October 7, 2014, Nashville’s Allen Arena hosted the 45th Annual GMA Dove Awards, where the Australian worship collective walked away with five awards, including two of the night’s biggest honours, Song of the Year and Artist of the Year.
The evening also saw Hillsong receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, making it a landmark night for a worship movement that had already begun influencing churches and Christian music audiences around the world.
At the centre of Hillsong UNITED’s success was “Oceans”, a song built around vulnerability, uncertainty and surrender. Rather than presenting faith as a journey without fear, the worship anthem draws from the biblical account of Peter stepping out of the boat and walking toward Jesus.
Its message resonated because it acknowledged the tension between trusting God and being afraid of what lies ahead. The song became a powerful expression of choosing faith when familiar ground is no longer an option.
Hillsong UNITED faced strong competition that night. Switchfoot collected three awards, while Skillet took home two. Ellie Holcomb was named New Artist of the Year, Mandisa’s Overcomer won Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year, and Kari Jobe’s Majestic received the award for Praise and Worship Album of the Year.
Despite the crowded field, Hillsong UNITED emerged as one of the ceremony’s biggest stories, with “Oceans” playing a central role in the group’s dominance.
Lecrae and MercyMe frontman Bart Millard hosted the ceremony, which organisers described as a record-setting event for attendance. Amid performances and awards across Christian music’s rock, pop, hip-hop and worship categories, a reflective worship song about stepping into deep waters became one of the night’s biggest victories.
Now, as the Christian music industry looks toward this year’s GMA Dove Awards, the 2014 triumph offers a reminder of the kind of songs that can leave a lasting mark beyond awards season.
More than a decade after its Dove Awards breakthrough, “Oceans” continues to connect with worshippers through its message of trusting God beyond the familiar.
Its central question remains just as relevant: when the safe ground disappears, and faith requires a step into the unknown, are we willing to keep walking?
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