A month or so ago, I revealed Kirk Franklin’s book cover and shared my initial thoughts on it.

I’ve just received word of a book tour that Kirk is launching, beginning on May 18th, the release date of his new book, The Blueprint: A Plan For Overcoming Life’s Obstacles.

May 18 - Atlanta, GA
May 19 - Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD
May 20 - New York, NY
May 21 - Cleveland, OH
May 22 - Detroit, MI
May 23 & 24 - Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
May 25 - Houston, TX
May 26 - Lexington, KY
May 28 - Los Angeles, CA

Specific locations will be released later, I do believe.  Check his website for updates– http://www.kirkfranklin.com.

*pauses* So, no Nashville date, eh?  HMPH!

I think they’ll be great– Kirk is a dynamic dude.  Who’s gonna try to go to one of the tour dates? 

Heads-up, buddies…

Fan voting for the 41st annual Dove Awards is now open at http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com/fanvoting.  Fans will help to decide the winners of the “Artist Of The Year” and “New Artist Of The Year” categories.  You may vote once via web and once via SMS text.

Voting runs from now until April 20, 2010.  The Dove Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, April 25th at 8pm ET exclusively on gmc.

Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet The Sound is a great gospel phenomenon that I’m rather enjoying as it unfolds… a nationwide choir competition with performances by great church choirs and some of the biggest names in gospel, all being held in sold-out arenas at lowwwww ticket prices.

And, this year, they’re adding even MORE cities.  The three new additions are Cleveland, OH, Charlotte, NC and Jacksonville, FL.

Registration opened a while ago, so don’t delay– get your church choir registered now for a chance to win up to $50,000 in cash and prizes at the finale.

If nothing else, make sure you attend a regional event in your city… I attended in Memphis last year and it was incredible.

Anybody else enjoy How Sweet The Sound???

EXCLUSIVE!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Joann Rosario Condrey, who gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl– Arianna Christian Elise Condrey.  Baby Arianna was born on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 and is doing very well!

I heard from the happy new mom last week… she and hubby, Cory “CoCo Brother” Condrey are excited for this new blessing!

Let’s pray for continued health and blessed future for the family, cool?

Just wanted to write a quick post to let you guys know that, as some predicted, BeBe & CeCe Winans won the NAACP Image Award on Friday night for “Outstanding Gospel Album,” for their reunion project, Still.

Also, as I joked but didn’t really EXPECT to happen, Mary Mary won “Outstanding Song” for “God In Me.”  The chart-topping single was up against Maxwell’s “Bad Habits” and “Pretty Wings,” Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It” and Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind.”  And the Marys won.  That’s HUGE for them.  Whoo hoooo, ladies!

Side note–  Tamela Mann gave an awesome performance of her single, “Joy Of The Lord,” in tribute to Tyler Perry, who was honored with the Chairman’s Award.  She looked great and sounded great.

I’m more than a little miffed that the dude from the movie Precious arrograntly refused to stop speaking when they kept giving cues to do so– it meant that the LIVE telecast was cut off, and we only got to see the first verse and chorus of Mary Mary performing “God In Me,” which was the show’s finale, of sorts.

It’s like… this ain’t the Oscars, buddy.  The network isn’t gonna delay their scheduled programming for your speech or, as much as I love it, for the NAACP Image Awards.  And, as my wife pointed out, you made the Marys have to stand in position while you gave your lil’ speech– one is 8 months pregnant and the other had laryngitis.  Don’t mess with our Marys, dude!

*glaring at him, then realizing that I’m too invested in this*

Oh well.  Maybe he’ll send them a lil’ written apology for that move– maybe I’ll start a petition to encourage it. LOL  Kidding.  I’m sooooooo not writing anything else about this… I’m just sayin’.

Who else watched?  What did you think?

Months and months ago, I told you guys that Kirk Whalum was getting ready to release the 3rd volume of his oh-so-incredible gospel jazz collection, The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter III.  Well, the time has come– look for it on March 16th.

