Gospel’s favorite sister duo, Mary Mary, recorded a Christmas special for Gospel Music Channel (GMC) a while back… it’s airing this coming Sunday, at 8pm ET.

Click here to visit GMC’s website and watch a promo clip.

Last year was the first year I had GMC and I was blown away by their original Christmas programming.  From concepts to production, I got all excited for the holidays, in part, because of their Christmas concerts and shows.  It’s the first place that I heard Ledisi performing Christmas tunes (she had her own Christmas special… can y’all re-air THAT?!), it’s the first place that I saw George Huff command an audience’s attention like a seasoned pro (Christmas at Union Station)… just great stuff.

ALL THAT TO SAY, I’m watching.  You?

Just a quick heads-up:

Gospel Music Channel will air the recent finale of the Verizon Wireless nationwide choir competition, How Sweet The Sound this Sunday, November 22nd at 8pm ET.

In addition to show-stopping choir performances, the program (hosted by Donald Lawrence & Lisa Kimmey-Winans) features a performance by Marvin Sapp, who’s also a judge for the competition.

Good job, Gospel Music Channel! *clapping*  We like this.

Who’s tuning in?

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed watching BeBe & CeCe Winans on their episode of Revealed last night.  Who else caught it?

They were in their usual, jovial form– BeBe crackin’ jokes about CeCe, CeCe defending herself and trying to set the record straight.  And they were in excellent voice, too.

They opened the show with “Heaven” and “Addictive Love” before singing a couple of tracks from their new album– “Never Thought” and the hit single “Close To You.”

It wasn’t long before they got to my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE BeBe & CeCe song (CeCe said it was her fave, too)– “Lost Without You.”  The melody never gets old for me.  It’s just classic.  They even invited Darwin Hobbs, who sat in the studio audience, to join them in a few bars on the vamp.

The duo closed out their set with “Reason To Dance” from their new project.  I kinda didn’t want the show to end.

If you missed it, check your local listings– I think they’re airing an encore performance of it TONIGHT at midnight on Gospel Music Channel.

Show of hands– who else is even MORE excited for the reunion tour to get started???

Is it just me, or wouldn’t you be absolutely and shamelessly ADDICTED to a Kirk Franklin reality TV show?

Like… to respectfully watch (and LEARN from) Kirk’s day-to-day life, from his inspiring marriage to Tammy to his tour dates across the globe.  I can’t think of any artist that I’d be more interested in watching.

Wonder who I have to talk to at Gospel Music Channel…

Heads up folks!  BeBe & CeCe Winans will be featured in Gospel Music  Channel’s new hit series Revealed, NEXT SUNDAY, October 18th at 8pm ET.  The Revealed series features a hour of performances and storytelling from the featured artist, so you can only imagine how good (and hilarious) this episode is gonna be!

Gospel’s favorite brother and sister duo will perform before a live audience in an acoustic-like setting.  They’ll be singing songs from their new album, Still, including “Never Thought,” “Close To You,” and “Dance.”  But they’re also gonna do some throwback cuts like “Addictive Love,” “Heaven.”

I’m soooooooooo tuning in.  Who’s with me???

Attention Indie Artists!  Here’s a great opportunity for you to gain some exposure, get some solid feedback, and possibly win a chance to record with Integrity Music.

Gospel Music Channel is sponsoring the Indie Spotlight contest… independent solo artists and groups submit a video or mp3 to indie.gospelmusicchannel.com.  The song must be an original work or a cover of a song already in the public domain.

Submissions will be featured on GospelMusicChannel.com and the artists that will proceed to the next round will be determined by fan votes.  Submissions are accepted NOW thru November 24th, so HOP TO IT!

[Amendment: GMC reached out to me to clarify something about the voting process.  Fan votes, alone, are not the determining the factor; rather "artist advancement is determined by a combination of fan voting, judges rating and pre-set contest algorithms designed to surface top talent and find up and coming artists with the most potential."  So, don't be deterred-- there's more to this than popularity!]

Check the video below for more info:

And visit http://indie.gospelmusicchannel.com/ for details!

Just as a heads-up, if you enter, make sure you check out the language of any agreements you sign and any rights you give away… all that glitters ain’t gold.

That said, anybody planning on entering???  We’ll support ya.

AWESOME!!!

Folks, I’m telling you now– tune in to Gospel Music Channel THIS Sunday at 8pm ET… they’re showing the concert film, Oh Happy Day.

In case you don’t know what it is, it’s a live concert featuring Walter Hawkins & The Hawkins Family, The Clark Sisters, Shirley Caesar, The Mighty Clouds Of Joy, and Rev. James Cleveland.

The original broadcast aired on PBS years ago, but kudos to GMC for the good gospel programming in celebration of Gospel Music Heritage Month.

Take THAT, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman!

For real?  It was close, but I didn’t really think it was gonna be…

Which TV network shows your favorite gospel programming?

BET – 50 votes (30%)

Gospel Music Channel – 48 votes (29%)

The Word Network – 45 votes (27%)

TBN – 17 votes (10%)

Other – 6 votes (4%)

I’m assuming that the votes for BET were cast on the strength of Bobby Jones Gospel and Sunday Best because you all have been rather vocal about your disinterest in some of their other shows.

I voted for Gospel Music Channel because I like the abundance of original programming that they feature (or used to, at least).  What are your thoughts???

For those of you who voted “Other,” which networks do you have in mind???

Thanks, as always, for voting.  Make sure you head over to the sidebar to vote in the newest poll, which asks…

Which MARY MARY album is your favorite???

BeBe & CeCe Winans were just at Gospel Music Channel’s Atlanta studios to record their own Revealed, the new GMC performance program (remember when Israel Houghton did one a few months back with an all-acoustic set of his latest album?  SWWEEEEET!).

The special will air on October 18th at 8pm ET/PT on Gospel Music Channel (I’ll remind you guys, of course).

Also, check for them on GMC’s hit show Joyful Noise Café and in an exclusive interview at gospelmusicchannel.com.

Y’all are workin’ this reunion album, ain’t ya?!

Folks, voting for the Gospel Music Channel Video Awards is in full swing.

First round has begun at GMC’s website, where you can vote for your favorite music video in the following gospel genres: contemporary, country, hip-hop, rock, pop, praise & worship, soul.  Voting ends on Thursday, October 8th, at which point the top 6 videos will be tallied.

The second round of voting begins on the 19th of October, at which time the top 6 videos will be available for online viewing.  All voting ends on November 13th, with the top videos of 2009 being revealed on Saturday, January 2nd on Gospel Music Channel.

I’m not gonna run down the full list of nominees now– too many to name.  But visit http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com/gmcva/ NOW to check out the categories and to vote!