Last night, gospel sister duo Mary Mary won the BET Award for Best Gospel Artist. Congrats, ladies!
They were presented the award immediately following their participation (along with Donnie McClurkin and Deitrick Haddon) in a gospel tribute performance to the late Bishop Walter Hawkins and Malaco Records, whose headquarters were recently damaged in the southeastern tornado disaster. They sang “Thank You” and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Other performances by gospel artists last night included Shirley Caesar’s performance of “You Are My Friend” in tribute to Patti LaBelle and Mali Music’s spotlight performance on the Music Matters stage.
Kudos to BET for giving gospel so many looks last night– that’s not something that happens every year. Thank ya kindly!
Make sure you guys tune-in to the BET Awards this coming Sunday, June 26th at 8pm ET/7pm CST!
The show will include a special gospel performance featuring Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, Shirley Caesar, Deitrick Haddon and Faithful Central Choir, as well as newer artists Mali Music and Kimberly Nichole.
I kinda know what they’re singin’, but I kinda can’t say… just know that I’m super excited and you don’t wanna miss it.
Word has it that Marvin Sapp took home a BET Award last night– he won in the category for Best Gospel Artist. I think we all called this one and could’ve seen it comin’ a mile away. But I’m THRILLED for him!
Also nominated in the category were Vickie Winans, Kirk Franklin presents Artists United (for Haiti Relief song), Tamela Mann and The Anointed Pace Sisters.
By the way, did anyone catch the show???
An obvious highlight for the gospel industry was Kirk Franklin’s performance of “Are You Listening?” with Fred Hammond, Marvin Sapp, Kim Burrell, Yolanda Adams and Karen Clark Sheard. Everyone was in great voice and looked great and all that. I could’ve used a BIT more Karen Clark Sheard on the ad libs– but couldn’t we all?
But before all that happened, we had another dope-for-gospel type of moment. I was thrilled to hear Alicia Keys, in the middle of her medley of hits, introduce Kim Burrell, who joined Keys in singing “If I Ain’t Got You” (Burrell changed the lyrics to say ”if it ain’t you, Jesus… if I ain’t got you, Jesus…”). It was an incredible moment– the audience went BANANAS as if they, too, were die-hard Kim fans since the days of her indie release of Try Me Again (y’know, with the short haircut on it). I’m glad for where God’s taking her.
(An aside: El DeBarge wasn’t doing gospel, but that medley ministered to my VERY SOUL, so… yeah. Just needed to say that cuz I grew up on DeBarge.)
OKAY, tell me what you thought of the show, if you caught it, and blah blah blah…
Word has it that the BET Awards will feature a handful of gospel artists that I’m pretty sure you folks will enjoy…
Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Fred Hammond and Karen Clark Sheard have been announced as performers on this year’s annual awards broadcast, which will air LIVE this Sunday, June 27th at 8pm ET/7pm CST on BET.
The nominees for the 10th annual BET Awards were announced yesterday. The awards program recognizes the gospel genre in its Best Gospel Artist category. This year, nods in that category go to:
Marvin Sapp The Anointed Pace Sisters Kirk Franklin Presents Artists United For Haiti Tamela Mann Vickie Winans
Happy about Marvin Sapp, thrilled for the Pace Sisters (project was slept on– read my review for more info), satisfied about Tamela Mann and Vickie Winans. I dunno that the Haiti relief project should’ve been nominated. Don’t get me wrong– I love everything that it is, was and ever stood for… I just dunno that it should be put in the Best Gospel Artist category. Are we saying that, merely for being there, the participants are “the best” this year?
For me, this list is missing BeBe & CeCe Winans. After a 15-year hiatus, gospel’s most famous duo returns with the highest album debut of 2009, sales that kept them at #1 on the gospel chart for MONTHS, plus media exposure that included a performance on Oprah… and they’re not even nominated? What must one DO?! I don’t get the nominations criteria.
I wouldn’t be the only one, of course, as nominations are doled out by a select and secret committee comprised of… well, we’re not really told who. By the way, what’s with awards shows not telling us who’s doing all the awardin’?!
In any case, I’m predicting Marvin Sapp on this one. And after a record-breaking debut across all genres of music a couple of months ago, I think he deserves it.
This year’s BET Awards will be hosted by Queen Latifah and will be broadcast live from L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, June 27th at 8pm ET/7pm CST on BET.
