Sherri Shepherd– comedian, actress and co-host of the wildly popular talk show The View– has been announced as the host of the 42nd Annual Dove Awards, to be held on Wednesday, April 20th in Atlanta, GA at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.
The announcement of Shepherd as host is the most recent in what seems to be several cross-cultural initiatives of the Gospel Music Association. The organization’s awards ceremony was moved from its Nashville home to Atlanta last year, and it has announced the upcoming involvement of several gospel artists– including Bishop Paul Morton and Lecrae– in the upcoming Dove Awards press conference, to be held on February 16, 2011.
The awards program will air on gmc on Sunday, April 24th.
Word has it that the GMA’s Dove Awards will take place in Atlanta, GA in 2011, leaving its home of Nashville for the first time in the award program’s history. The event will take place at the Fox Theater on April 20, 2011.
In its press release, the GMA mentioned that Atlanta is home to many of the industry’s biggest names– and it included SEVERAL gospel artists, like Byron Cage, Canton Jones… even Dottie Peoples. And Bishop Paul Morton was quoted in the press release.
I hear inclusion and diversity comin’ on the horizon.
Now, the question is– will the gospel community RECIPROCATE it? The GMA has, historically, had extremely low membership among the “black gospel” community. They’re clearly putting a good foot forward, I think… what will our response be? Will we see their effort and raise ‘em a few, or will we say “y’all never include us”? I dunno…
Word has it that some pretty significant news about next year’s Dove Awards will be dropping before the week’s end, maybe even before the day’s end.
I know you guys are gonna kill me for these teasers– I can’t say much yet.
But there are rumblings and murmurings and whispers aplenty… stick around and I’ll do my best to give you guys a heads-up on it when it becomes public.
If you’re diggin’ the modern quartet vibe, I want you guys to check out this group– New Harvest.
I first encountered the fellas of New Harvest about a year ago at an industry conference. Not only did I really enjoy their music, I was encouraged to see their humility, as well as their dedication to their music AND to their business.
New Harvest is comprised of Terence Hayes and his three nephews– Norman McDuffie, Joe Byrd and Tim Wilson. The family has been singing together for many years, but they reached national acclaim with their 2007 self-titled release, nabbing three Dove nominations in 2008!
Check out this video of one of their latest singles, “Just Clap”:
So, yeah… as I alluded to on Friday, the Dove Awards came on at the same time as this week’s episode of Sunday Best, and only one program would win my attention and energy…
I think I made a good decision. In fact, though I recorded Sunday Best on DVR, I still don’t have an inclination to watch yesterday’s episode.
I believe my waning interest (and yours– I’ve seen the comments here and in the world wide ethos) is indicative of a fairly lackluster season from BET so far… or maybe I just didn’t feel like watching.
Either way, I’ve got no recap for you. In exchange, though, why don’t YOU folks tell ME what you thought of it. Specifically, I need your advice–
(1) Should I watch it?
(2) What were the highlights?
(3) What were the low points?
(4) Was it good enough to watch again next week?
There’s your assignment! Talk to me, pleeeeeeaaaaaaaase!
Hey folks– just a heads-up… the 41st Annual Dove Awards, which were taped live on Wednesday, will air on gmc this Sunday, April 25th, at 8pm ET/7pm CST.
The awards show will feature incredible performances from BeBe & CeCe Winans, Natalie Grant, Jordin Sparks, Donald Lawrence, Jason Crabb and a special Haiti relief song with Michael W. Smith.
Clearly, that conflicts with the broadcast of BET’sSunday Best, and I wouldn’t dream of telling you which program is more worth your time…
But when you see me tweetin’ about Francesca Battistelli instead of Bootsey Jenkins, you’ll know what I’m doing.
The 41st annual Dove Awards were taped last night in Nashville, TN at the Grand Ole Opry House. The show, hosted by Natalie Grant and Bart Millard (of MercyMe), featured a who’s-who of artists and execs in Christian music, along with great collaborative performances.
Among the winners in gospel categories were Fred Hammond (Contemporary Gospel Album – Love Unstoppable), Smokie Norful (Traditional Gospel Recorded Song – “Justified”), and Israel Houghton(Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song – “The Power Of One”). There was also a tie between BeBe & CeCe Winans (“Grace”) and Israel Houghton (“I Just Wanna Say”) in the Urban Recorded Song category.
The night was great, featuring key performances by DonaldLawrence & Jason Crabb (in a special tribute to Andraé Crouch), Natalie Grant & Jordin Sparks, TobyMac, BeBe & CeCe Winans, MercyMe, Francesca Battistelli and more. As I mentioned yesterday, I was backstage for much of the preparation and the taping, itself, so I missed seeing a lot of the performances (I could hear ‘em though, and I loved it!).
