RIAA Honors Lauren Daigle, Jackie Patillo, Ed Leonard, Marsha Blackburn & Chris Coons

Pictured (L-R): RIAA Honors Executives of the Year Ed Leonard & Jackie Patillo,
Artist of the Year Lauren Daigle and Policymakers of the Year Senators Marsha Blackburn & Chris Coons
The RIAA recently honored crossover artist Lauren Daigle, Gospel Music Association President Jackie Patillo, President of the Christian Music Trade Association and Daywind Music Group Ed Leonard and Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for their work on the No Fakes Act. The bill is designed to create voice & likeness protections for all individuals from AI deepfakes and voice clones.
Blackburn and Coons were honored as Policymaker of the Year for their roles in sponsoring the No Fakes Act. Leonard and Patillo were eached honored with Executive of the Year.
Daigle graced the stage to perform “Let It Be A Hallelujah” and her RIAA 6x Platinum hit “You Say.” She brought out Jon Batiste, who honored her earlier in the night, back to stage to end the night with “Be Okay.”
“Music is this incredible tool, right? It goes far and wide,” shared Daigle from the stage. “It goes all around the world, and it somehow is universal. You don’t even have to speak the same language to feel something that the person next to you is feeling. I’m so grateful that music is this bonding agent in a time of division, right? We get to all sit and listen together, and in the process of doing that, we see the world become one. We see the world become whole again, even if it’s for but a moment, and that, to me, is so beautiful. Hopefully these songs last beyond me, and are able to bring the beauty of Jesus to every heart long after I’m gone. Thank you for this honor.”

Pictured (L-R): RIAA’s Mitch Glazier, Lauren Daigle, RIAA’s Michele Ballantyne and Jon Batiste. Photo: Daniel Swartz

Pictured (L-R): RIAA’s Michele Ballantyne, Gospel Music Association’s Jackie Patillo and RIAA’s Mitch Glazier. Photo: Daniel Swartz

Pictured (L-R): RIAA’s Michele Ballantyne, Daywind Music Group’s Ed Leonard and RIAA’s Mitch Glazier. Photo: Daniel Swartz
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