Immediately following the taping of the 25th Annual Stellar Awards, social networking sites were flooded with praises, lauding THIS show as the best Stellar Awards EVER. And I agree.
I’ve attended numerous times and I’ve watched the show since I was kid growing up in Chicago– the performances on this show were innovative and you’ll be hard-pressed to find more memorable and captivating performances right now.
!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
During the taping, I sent tweets via Twitter about who was on stage, but intentionally left off the songs that were being performed. Here, I’m recapping the ENTIRE taping, so if you wanna leave anything to your imagination, don’t read any further.
If you wanna know the juicy details, do proceed…
As you probably know, the show was hosted by Donnie McClurkin, Vickie Winans and Kirk Franklin. They did a great job, especially Vickie, who served as comic relief for much of the night. There was no hype man between set changes this year, so we could’ve gotten really restless but for Vickie’s jokes about herself.
For the first time, the Stellar Awards featured a live house band, which was led by producer Percy Bady. This made a WORLD of difference because the sound was tighter than ever, the performances came to life, and we weren’t bound by the restrictions of each artist’s performance track. EXCELLENT decision.
If you follow my tweets, you know that I said that the theme for this year’s show would be COLLABORATIONS. Almost all of the performances on the show are medleys between artists that have made significant contributions to gospel music over the past 25 years. The others were performances from artists that left a great impression on the industry in the past year.
The show opened with a collabo between Ricky Dillard & New G and Hezekiah Walker & LFC. If you love choirs, you’ll get a glimpse of Heaven within the first coupla minutes of the program!
Ricky Dillard & New G performed “Search Me” before transitioning into the classic vamp of “More Abundantly”… you know, the part where the sopranos, altos and tenors break down into parts, singing “JOYYYYY!” During this time, the Love Fellowship Choir had joined them on stage, just in time for Bishop Hezekiah Walker to lead them in their hits “I Need You To Survive” and “Souled Out.” It was electrifying.
The next performances came from the legendary Vanessa Bell Armstrong, performing her hit single “Good News.” She looked incredible and sounded even better.
In a traditional female vocalist collaboration, we were super blessed to witness Lady Tramaine Hawkins sing “Changed” (it doesn’t matter how many years have passed– her voice DOES NOT CHANGE) before Dottie Peoples came on stage to sing “On Time God” like you wouldn’t believe. As if that wasn’t enough, Pastor Shirley Caesar came to the stage to tell us about ol’ Shoutin’ John in “Hold My Mule” Y’all remember that song?! It was a classic performance.
The next collabo came from Richard Smallwood and Smokie Norful. This was absolutely one of the best performances. Fortunately, I had seen it during some rehearsals, because I could’ve missed the whole thing. An usher at the Grand Ole Opry House used this time to SCREAM in my area, talkin’ about “are there any SEAT FILLERS over here?!” Fortunately, my wife told her to “shhhhh!!!” and we still caught some of it. Don’t mess with Janice Gaines, y’hear?
Picture it– Smallwood and Norful, both in tuxedos (with tails), each at a black grand piano, tickling the ivories like nobody’s business. Richard Smallwood started by playing Smokie’s “I Need You Now,” then Smokie followed by playing Richard’s “Center Of My Joy.” Smokie then played and sang “Dear God” (from his latest project) and Richard Smallwood capped the performance off with his classic anthem, “Total Praise.”
New Artist Of The Year Crystal Aikin came to the stage next with her hit single “I Desire More,” and left the entire room desiring more… I could’ve heard her on that vamp all day. Her voice soars, effortlessly, and she’s got such control and sincerity… a true treasure.
Another stand-out performance came from our favorite bro & sis– BeBe & CeCe Winans, singing their latest single “Grace.” They looked like a million bucks and they sounded like they never took a 15-year break. They’re just pros who don’t miss a beat.
Up next was another classic performance– Kirk Franklin performed with his singers– new and old– a medley of his greatest hits, including “Silver & Gold,” “Why We Sing,” and a bunch of others I’m forgetting. The best part of the performance was probably when Tamela Mann and Dalon Collins joined them to sing “Now Behold The Lamb.” That auditorium went UP and IN. CLASSIC!
Up next was the popular single “I Trust You” from James Fortune & FIYA. They gave a great performance and reminded everyone why he had such great success at radio– it’s a singable anthem that encourages souls… great stuff.
