And the nominees for the 27th Annual Stellar Awards are…

Artist of the Year
Earnest Pugh
Kirk Franklin
Mary Mary
VaShawn Mitchell

Song of the Year
“Nobody Greater” | Darius Paulk
“Well Done” | Deitrick Haddon
“I Smile” | Kirk Franklin
“I Choose To Worship” | Wess Morgan
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Male Vocalist of the Year
Earnest Pugh
Israel Houghton
Smokie Norful
VaShawn Mitchell
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Female Vocalist of the Year
Beverly Crawford
Kim Burrell
Martha Munizzi
Yolanda Adams
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Group/Duo of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA
Mary Mary
Rance Allen Group
Trin-i-tee 5:7

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

New Artist of the Year
Greater Mt. Calvary Church Choir
Preashea Hilliard
Todd Dulaney
Y’Anna

CD of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA – I Believe
Kirk Franklin – I Smile
Mary Mary – Something Big
VaShawn Mitchell – Triumphant

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Choir of the Year
Chicago Mass Choir
Mississippi Mass Choir
Ricky Dillard
Shekinah Glory Ministry
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Producer of the Year
Aaron Lindsey, Tommy Sims & Israel Houghton for Love God. Love People.
Kirk Franklin for Hello Fear
VaShawn Mitchell, Daniel Weatherspoon & Rick Robinson for Triumphant
Warryn Campbell/Mary Mary for Something Big

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA
Mary Mary
Trin-i-tee 5:7
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson & Spiritual Voices
Rance Allen Group
The Soul Seekers

Contemporary Male of the Year
Deitrick Haddon
Earnest Pugh
Israel Houghton
VaShawn Mitchell

Traditional Male of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson
John P Kee
Rance Allen
Smokie Norful

Contemporary Female of the Year
Kim Burrell
Preashea Hilliard
Y’Anna
Yolanda Adams
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Traditional Female of the Year
Beverly Crawford
Evelyn Turrentine-Agee
LaShun Pace
Twinkie Clark

Contemporary CD of the Year
Deitrick Haddon | Church on the Moon
Kirk Franklin | Hello Fear
Mary Mary | Something Big
VaShawn Mitchell | Triumphant

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Traditional CD of the Year
John P Kee | The Legacy Project
Mississippi Mass Choir | Then Sings My Soul
Ricky Dillard | Keep Living
Smokie Norful | How I Got Over…
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Urban Inspirational Performance of the Year
Deitrick Haddon | “Well Done”
Kirk Franklin | “I Smile”
Mary Mary | “Walking”
VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater”

Music Video of the Year – Short Form
Martha Munizzi | “Excellent” (Martha Munizzi)
Christian Heuer | “Walking” (Mary Mary)
Canton Jones | “God” (Canton Jones)
VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater” (VaShawn Mitchell)

Music Video of the Year – Long Form
Deitrick Haddon | Church on the Moon
Jerry Parries | Bishop Morton Celebrates…
Mississippi Mass Choir | Then Sings My Soul
Ricky Dillard | Keep Living

Traditional Choir of the Year
Chicago Mass Choir
Greater Mt. Calvary Church Choir
Mississippi Mass Choir
Ricky Dillard

Contemporary Choir of the Year
Lonnie Hunter & Structure
Shekinah Glory Ministry

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Instrumental Gospel CD of the Year
Harold Rayford | I Am the Instrument
Moses Tyson Jr | Music Remastered & Sacred Organ
Todd Ledbetter | Meditations: Hymsn in the Key of Jazz
Winston Stewart | Season
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Special Event CD of the Year
Bishop Paul Morton | Still
John P Kee | The Legacy Project
Shekinah Glory Ministry | Refreshed By Fire
VaShawn Mitchell | My Songbook

Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
Flame | Captured
Lecrae | Rehab
Lecrae | Rehab: The Overdose
Viktory | Birth of a Legacy
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Children’s Project of the Year
Teen Pure N Heart | Pure N Heart Live
Santiago & Claude Deuce | My Destiny Place – My Imagination
The Velasquez Singers | Ten
T-Rep The Young Prayzr | Let’s Go