I interviewed Karen Clark-Sheard on Friday. I’m telling you guys, but I’m partly reminding myself, because it was just a little incredible.
She had just shared advance music from her upcoming album (click here for that recap), so life was already feeling a little surreal. But to realize that we now sat across from each other in a conference room, me with a BUNCH of questions and her with a willing heart to answer ‘em… FOR REAL?
I’ll admit that I kinda broke protocol and became the UBER-FAN for a minute before launching into the interview, telling her how I used to watch her when I was a kid and blah blah blah… whatever! I have no regrets EXCEPT for the fact that I totally forgot to grab a photo with her.
So, what did we chat about? LOTS.
The Clark Sisters were in Nashville on Thursday night for the taping of a TBN Christmas special. It was actually historic for them because it was the first time that The Clark Sisters have ever had their ownTBN program (she shared that they’ve always been invited by other hosts, but never had their own special). The 30-minute musical program will PROBABLY air sometime next week– I’ll let you know details when I get ‘em.
We chatted briefly about her new album and its direction. Karen went the studio route for her upcoming album, All In One, instead of doing a live album because, as she explained, “it was just time” to do it this way. She’s been writing more and the studio afforded her the opportunity to really take her time and put her heart into her writing, a gift that she’s not always felt comfortable with.
Compared to Twinkie Clark, and more recently to Dorinda Clark-Cole, Karen shared that she often ”felt inadequate” as a songwriter. She was encouraged, though, when God allowed her to win a GRAMMY for Gospel Song Of The Year in 2008 for her hit “Blessed And Highly Favored.” “It was God’s way of saying ‘don’t question the gift’ that was placed inside of me,” she recounted.
In addition to her GRAMMY win, Karen has recently started her own label, Karew Records. She’s incredibly proud of it because it’s truly a family affair– even her kids, J Drew II and Kierra, have positions in the company. The first project on the label was the Clark Family Christmas album, which will be followed by her own project. After that? Expect to see a new album from The Clark Sisters.
Take note– despite all of the hard work and success, Karen really doesn’t see herself as a celebrity. As hard as I tried to explain that she’s considered one of the greatest female vocalists alive, she kinda doesn’t get it. LOL
Instead, she tries to remain as accessible as possible, especially because of her role as a pastor’s wife. “The people of our church need to be able to reach me and have access to me,” she shares. That attitude hasn’t been without its problems, though, as she has also had to change her mobile number in the past. “People would call and just be breathing on the other end, or they’d call and play one of my songs and hang up,” she shared.
I asked Karen why she doesn’t have a Twitter account yet and she said she wasn’t sure about using technology much because she’s seen how negative it can be. “I saw how some people had hurtful things to say about Kierra for doing the track ["God In Me"] with Mary Mary.” Apparently, Karen even reached out to encourage Mary Mary after fans came down on them for not featuring Kierra on the BET Awards. “We weren’t even thinking about that stuff. Kierra was just so happy to have been included in the song, she didn’t care about all of that. She’s just happy for them.” Karen shared that it’s sad to see how nasty things can get on the internet.
Still, I tried to convince her that the web has some merits and, no promises, but we may see a Karen Clark-SheardTwitter account soon… y’all can thank me later.
Before we wrapped up her chat, we talked a bit about the new track that she recorded with Aretha Franklin. It was actually completed a while ago, but the opportunity was unreal to Karen because Aretha is her favorite singer. I got the impression that the song, which will be on Aretha’s upcoming project, turned out very well.
Aaaaand that’s about it. To say that I enjoyed interviewing Karen Clark-Sheard would be an understatement. At its core, though, it was just a really great conversation.
Hopefully, you guys got some cool info out of it, too. Whatd’ya think?
When the second season of BET’sSunday Best was on, I made it abundantly clear that my favorite contestant was Jessica Reedy. Never get it twisted, though– I also looooove the voices and ministries of several of the other contestants, like (of course) winner Y’Anna Crawley, Latice Crawford, Dontavies Boatwright, John John, Camille Betton… but from jump, Jess just… shocked me.
And I wasn’t alone cuz I know a bunch of y’all adore her, too… which is why I reached out and said “let’s talk again and tell the people what you’ve been up to!” So, here we are!
Friends, here’s our buddy, Jessica Reedy:
* * *
EJ: How have you been, sister?!
JR: I’ve been wonderful! I really have.
EJ: You sound happy.