The next performance is one that you’d BETTER watch for on the broadcast. Don’t take bathroom breaks even remotely close to this segment. I’m talking about the all-male vocalist collaboration between Donnie McClurkin, Byron Cage and Marvin Sapp. There are hardly words to describe it. The song list was great– ”Never Would Have Made It,” “The Presence Of The Lord Is Here,” “Faithful To Believe,” “Marvelous” (by Walter Hawkins), and “Stand.”
Each of the three guys took turns singing on “Never Would Have Made It” and “Stand.” By the end of their set, the ENTIRE room was on its feet worshipping. They came back in on “Stand” and the taping had to take a break. I’ve NEVER heard Byron Cage sing the way he did, Donnie’s range was limitless and powerful (as always) and Marvin Sapp was simply incredible.
At this point, Kirk came out and shared some of what’s been on his heart. One thing that stood out was a quick phrase he gave– “IN ADVANCE.” He shared that, as we sleep, as we doubt, while we’re not knowing what is going to happen, GOD has thoughtfully already worked everything out for us, in advance. Our response to THAT should be that we praise Him, in advance. It was a very powerful moment– I know I’m not typing it well enough to convey that, but… you’re gonna have to trust me.
The fire was kept burning by the next performance, which came from Israel Houghton and Mary Mary. Israel performed via satellite from London, while Erica & Tina Campbell looked and sounded great on stage as they sang the Grammy-nominated “Every Prayer.” I loved the concept of it and the execution. Great job.
The finale of the show came sooner than I had prepared for– I guess I wanted to go until midnight or something– but when it came, it was great.
Donald Lawrence & The Co. (and you guys KNOW I love me some Co.!) sang “Back II Eden” with the Atlanta West Pentecostal Church Choir, winners of How Sweet The Sound (HSTS), behind them. It was a great concept to include the choir because HSTS was such a great and popular part of the gospel industry this year. And when Floyd Wilkinson came up to do his vamp… I’m sayin’… I could listen to that vamp 10 times in a row and never got tired of it.
What I think you WON’T see on camera is Vickie Winans clownin’… she won Female Vocalist Of The Year and the award was presented by Shirley Caesar, Dorothy Norwood and Albertina Walker. When she won, she was so overwhelmed and blown away that she went to the podium and said to Albertina (who sat with an oxygen tank next to her), “girl, gimme some of this [oxygen].” I NEED them to not edit that out! LOL
Also, you probably won’t see Tina Campbell with her gorgeous new lil’ baby, TJ. She walked to her seat with him at one point, and the whole audience awww’ed and oooo’ed cuz it was just priceless.
Even without those moments, you’re gonna get all the rest… and that’ll be one of the best set of televised gospel performances you’ve ever witnessed.
I commend Don Jackson, Central City Productions, Barbara Wilson, and the entire Stellar Awards production crew for an incredible show– definitely my favorite over the past decade, and probably EVER. Elegant, professional, classic… it was more than just a celebration of 25 years of the Stellars… it was a celebration of gospel music. Perfect!
Soooooooooooo… sound good to anyone else? Anyone attend and wanna chime in? Did I miss anything???
Jesus said we should forgive 77 times. But at $10 each, I can’t afford to forgive $770 worth of disappointing CDs! Once I hit $20, you’re CUT from my “MUST BUY” list. My most common disappointment is unmet expectations…and my most recent encounter with it involves Byron Cage.
So, this time, my good friend, Cynthia Jones (make-up artist extraordinaire), had to convince me to give Bryon’s most recent release, Faithful to Believe (produced by Aaron Lindsey), a listen. She said that she shared my reservations initially, gave it a shot anyway and was pleased with the CD.
To me, the vibe of it is rather similar to his first single, “Faithful To Believe.” I dunno that I would have chosen it as the second single– I would’ve preferred something a little slower from him, maybe “He Will Answer” (one of my faves on the project). Interestingly, that song doesn’t feature Byron’s lead vocal until he reprises the chorus at the end… maybe that’s why they passed on it.
In addition to writing “Invitation” and “Rain On Me” for Byron Cage’s album, “An Invitation To Worship,” Alex has served as a worship leader for Lifeway’s Going Beyond conferences with Priscilla Shirer. No novice to the business side of things, he’s also worked as a road manager for several artists.
The 3-day celebration will take place in Orlando, FL from Friday, May 7th through Sunday, May 9th. Hosts for the weekend will be Vickie Winans and comedian Akintunde.
