Word has it that Karen Clark Sheard’s fifth solo album, All In One, will be available for pre-order from iTunes beginning on March 23rd.  The project will be in-stores everywhere on April 6.

Featuring guest vocals from her sister, Dorinda Clark Cole, daughter Kierra Sheard and niece Angel Chisholm, keys by her cousin Bill Moss Jr., and production by both her son, J Drew Sheard II, and cousin J Moss, this project is definitely a family affair.

The lead single, “Prayed Up,” is already doing well at radio (and you can hear it on the Pundit Player here, too).  Make sure you call your local stations to request it.

What do you think of the album cover?  What do you think of the single?  Who’s gettin’ excited???

More details are surfacing about the upcoming Stellar Awards Mother’s Day Gospel Music Festival I mentioned last year, hosted by Central City Productions.

The 3-day celebration will take place in Orlando, FL from Friday, May 7th through Sunday, May 9th.  Hosts for the weekend will be Vickie Winans and comedian Akintunde.

Featured performers include Byron Cage, Deitrick Haddon, James Fortune, Kierra Sheard and Jonathan Nelson on Friday; Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams, Vickie Winans and Crystal Aikin on Saturday; Karen Clark Sheard, Kevin LeVar and Endurance on Sunday.

In addition to your travel and hotel, you’ll have to buy tix for the big gathering.  A 3-day pass to all events can be purchased for about $162.50 from Ticketmaster.  Click here for more info on the event.

EXCLUSIVE

Touched base with Jonathan Nelson yesterday and he let me in on a lil’ secret… Kierra Sheard has just confirmed her participation in his upcoming live recording!

I think it’s gonna be awesome.  And I’m glad that Kierra’s continuing to get more opportunities… her voice needs to be heard A LOT more.

Check out the flyer below for the full info, and click the image to visit his official site.  Anyone already planning to attend the recording???

***BREAKING NEWS***

The 52nd annual GRAMMY Awards are being held tonight, but the winners in the gospel categories were JUST ANNOUNCED at the pre-show.

My predictions were pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.  I was 5 for 7 in the gospel categories!!!

The winners in the gospel-related categories are highlighted in GREEN below (if I was wrong in my prediction, my earlier predictions are still there in yellow).

The winners are…

 Best Gospel Performance

“Free To Be Me” by Francesca Battistelli
Track from: Free To Be Me

“Jesus Is Love” by Heather Headley feat. Smokie Norful
Track from: Audience Of One

“I Believe” by Jonny Lang w/ Fisk Jubilee Singers
Track from: Oh Happy Day

“Wait On The Lord” by Donnie McClurkin feat. Karen Clark Sheard
Track from: We All Are One

“Born Again” by Third Day
Track from: Revelation

 Best Gospel Song

“Born Again” - Tai Anderson, David Carr, Mark Lee & Mac Powell, songwriters (Third Day)

“City On Our Knees” - Cary Barlowe, Toby McKeehan & Jaime Moore, songwriters (TobyMac)

“Every Prayer” - Dayna Caddell, Israel Houghton, Aaron Lindsey & Ricardo Sanchez, songwriters (Israel Houghton & Mary Mary)

“God In Me” - Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters (Mary Mary)

“The Motions” - Jason Houser, Sam Mizell & Matthew West, songwriters (Matthew West)

Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album

The Big Picture - Da’ T.R.U.T.H.

Crash - Decyfer Down

Innocence & Instinct - Red

Live Revelations - Third Day

The Dash - John Wells-The Tonic

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

Speaking Louder Than Before - Jeremy Camp

The Power Of One - Israel Houghton

The Long Fall Back To Earth - Jars Of Clay

Love Is On The Move - Leeland

Freedom - Mandisa

Best Southern, Country, Or Bluegrass Gospel Album

Jason Crabb - Jason Crabb

Dream On - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

The Rock - Tracy Lawrence

In God’s Time - Barry Scott & Second Wind

Everyday - Triumphant Quest

Best Traditional Gospel Album

God Don’t Never Change - Ashley Cleveland

The Law Of Confession, Pt. 1 - Donald Lawrence & Co.

Oh Happy Day - Various Artists

The Journey Continues - The Williams Brothers

How I Got Over - Vickie Winans

Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album

Audience Of One - Heather Headley

Renewed - Sheri Jones-Moffett

Just James - J Moss

Smokie Norful LIVE - Smokie Norful

Bold Right Life - Kierra Sheard

Congrats to all of ya!

Aaaaand, just FYI– in a poll asking who YOU wanted to win for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album, you guys picked Kierra Sheard.  The full break-down:

Kierra Sheard - 41% (90 votes)
J Moss - 23% (51 votes)
Smokie Norful - 20% (44 votes)
Sheri Jones-Moffett - 10% (21 votes)
Heather Headley - 7% (15 votes)

Gospel Artists Nominated In Non-Gospel Categories:

I was 3 for 3 in these predictions!!!

