Hey folks, just a quick heads-up to let you know that we’ve added new artists to the Pundit Pages, our growing database of gospel artist info.
Head over now and check out the pages we’ve compiled for Dorinda Clark Cole, Andraé Crouch, Ricky Dillard, Le’Andria Johnson, Mali Music, Jessica Reedy and Trin-i-tee 5:7.
More coming soon!
Go, Le’Andria, go! 
For the third straight week, the season three winner of BET’s Sunday Best is in the #1 position on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart. If you still don’t have her debut project, The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…, read our review and buy it!
Here’s this week’s Top 10 in Gospel…
1 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
2 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
3 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
4 | WOW Gospel 2011
5 | Donald Lawrence – YRM (Your Righteous Mind)
6 | Da’ T.R.U.T.H. – The Whole Truth
7 | Mary Mary – Something Big
8 | Trin-i-tee 5:7 – Angel & Chanelle
9 | Dorinda Clark Cole – I Survived
10 | Deitrick Haddon – Church on the Moon
I am EAGER to see next week’s chart, where we’ll see how this week’s new releases from Jessica Reedy, Andraé Crouch and CoCo Brother’s fare in stores.
Gospel hip-hop fave Da’ T.R.U.T.H. lands at #2 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart this week with his new album, The Whole Truth.
Still reigning at #1 is winner of last season’s Sunday Best on BET, Le’Andria Johnson, with her debut album, The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson. I expected a bit of a sales dip, but I’m quite proud of her for that staying power!
Trin-i-tee 5:7 also experiences a notable sales bump, moving from #19 to #5 this week with their latest album, Angel & Chanelle.
Here’s a glance at the full Top 10 in Gospel…
1 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
2 | Da’ T.R.U.T.H. – The Whole Truth
3 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
4 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
5 | Trin-i-tee 5:7 – Angel & Chanelle
6 | WOW Gospel 2011
7 | Donald Lawrence – YRM (Your Righteous Mind)
8 | Dorinda Clark Cole – I Survived
9 | Mary Mary – Something Big
10 | Earnest Pugh – Earnestly Yours
I’m not expecting to see any big debuts on the charts in the coming week, but the following week, I think we’ll see strong showings from Jessica Reedy, Andraé Crouch and CoCo Brother’s Gospel Mix V compilation, all of which hit stores on the 27th of September.
It’s voting time!
Beginning today, voting for the 27th Annual Stellar Awards is open to the public and continues through through October 17, 2011. Your votes will help to determine the final nominees and winners in each category.
To vote, simply visit the Stellar Awards website at http://www.thestellarawards.com. Be careful– music starts automatically on the site, so turn your speakers down if you’re at work. 
For the second year, the final nominees will be announced and broadcast from a live event on October 29, 2011. More details about that are coming soon.
The 27th Annual Stellar Awards will be taped before a live studio audience at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House on Saturday, January 14, 2012. The program will be hosted by Dorinda Clark Cole and Marvin Sapp.
Go vote!
Le’Andria Johnson, winner of season three of BET’s Sunday Best, has debuted at #1 with her first solo album, The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson. Not only did she top Billboard’s Gospel chart, but she also hit #3 on the Independent Albums chart, #21 on the Digital Albums chart and #26 on the Billboard 200. Congrats!
Check out the full top 10…
1 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
2 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
3 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
4 | WOW Gospel 2011
5 | Dorinda Clark Cole – I Survived
6 | Donald Lawrence – YRM (Your Righteous Mind)
7 | Mary Mary – Something Big
8 | Earnest Pugh – Earnestly Yours
9 | PRo – Dying to Live
10 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of Marvin Sapp
If you don’t have Le’Andria’s project yet, check out our review of it right here, and grab it right here:
It has been announced that Marvin Sapp and Dorinda Clark Cole will co-host the 27th Annual Stellar Awards.
The awards show will be taped before a live audience at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House on Saturday, January 14, 2012.
More details are still unfolding, but visit http://www.thestellarawards.com for ongoing updates and info!
Congrats to Dorinda Clark Cole, whose new album, I Survived, debuts at #3 on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart this week. Click here to read our review, in case you missed it.
Last week’s strong debut from Isaac Carree still sells high, landing at #2, with Kirk Franklin reclaiming the #1 position for his album, Hello Fear.