I’ve also gotta say that I loved the vibe of the show. Everyone seemed like one big family and I didn’t see too many of those “gotta-hold-it-together-for-the-camera, but-I’m-really-mad-that-I-didn’t-win” faces.
All in all, the evening was great fun. Backstage, I got a chance to speak with Natalie Grant, Donald Lawrence & The Co., Wess Morgan, Brian Courtney Wilson, Calvin Nowell, B. Reith, Mandisa, Melinda Doolittle, TobyMac, Casting Crowns, Tony LeBron, Britt Nicole… I KNOW I’m forgetting folks. Sorrrrry…
If you don’t know who some of the above-noted folks are, tell me so I can feature them for you QUICKLY. And I think I’m gonna write an editorial soon, cuz I’ve got something else to say… stay tuned.
Hey fam– I’m going to the 41st Annual Dove Awards tonight, so I’ll try to recap some of it for you here tomorow or Friday.
I’ve already been to some of the rehearsals and it’s gonna be a GREAT show. Donald Lawrence is performing with Jason Crabb (awesome), Natalie Grant is performing with Jordin Sparks (incredible), BeBe & CeCe Winans (you already KNOW)… and there will be many more great performances.
Fan voting for the 41st Annual Dove Awards ends tonight… I think. The gmc website says it ends on Tuesday, April 20th at midnight. Technically, that’s when our clocks turn from 11:59pm to 12:00am TONIGHT (cuz when it happens tomorrow, midnight will be April 21st).
IN EITHER CASE, just go ahead and vote NOW to make sure your voice is heard on the Artist Of The Year and New Artist Of The Year categories.
Click here to vote. You don’t have to tell me who you voted for, but I am interested in knowing who you want to win…
I caught up with Brian Courtney Wilson the other day. Aside from being an absolutely great dude with a great voice, his album sales have been consistently good, proving that he’s gonna have some staying power in this industry. I love that.
With the exception of this week, his debut album, Just Love, has stayed within the top 15 at Billboard since its release last JUNE, when it debuted at #2 on the chart!
Brian was recently nominated for two Dove Awards and I wanted to catch up with him to see how he’s taking everything in, how things have been, and what he’s got planned for the near future. I even touch a lil’ bit on how he felt after being passed up for nods at the Stellar Awards.
It’s just a quick chat, but I think you’ll enjoy it! Here’s Brian Courtney Wilson…
* * *
EJ: Hey man!
BCW: Hey, EJ! What’s going on, man?
EJ: All’s well. How are you?
BCW: I’m doing good.
EJ: Good, man. Well let’s get to it– what’s going on?!
BCW: Aww, man. The record’s been doing well– it’s been in the top 15 since we got started and I’m happy about it. It’s just what was in my heart. When I recorded it, I wasn’t sure that anybody was gonna receive it, you know? But people have been receiving it and that’s been really gratifying to see.
EJ: That’s awesome, man. You’ve had great success at radio and great sales. I’ve not seen you far from the top of the charts since you started and there are people who’ve been in the game for years that still can’t get there, so you’ve definitely made an impression on people.
BCW: Thank you, man.
EJ: I need to ask you– you’re signed to Music World, which is Mathew Knowles’ company. This is just a question that I’ve gotta ask… you know, we’ll deal with it and move on. Do you ever get to hang with Beyonce?
BCW: *laughing* Man, the last time was probably two years ago and I would call that an “interaction.” It was more like she flew in, said hello and flew out. She’s doing her thing.
EJ: Nah, that’s cool. *laughs* It’s something I think the people have needed to know, so I figured I’d ask… like, “how often does he interact with Beyonce, or with Mathew.”
BCW: Well, I just met up with Mathew yesterday. We sat down and talked for a long time about the direction of the album and my career– where we’re going next. And Solange, Beyonce’s sister, she reached out to me the other day, just wishing me well. But, you know, I didn’t get into this to hang around them. It’s cool that they’re there, but I’m hard after God.
EJ: I love it. Lemme ask you– you’ve got two Dove nominations, one for New Artist Of The Year and another for Urban Recorded Song Of The Year for “Just Love.” What does THAT feel like?
BCW: Man, it feels extremely gratifying. For real. Especially… you know, because we got missed for the Stellars.
EJ: Oh yeah, well I’m coming to that in a minute. *laughs*
BCW: *laughing* I KNOW you are! But for the Dove Awards to come out and acknowledge what I’m doing– and we don’t have any Christian radio airplay to speak of, that I know about– so, for them to reach out and say that we’re doing something worth acknowledging, that really means a lot.
EJ: Sure.