JR: Thank you. I am!
EJ: I’m so glad to be chattin’ with you. Last time we talked for the website, you were in total shock over the fact that so many people enjoyed you so much. You still amazed?
JR: I’m still shocked. I’m shocked that people still remember me.
EJ: Still remember you?! It was only four months ago.
JR: Yeah, but there’s so much new stuff going on. And I don’t have anything out to keep your mind refreshed, so it still amazes me.
EJ: I hear that. I wanna re-visit Sunday Best for just a quick second. The night of the finale, you’re at home with your family in Saginaw, watching the whole thing. Did you know the results before Kirk Franklin announced them?
JR: No, I didn’t. They taped two endings, so me and Yannie both were waiting to see which ending they played.
EJ: Yep. I dunno if you saw the blogs and heard the commentary on radio, but fans of the show lashed out at BET. They thought the competition was rigged, they said the finale wasn’t good, they said the results were known before that night, but you’re saying that the first time you heard anything was with the rest of the nation?
JR: The first time I heard anything. And the crazy thing is that the local news decided to be at my house, to catch my first reaction. I had no clue. What we did know was who would be the last two, but once we got home, that was it. We didn’t know anything else.
EJ: Okay. So, you didn’t know what would happen… Kirk announces Y’Anna as the winner. What was your immediate reaction?
JR: I told Yannie this– I knew God had blessed me, but I sort of expected my flesh to be a sore loser. I had no bad feelings… I was so happy for her, to the point that it shocked me AND my family.
EJ: *laughs*
JR: But I had no kind of bad feelings because I knew how good God had been to me already. And to feel something stupid like that would be such an insult to God, in my opinion. And it shocked the heck outta me– all I could do was smile.
And my cousin was like “it’s alright,” and I was like “it IS alright.” *laughing*
EJ: You’re a good-hearted person. I dunno if everyone would be as kind about that.
JR: I couldn’t find another person who is more deserving. She’s a kind-hearted person. You know, she has two kids. She has a boy, in a minute, he’ll be in college. And here I am, I just turned 21. At the time, I was 20 years old. God has so much more for me than I can even imagine. Yannie’s what…32? Lord, bless HER. I’ll take the backseat– I can’t believe I’m in the top 2 anyway, so I’ll take that. I don’t mind.
EJ: And the beauty of televised competitions like Sunday Best is that, once you’re in the top two, each finalist is pretty much set to get SOMETHING.
People haven’t heard too much about you on a NATIONAL scale since Sunday Best ended, but I know that you’ve been quite busy– tell us what you’ve been up to.
JR: Awww, man. God’s been good. He’s been telling people to call me! *laughs*
EJ: *laughing* Yep!
JR: He’s been giving people a desire to wanna hear me some more, so churches have been calling me, pastors… just people who want me to come to anything they might be having.
They fly me out, which is amazing! It’s like… God will bless me like THAT?! I’m grateful. I’m so grateful. I can’t believe it because singing is something I do all the time. And you wanna pay me to come and do it?!
EJ: That’s awesome.
JR: And I’m grateful. They do more than they have to… they’ll say “do you want to go to the movies,” or “do you want to go shopping?” I’m like “wow,” and my manager reminds me “they don’t do this for everybody.” So, it’s another confirmation from God, like “Jessica, you’re on the right track.”
EJ: Ok, so the big question that’s on everyone’s mind– when can we expect some music from you?
JR: Okay. Now, I’m working extremely hard to get some leniency on my contracts. Right now, I cannot record.
EJ: You can’t record because of your contract with BET?
JR: Nothing. Right now, they’re allowing me to travel, but that’s all I can do. So, I’m praying!
EJ: Well, I’ll make sure we get to prayin’ too! Because people want something. Badly.
JR: Really? See, that’s amazing to me!
EJ: Oh, absolutely. Folks are going crazy over the few YouTube videos of you that are up.
JR: Oh my goodness. Honestly, I look at all of this as a blessing in disguise. God won’t leave me. He reminds me “Jessica, I brought you from the bottom and raised you to runner-up, among thousands.”
And this down time has gotten me to a point where my relationship with the Lord has grown even more. It’s making me find more within myself, even creative ideas, so that when I do get out of the contract, I’ll know what I want to do.
EJ: True. And this is good down time. I often think of “down time” as an awesome time for God to prepare us and work on our character, work on those things we didn’t even know were issues.