The full top 10…
1 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
2 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
3 | Dorinda Clark Cole – I Survived
4 | WOW Gospel 2011
5 | Donald Lawrence – YRM (Your Righteous Mind)
6 | Earnest Pugh – Earnestly Yours
7 | Mary Mary – Something Big
8 | PRo – Dying to Live
9 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best Of Marvin Sapp
10 | Deitrick Haddon – Anthology: The Writer & His Music
Do you have the new albus from Dorinda Clark Cole yet?
It feels like Uncommon Me, the debut solo album from 20-year industry vet Isaac Carree, took FOREVER to get here. But it finally “got here” SO powerfully last week that it debuted at #1 on both the Billboard Gospel Albums chart AND the Christian Albums chart! Congrats, man!
If you still don’t have that album, check the review right here, then get it!
Also debuting high this week is gospel hip-hopper PRo, whose new project, Dying To Live, lands at #2. Listen to snippets/buy it right here.
Finally, Tyscot’s Deitrick Haddon compilation, titled Deitrick Haddon: The Writer & His Music, has debuted at #7.
The rest of the top 10 shakes out like so…
1 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
2 | PRo – Dying to Live
3 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
4 | Donald Lawrence – YRM (Your Righteous Mind)
5 | WOW Gospel 2011
6 | Mary Mary – Something Big
7 | Deitrick Haddon – Anthology: The Writer & His Music
8 | Earnest Pugh – Earnestly Yours
9 | Deitrick Haddon – Church on the Moon
10 | Lecrae – Rehab
Now, if I were a betting man, I would say that Dorinda Clark Cole’s I Survived will debut at #1 next week. And rightly so. If you don’t have it yet, click here to read my review and get it!
If you’re lookin’ for good music today (and you should be), check out these two projects–
Dorinda Clark Cole – I Survived
I reviewed it twice– once for gmc and once for this site– so, hopefully you’re picking up what I’m putting down. This is one of Dorinda’s best solo albums to date. From vocal performance to production, it’s a solid project. She’s in her element and she’s giving lessons.
Committed – Committed
Committed is the six-man a cappella group that won last season’s a cappella talent competition, The Sing-Off, on NBC. You’ve seen them on the Stellar Awards, the Dove Awards and Sunday Best this year alone. It’s not a “gospel album,” but with a blend of remakes and original tunes, their’s is a positive (finally?!) mainstream project built upon the foundation of the group’s Seventh Day Adventist upbringing– musically and spiritually.
Get ‘em!
This coming Tuesday, August 30th, the incomparable Dorinda Clark Cole returns to the marketplace with her fourth solo album, I Survived (Light Records). Dorinda’s powerhouse vocals meet expert production (Asaph Ward and Warryn Campbell) and skillful songwriting, to make I Survived a winner.
The album opens with the high-energy praise & worship “Holy One.” The band hits are absolutely infectious, punctuated by Dorinda scatting and soaring like only she can. The momentum continues with excellent production and performance on “God Will Take Care of You,” which showcases Dorinda’s unique ability to drive a song.
The next cut, “He Brought Me” is (in my opinion) THE standout of this album. It’s the type of song that Dorinda does, and does well. It’s where she shines brightest, and her performance on it is evidence of that. It also appears to be poised as her next single– good choice!
Other great tunes on the project include ”We Believe” and “For My Good,” as well as ”Welcome,” which serves as a nice departure from the high energy and excitement of much of the other tracks on the album. It’s a sweet and simple congregation-ready invitation for God to be among His people.
No solo album from one of gospel’s famed Clark Sisters would be complete without at least one track featuring one or more of her siblings. And I Survived comes through on “Thank You,” written by (and featuring) Twinkie Clark. It sounds a bit more “Twinkie” than “Dorinda,” but I don’t think most Clark Sisters fans will mind.
If I had any contention about the project, it would be that its last two tracks– “This Is Why” and “Don’t Give Up”– don’t seem to be the strongest songs. They’re a bit less high-energy than the other tunes (they’re studio tracks amidst a bunch of live/”live”-styled ones), so I Survived doesn’t have the strongest finish. I might have placed the hand-clappin’, foot-stompin’ “For My Good” here instead. Regardless, Dorinda’s vocal performance on each is undeniable, so they’re worth a listen for that reason alone.
All in all, I’m more than pleased with this project. Again, it’s one of my faves to date because of how well it showcases Dorinda Clark Cole at her best, in her element. It’s worth adding to your collection, and I’ll probably bump it up to high “Dorinda rotation,” just under her debut album.