Quartet of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson & Spiritual Voices
Rance Allen Group
The Soul Seekers
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Recorded Music Packaging of the Year
Christina Jones for Dominionaire (Canton Jones)
Denise Trotman & Greg Gilligan for Hello Fear (Kirk Franklin)
Martha Munizzi for Make It Loud (Martha Munizzi)
Tanner Gary for Triumphant (VaShawn Mitchell)

Praise and Worship CD of the Year
Earnest Pugh | Earnestly Yours
Israel Houghton | Love God. Love People.
Shekinah Glory Ministry | Refreshed By Fire
VaShawn Mitchell | Triumphant
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Spoken Word CD of the Year
Marco the Poet | Marco the Poet EP
Michael Diallo McLendon | The Diallo Experience
Selah | Look At You Loving Me
Trupoetry | Trupoetry

The following are the recipients of this year’s special awards:
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

John P. Kee will receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award
Vy Higgensen will receive the Thomas Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award
Dorothy Norwood will receive the Dr. Bobby Jones Legend Award

Radio Station of the Year Finalists:

Major Market (3M+)
WPZE 102.5 FM (Atlanta, GA)
WPRS 104.1 FM (Washington, DC)
KJLH 102.3 FM (Los Angeles, CA)
WGRB 1390 AM (Chicago, IL)
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Large Market (1-3M)
WHAL 95.7 FM/1460 AM (Memphis, TN)
WFMI 100.9 FM (VA-Norfolk-Newport, VA)
KCAO 600 AM (Baltimore, MD)
WMBM 1490 AM (Miami, FL)

Medium Market (500,000-1M)
WLOU 1350 AM (Louisville, KY)
WPRF 94.9 FM (New Orleans, LA)
WENO 760 AM (Nashville, TN)
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]
WPZK 102.5 (Little Rock, AR)

Small Market (under 500,000)
WDJL 1000 AM (Huntsville, AL)
WJNI 106.3 FM (Charleston, SC)
KOKA 980 AM (Shreveport, LA)
WIMG 1300 AM (Trenton, NJ)

The awards show takes place on Saturday, January 14, 2012 in Nashville, TN. It will be hosted by Marvin Sapp and Dorinda Clark Cole.

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???

Yesterday at GMWA began beautifully– slow and without any obligations or commitments.  I sat with my wife and some buddies in the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast.  Byron Cage, Dorothy Norwood, Albertina Walker and JJ Hairston were just a few of the artists milling around the area.

Shortly after my meal, I got a text message asking if I could sit on a panel discussing internet radio before an audience of radio announcers, aspiring artists and industry execs.  I agreed and, at the panel, was able to share my knowledge about what I do in new media and the need for a stronger internet radio presence among gospel announcers.  I didn’t get booed off the panel, so I guess I sounded pretty knowledgeable. Shout-out to Donna Creer for thinking of me.  I had a blast.

I only had an hour to eat before the long-anticipated Gospel Festival, co-sponsored by Macy’s.  I grabbed a bite before getting ready for the concert, hosted by Yolanda Adams, featuring Karen Clark-Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Byron Cage, Smokie Norful, Dottie Peoples, Jonathan Nelson & Purpose, Karima Kibble, Ami Rushes, Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers, Dorothy Norwood, JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise, the GMWA Mass Choir and MORE.

The concert lasted for nearly 5 hours, but it was good.  The sound system was a bit rough (it was in a convention center… y’know, with the cement walls and high ceilings), so sounds kinda bounced back and forth.

Highlights of the show:  Yolanda Adams’ impromptu performance of “The Battle Is The Lord’s” with the GMWA Mass Choir– she proved that she’s STILL at the top of her game; Karen Clark-Sheard opened her set with the throwback “Balm In Gilead” before launching into two new tracks, both of which she DEMOLISHED on vocals; Dorinda Clark-Cole was in GREAT voice as she sang “Take It Back”; Byron Cage’s new single, “Faithful To Believe,” is awesome and sure to be a favorite; JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise are doing a great job with their new single, “Resting On His Promise,” but they also do a GREAT job revisiting their hit song “Incredible God, Incredible Praise” (tenor David McClure ad libs on the vamp like you’d NEVER believe… he had one of the greatest voices of the entire night… no exaggeration); GMWA Mass Choir was directed by Chicago choirleader/artist Malcolm Williams and they performed a near PERFECT medley of classic throwback choir songs.