JR: Right.
EJ: Do me a favor, and I think I speak for all of your supporters. TRY YOUR BEST to re-make Kirk’s “Brighter Day” for your debut album, with the same arrangement that you had on Sunday Best.
JR: Okay!
EJ: I’m serious. Cuz we NEED to be able to listen to that whenever we want it. Deal?
JR: That’s a deal. I promise.
But you know what? There’s a compilation album that we all did– the top 10. And that’s the song that they chose for me to do on the album. It’s not the exact arrangement, but it’s sweet… it’s nice. I honestly like the original arrangement that I did on the show, though.
EJ: That’s what you HAVE to do. And if you have to go back to watch the YouTube clips so you can remember what you did, do that.
JR: *laughing*
EJ: *laughing* Okay, let’s see… you’re on Twitter now, so people can connect with you socially there (http://www.twitter.com/jessicareedy). But how can people book you if they want to get you for an event?
JR: Contact my manager, Phil Thorton, at 323-937-3700. And email jessicareedybookings@yahoo.com. You’ll get a response in NO time, I promise. I won’t make people wait. I’ve got no time to waste. *laughing*
EJ: Well, you already know that I think the world of you and your voice. I continue to wish you all the best. I appreciate you, sis. Thanks for touching base.
JR: Thank you. I really appreciate this, EJ.
EJ: No doubt. And we’ll talk soon.
JR: Okay then. You take care.
EJ: You too. Bye-bye.
* * *
Ain’t that crazy that she’s locked into her contract and can’t record for us the glory of God?! Geeeeez. But it’s great to know that she’s doing well and making the most of her time, giggin’ and what not. Good job!
Oh, and just for kicks, here’s that awesome performance of “Brighter Day” that we all loved so much:
I can’t even gloat about having an accurate prediction, cuz I think we all saw it comin’…
Mary Mary won the BET Award for “Best Gospel Artist.” Jamie Foxx called them “the NEW Queens of Gospel” last night… I dunno if I’d go there just yet, especially since Albertina Walker holds the title and is still in the game, but the Marys are definitely making moves. Let’s compromise at the “Queens of URBAN Gospel.” Fair?
Anyway, the Marys performed “God In Me” live. Kierra Sheard wasn’t on hand to perform the bridge, but Queen Latifah came out with a verse (rhyming, not singing).
It’s on YouTube (for now)… so watch here:
I’m not sure if it was the sound quality (mics were kinda low), or the lack of much stage action (in comparison to the other performances, their stage was kinda bare), but I wasn’t feelin’ this particular performance as much as some of Mary Mary’s other ones. And the audience kinda just sat there like “okay…” until Latifah came out.
That said, people try to front on the ladies, like they’re not reppin’ Christ, but I give props to them– I felt like it was clear who they were singing about and who they were singing for… but I know y’all might not agree…
Hey peeps, don’t forget that the BET Awards are airing live from Los Angeles on Sunday night at 8pm ET.
Mary Mary is slated to win perform this year, and they’re nominated for “Best Gospel Artist” along with Shirley Caesar, Regina Belle, Smokie Norful and Trin-I-Tee 5:7.
The whole show should be good, especially in light of Michael Jackson’s passing– I hear they’re making A LOT of changes to honor him.
But before all that happened, we had another dope-for-gospel type of moment. I was thrilled to hear Alicia Keys, in the middle of her medley of hits, introduce Kim Burrell, who joined Keys in singing “If I Ain’t Got You” (Burrell changed the lyrics to say ”if it ain’t you, Jesus… if I ain’t got you, Jesus…”). It was an incredible moment– the audience went BANANAS as if they, too, were die-hard Kim fans since the days of her indie release of Try Me Again (y’know, with the short haircut on it). I’m glad for where God’s taking her.
I’ll admit that I kinda broke protocol and became the UBER-FAN for a minute before launching into the interview, telling her how I used to watch her when I was a kid and blah blah blah… whatever! I have no regrets EXCEPT for the fact that I totally forgot to grab a photo with her. 
EJ: How have you been, sister?!
EJ: And the beauty of televised competitions like Sunday Best is that, once you’re in the top two, each finalist is pretty much set to get SOMETHING.
EJ: Do me a favor, and I think I speak for all of your supporters. TRY YOUR BEST to re-make Kirk’s “Brighter Day” for your debut album, with the same arrangement that you had on Sunday Best.