Tonex was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for his single “Blend” (Unspoken), but as I predicted, it went to India.Arie.

Ann Nesby’s “Sow Love” (The Lula Lee Project) was nominated in Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.  As I predicted, it went to Beyonce for “At Last.”

Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters were nominated in the Best R&B Performance By Group/Duo with Vocals category for their performance of “Higher Ground” (Oh Happy Day), as were Ann Nesby & Calvin Richardson, but as I predicted, it went to Jamie Foxx and T-Pain for “Blame It.”

That’s the full deal, folks!  What do you think of the winners list???

Okay, buddies, it’s that time of year again.  The GRAMMY Awards telecast is this Sunday, January 31st at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.

With that, it’s time for my predictions.  These were REALLY tough and I changed ‘em numerous times over the course of the past two weeks.  I’m finally at peace about them (for today), so I’m posting them before I change my mind again. LOL

Before I give ‘em, I wanna make two disclaimers–

(1) My predictions do NOT necessarily reflect my preferences, nor do they reflect who I ACTUALLY voted for on the GRAMMY ballot this year.  They’re predictions… and nothing more.

(2) The winner is often based on popularity.  Plain and simple.  Now, NARAS (the voting body) has gotten much better about this, even making all of the nominated music available for online listening so that we can make educated votes, but it’s still an uphill climb.  My predictions are based on how I believe the majority voted and that requires consideration of who’s most popular within the entire music biz.

Without further delay, here goes…

 Best Gospel Performance

“Free To Be Me” by Francesca Battistelli
Track from: Free To Be Me

“Jesus Is Love” by Heather Headley feat. Smokie Norful
Track from: Audience Of One

“I Believe” by Jonny Lang w/ Fisk Jubilee Singers
Track from: Oh Happy Day

“Wait On The Lord” by Donnie McClurkin feat. Karen Clark Sheard
Track from: We All Are One

“Born Again” by Third Day
Track from: Revelation

This is a tough one, fresh out of the gate.  I’m thinking it’s gonna go to Heather Headley and Smokie Norful for a couple of reasons– folks adore “Jesus Is Love” and the song has carried mainstream significance for decades.  Similarly, Heather Headley carries mainstream voting power with her, despite the fact that it was a gospel project.  And, all that aside, their duet was quite good.

 Best Gospel Song

“Born Again” - Tai Anderson, David Carr, Mark Lee & Mac Powell, songwriters (Third Day)

“City On Our Knees” - Cary Barlowe, Toby McKeehan & Jaime Moore, songwriters (TobyMac)

“Every Prayer” - Dayna Caddell, Israel Houghton, Aaron Lindsey & Ricardo Sanchez, songwriters (Israel Houghton & Mary Mary)

“God In Me” - Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters (Mary Mary)

“The Motions” - Jason Houser, Sam Mizell & Matthew West, songwriters (Matthew West)

I’m betting on The Marys for this one.  The success and popularity of “God In Me” was like a runaway train– it was played everywhere, performed everywhere, talked about everywhere… and with good reason.  I expect this GRAMMY to be the culmination of over a year’s worth of rather deserved acclaim.

Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album

The Big Picture - Da’ T.R.U.T.H.

Crash - Decyfer Down

Innocence & Instinct - Red

Live Revelations - Third Day

The Dash - John Wells-The Tonic

As much as I enjoy Da’ T.R.U.T.H.’s project, I don’t think he’ll nab this one.  I’m actually torn on this, between Third Day and Decyfer Down… ultimately, I chose Third Day cuz they’re more of a household name.

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

Speaking Louder Than Before - Jeremy Camp

The Power Of One - Israel Houghton

The Long Fall Back To Earth - Jars Of Clay

Love Is On The Move - Leeland

Freedom - Mandisa

Another REALLY hard one for me… Jars Of Clay, Jeremy Camp and Israel are established artists with great music and big followings.  Mandisa and Leeland are newer, but just as popular in many circles, and also making some great music.  I have NO PEACE about this, but I’m predicting Mandisa.  She has a good project and her widespread exposure (added to her lingering American Idol popularity) may tip the scales in her favor here.

Best Southern, Country, Or Bluegrass Gospel Album

Jason Crabb - Jason Crabb

Dream On - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

The Rock - Tracy Lawrence

In God’s Time - Barry Scott & Second Wind

Everyday - Triumphant Quest

I never have ANY clue when it comes to this category, cuz it’s just not my thing.  That said, I do know that Jason Crabb is one to watch right now, and I believe it’s because of this project.  That said, my money’s on Jason Crabb.

Best Traditional Gospel Album

God Don’t Never Change - Ashley Cleveland

The Law Of Confession, Pt. 1 - Donald Lawrence & Co.