BCW: And it means a lot for our supporters because they have the opportunity to vote for Best New Artist… To be able to tell the supporters “hey, they’re thinking about giving us an award for what you’ve been listening to, for what’s been enriching your life…” It means a lot to them as well.
EJ: Absolutely. Now, for my clarification– did you say you were “missed” by the Stellars or “dissed” by the Stellars?
BCW: I said “missed!” It’s hard to diss me, man. I try to stay as humble as possible, so I just figured that they knew what they were doing and knew who they wanted to nominate.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed with how it went down, but it wasn’t devastatingly disappointing. It would have been nice to get that, because you’re only Best New Artist once.
EJ: Right.
BCW: And I knew that we had done a lot of good work, and we put up a lot of good numbers. But beyond the numbers, I’m talking to the people everywhere we go, listening to their stories, and I’m getting messages on Facebook that what we’re doing is enriching lives. It seemed stellar to me.
EJ: Yeah, and I remember the day of the press conference, as I’m sending out my tweets, kinda being surprised. Not to rehash any of that drama, but by the time I got home, a lot of people were blowing up Twitter and my blog about YOU not being on the list, in particular.
BCW: Really? Is that right?
EJ: Oh yeah, they were about to cuss over you and J Moss, but J will be eligible on this year’s ballot. Was there not a moment where you kicked somethin’?
BCW: Nah, man. Absolutely not. The reason being– a year before that album came out, I wasn’t even sure if it would come out at all. I wasn’t even sure if I’d made the right to decision to step out on faith and do music.
By the time the nominations came around, we had already gotten so much love from radio and from the supporters… that was already a reward in and of itself.
I was a little disallusioned by the process, but I just figured that maybe I didn’t have a full understanding of what was going on and what we needed to do to make sure that we were acknowledged by the Stellars.
EJ: Yeah, I don’t think anyone did.
BCW: And I remember the blogs you did. My wife and I both were like “man, this is so insightful.”
EJ: Thanks, man.
BCW: But the other thing that I have to remember, as an artist, is that I wasn’t the only one who felt that he was passed over or missed. So it wasn’t just about me. If there are things that need to be done or corrected– and I’m not saying that there are… you know, Don Jackson has been doing this a long time and I think he knows how to run his company. But if there are things that need to be corrected, I pray that they are because the Stellars are important.
EJ: That’s a great response and outlook to have, man. What would you say has been one of the greatest challenges you’ve faced, breaking into the gospel industry? I ask from the standpoint of you being a new artist and not necessarily having a bunch of established artists endorsing you out the gate. You know? There wasn’t a whole church or Bishop T.D. Jakes’ endorsement, or some GMWA feature and guest solos for years… what has been the greatest challenge coming in as a virtual newcomer?
BCW: I think the challenge was before everything broke. It was the waiting and believing that what you’re waiting on is actually worth waiting on. Because like you said, no one like T.D. Jakes was callin’ me to say “man, your music… we need to have it out there.”
Now, I have people in my life that were doing that– great people, but you may or may not have heard of them. They showed me love and respected what I was doing. But that was the challenge– waiting. And not aborting what God was doing before the people got to hear it and experience it for themselves.
EJ: And I’m glad you endured. How often are you traveling? What is your gig-load like each month?
BCW: I probably get 40-50% of the month. I’d like to do more. It’s been picking up, but I want to get to 60-70% of the month.
EJ: So, what is next for you– are you back in the studio soon, are you riding this album out for a while?
BCW: Well, we’re gonna do a couple more singles and we’ll look at putting out a new album next year.
EJ: Sounds great, man. I know it’ll be great. Umm… I think that’s all I’ve got for ya– just wanted to touch base and see what’s up with you.
BCW: You do a great job, man. I follow what you say and it always makes great sense to me, so I appreciate that.
EJ: Well, I appreciate you for that, man. I’ll talk to you soon.
BCW: Alright, man.
EJ: Alright, bye.
* * *
And there you have it!
I’m very proud of Brian– he’s such an incredibly humble dude with no frills or pretenses… what you see is what you get. And that’s refreshing.
It doesn’t hurt that his voice is dope, either. LOL
Peep this video of him singing one of my favorites from him– “Already Here”…
Do you guys have his album? If not, click here to listen/make a purchase. If so, what do you think of it?
Sherri Shepherd– comedian, actress and co-host of the wildly popular talk show The View– has been announced as the host of the 42nd Annual Dove Awards, to be held on Wednesday, April 20th in Atlanta, GA at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.
If you’re diggin’ the modern quartet vibe, I want you guys to check out this group– New Harvest.
Sorrrrry…
EJ: Hey man!
EJ: Sure.
EJ: And I’m glad you endured. How often are you traveling? What is your gig-load like each month?
to listen/make a purchase. If so, what do you think of it?