I’m so excited, I kinda don’t know what to do with myself. LOL

I already featured volumes 1 and 2 as part of the Slept On series, telling you that Whalum featured phenomenal musicians like George Duke and Jonathan Butler, and superb vocalists like Kevin Whalum, Kim Burrell and Táta Vega.

Well, chapter 3 promises to be just as good, with great musicianship and vocals, AGAIN. I’m particularly excited about a reworking of the Luther Vandross hit “Make Me A Believer,” a duet between Kevin Whalum (saw him live a few weeks ago… he’s so gifted, it’s almost unfair) and the incomparable Lalah Hathaway.

Check out the full promo trailer for the album:

Get your pennies, nickels and dimes together, folks… you WANT this album!

Who’s buyin’???

The nominees for the 41st annual Dove Awards were announced on Thursday.

Natalie Grant and Bart Millard will host the awards show on April 21st.  Unlike last year, the awards will not be broadcast live– they will air on gmc on Sunday, April 25, 2010 from 8pm-10pm EST.

There are 43 categories and you guys don’t know most of the names in ‘em, so I’m not typing it all… sorry.  BUT, you can visit http://www.gmclife.com/41st-dove-award-nominees for the full list.

In the meantime, a quick recap of some of the folks you’ll find there:

Donnie McClurkin, Israel Houghton, Melinda Watts, Freddy Washington, Brian Courtney Wilson, Mali Music, Vickie Winans, Smokie Norful, Mary Mary, Crystal Aikin, Bishop Paul Morton, Hezekiah Walker, Heather Headley, Mandisa, B. Reith, Fred Hammond, Group 1 Crew, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., BeBe & CeCe Winans… see, there are just too many to name!

Ok, more Dove Awards info and discussion as the time draws nigh.  Until then, tell me what you think about the nominee list!

I just received an official statement from Dr. Judith McAllister, President of the International Music Department of the Church Of God In Christ.  In it, she clarifies the position of the COGIC International Music Department regarding the recent criticism and scrutiny of the new “secular music” endeavors of Kim Burrell, the Department’s Vice President.

The statement includes statements from Kim Burrell made during a conference call.

Check it out:

Thoughts???

Scratch any previous announcements from BET about Sunday Best auditions beginning on January 30th or making a stop in Atlanta.  Not happenin’!

The real deal is that auditions begin THIS SATURDAY, February 20th, in Detroit, MI.  Also, the New York and Atlanta auditions have been cancelled.  Instead, the other audition cities will be New Orleans, LA (February 27th) and Philadelphia, PA (March 6th).  Click here for full details on how, when, who, yada yada.

The new season of Sunday Best premieres on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010.  I’ll definitely remind you guys as it comes closer and, like last year, I’m sure it’ll be an all-industry Twitter extravaganza, so you’ll wanna follow me now so you won’t forget!

IF YOU’RE AUDITIONING, don’t forget to read my lil’ editorial on what those contracts actually mean for you… it can be an incredible opportunity, but don’t get caught up cuz you didn’t understand the fine print.  Cool?

Okay, who’s auditioning???

Marvin Sapp’s new single, “The Best In Me,” is proving to be a huge hit in the marketplace, and the full album’s release is still over a month away!

Aside from being the #1 gospel song at iTunes and the #1 Christian/Gospel song at Amazon.com, “The Best In Me” is #3 with a bullet at radio.

Perhaps most impressive is the song’s success relative to other songs in the music industry right now.  The track has jumped from #78 to #14 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hot Songs Chart.  Billboard says that his jump represents the largest position jump by a gospel track since the chart began using Nielsen SoundScan data 18 years ago.  So… like… EVER.  It’s also the largest jump in 4 years across all genres of music.
 
“The Best In Me” is the debut single from Marvin Sapp’s upcoming album, Here I Am, a live project hitting stores on March 16, 2010.  It’s available NOW at iTunes for pre-order.

The momentum of “The Best In Me” has been incredible since the live recording.  Then, it was boosted by the BET’s airing of Celebration Of Gospel…

Are y’all still loving this single?