All in all, the concert was AWESOME.  Afterwards, I went for dessert with some buddies and chatted until I could barely keep my eyes open.  Ahhhhh, it was a fun week!

During the concert, Bishop Jamison announced that GMWA would RETURN to Cincinnati next year, which will be kinda cool… it was a very welcoming city.  If you wanna attend next year, start planning and saving now.

Oh wowwwwwwww.  Yesterday was insanely busy, but soooo much fun.

The Gospel Announcer’s Guild (GAG) held its annual luncheon and showcase at the Duke Energy Center.  The event, co-hosted by David Mann, featured a BUNCH of artists with new music either available now or coming soon.  Among them– Sheri Jones-Moffett, Melinda Watts, Tamela Mann, Bishop Paul Morton, New Direction, Philip Carter, Karima Kibble…

And let me say this real quick… that Bishop Paul Morton is a preaching and singin’ somebody.  I NEVER get tired of hearing him sing.  By the way, it’s his BIRTHDAY week, so there’s much celebrating going around.  In any case, he sang his new single, “Don’t Do It Without Me” (with son, PJ Morton on keys), and got the entire GAG Luncheon crowd HYPED.  I’ll do some feature stuff soon.  In the meantime, some pics are at the bottom of this post.

Donald Lawrence, Dorothy Norwood and Vashawn Mitchell were among several artists in the house to support… and a BUNCH of industry vets and execs were milling around including Jojo Pada, Neily Dickerson (The ND Co.), Torrence Glenn (BET.com), Vicki Mack-Lataillade (LillyMack/Central South/CCLI/etc.), Larry Blackwell (EMI), Mitchell Solarek (Maximum Artist), Tammy Taylor (One EnTiTy), Sheilah Belle (The Belle Report), Lisa Collins (Gospel Industry Round-Up), Kia Jarmon (Light Records) and soooo many more.

I tried to take a quick nap, but I didn’t quite make it.  My wife and I were invited to an intimate little dinner celebrating the release of Melinda Watts’ debut project, People Get Ready.  Special shout-out to her incredible team, with whom my wife and I have kinda fallen in love!

No rest for the weary… I had about 45 minutes to freshen up for the highly anticipated Donald Lawrence concert, sponsored in part by Verizon Wireless & How Sweet The Sound.

IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!  Maaaaan… he’s like… becoming one of my absolute faves.  He and his singers ministered with songs from his latest project, The Law Of Confession Part 1, including the title track, “Let The Word Do The Work,” “The Blessing Is On You,” and the hit single “Back II Eden.”  He also dipped back a bit and performed “Healed,” “Giants,” ”The Blessing Of Abraham,” and brought Sheri Jones-Moffett to the stage to take us STRAIGHT in on “Encourage Yourself.”  It was better than I could ever recap.  GEEZ.

Sheri also performed her rising single, “Renewed,” from her debut solo album of the same name, due on August 11th.  Such a sweet spirit (and her family is THE BEST).

The whole shebang ended at about 2am and I was knocked OUT shortly thereafter.  Where’s my coffee?!

More recaps later!

Yesterday was the first full day of action-packed GMWA stuff.

I was bouncin’ around between the hotel lobby, the press office (shout out to Jojo Pada of IgnitionPR), the airport to pick up folks, and back to the convention center.

Last night, we went to the Youth & Young Adult Forum at the Hyatt in Downtown Cincinnati.  By the end of the week, I’ll be annoyed cuz the musicals start so LATE at night, but for now, I’m napping when I can and making it through!

There are so many events happening simultaneously, I can’t go to all of ‘em.  But at the Youth thingy, there were some GREAT performances from new and developing artists across the nation.  Special shout-out to Algernon, Bubby Fann and his group, and Melinda Watts, each of whom did a GREAT job.  It was an awesome time… I even got to catch-up with manager extraordinaire (and Gospel Dream judge) Mitchell Solarek.  SUPER cool guy.

Random sightings included Dorothy Norwood, Donald Lawrence, Albertina Walker, Vashawn Mitchell, Stephen Hurd, Kervy Brown, Earnest Pugh, Bishop Eric McDaniel… TONS of folks are here and more are continuously arriving.

I didn’t get to bed until around 3:00am (what in the WORLD?!), then back up at 6:30am to do it all again.  Whateva!  I’ll sleep next week.

More recaps tomorrow… and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for ongoing ramblings about stuff.