Oh Happy Day - Various Artists

The Journey Continues - The Williams Brothers

How I Got Over - Vickie Winans

This is another tough call.  Donald Lawrence is simply incredible and he definitely deserves an award, in my opinion, but I fear that voters may not have agreed with his placement in the “traditional gospel” category… on that grounds, is it the best traditional project?  Maybe not… I predict the Oh Happy Day compilation.  It successfully brought together heavyweights in gospel and mainstream music to commemorate one of the most popular gospel songs in history.  It’s hard to ignore that.

Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album

Audience Of One - Heather Headley

Renewed - Sheri Jones-Moffett

Just James - J Moss

Smokie Norful LIVE - Smokie Norful

Bold Right Life - Kierra Sheard

First of all, shout-out to EMI Gospel for having 4 of 5 the artists in this category.  That said, I’m QUITE unsettled about this one.  Ultimately, I predict that Heather Headley will grab it– she has a nice voice, an album that lots of folks enjoyed, and popularity in the mainstream.  In my opinion, her album was not the best out of this group and I didn’t know that so many people would vote for it.  But I’m inclined to believe that if she got enough votes to get a nomination, she just may have gotten enough to get the win.

Gospel Artists Nominated In Non-Gospel Categories:

Tonex was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for his single “Blend” (Unspoken), and he might win that, but I also see an India.Arie nod in the same category and she will probably nab the award.

Ann Nesby’s “Sow Love” (The Lula Lee Project) is nominated in Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (dunno why), but I’m fairly certain that Beyonce’s rendition of “At Last” will win in that category.

Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters are nominated in the Best R&B Performance By Group/Duo with Vocals category for their performance of “Higher Ground” (Oh Happy Day), as is Ann Nesby for a Bobby Womack collabo, but I kinda expect the win to go to Jamie Foxx and T-Pain for “Blame It”.

OKAY.  Those are my predictions for the 2010 GRAMMY Awards.  For the full list of nominees in all categories, visit the GRAMMY website here.

What do you think???

One of the most widely discussed events of the Stellar Awards weekend was not really planned at all; rather, it came suddenly, in response to the earthquake in Haiti.  Kirk Franklin successfully brought together the gospel and Christian music communities to record a new song that he wrote, the proceeds from which will be donated directly to the relief efforts in Haiti.

Though Franklin wrote and produced the track, entitled “Song For Pain,” he’s not getting a cut, nor are any of the dozens of artists and musicians who participated.  And I mean DOZENS.  Some of the artists and musicians who rolled through the session include Mary Mary, Natalie Grant, Donnie McClurkin, J Moss, CeCe Winans, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Marvin Winans, Micah Stampley, Karen Clark Sheard, Smokie Norful, Shirley Caesar, Amy Grant, BeBe Winans, Brian Courtney Wilson, Stephen Hurd, Nicole C. Mullen, and MORE.  Every penny is going to Haiti.

Over the course of several recording sessions throughout the weekend, Kirk (who also co-hosted and performed at the Stellar Awards, and had to attend rehearsals and run-thru’s for the same) spent every moment of his “spare time” in Nashville’s Quad Studios, generally until around 6am.  I don’t think he got any sleep all weekend.

Let’s continue to pray for Haiti, that the offering of our music community would be used greatly to take Christ and His healing power to that nation.  And, let’s pray for our own artists and musicians, especially Kirk Franklin, who selflessly gave of their time and energy for this cause.

AAAAND, when the single hits the internet stores this week, BUY IT.  I’ll be sure to let you know when and where.  Deal?

Sooo, if you follow me on Twitter, you know that the 25th annual Stellar Awards weekend was ACTION PACKED.

Throughout the week, I’m gonna try my best to give recaps of the events that I attended (there were SEVERAL), but before I do, I wanted to post the full list of winners at this year’s award show…

Artist Of The Year - Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir, Souled Out (Verity)

Song Of The Year - “God In Me” by Mary Mary, The Sound (Columbia)

Male Vocalist Of The Year - Smokie Norful, Smokie Norful Live (EMI Gospel)

Female Vocalist Of The Year - Vickie Winans, How I Got Over (Destiny Joy)

Group/Duo Of The Year - Mary Mary, The Sound (Columbia)

New Artist Of The Year - Crystal Aikin, Crystal Aikin (Verity)

CD Of The Year - Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir, Souled Out (Verity)

Choir Of The Year - Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir, Souled Out (Verity)

Producer Of The Year - Donald Lawrence & Daniel Weatherspoon, The Law Of Confession Pt. 1 (Quietwater/Verity)

Contemporary Group/Duo Of The Year - Mary Mary, The Sound (Columbia)

Traditional Group/Duo Of The Year - Lee Williams & The Spiritual QCs, Fall On Me (MCG)

Contemporary Male Vocalist Of The Year - Smokie Norful, Smokie Norful Live (EMI Gospel)

Contemporary Female Vocalist Of The Year - Crystal Aikin, Crystal Aikin (Verity)

Traditional Male Vocalist Of The Year - Donnie McClurkin, We All Are One (Verity)

Traditional Female Vocalist Of The Year - Dottie Peoples, Do It! (DP Muzik Group)

Contemporary CD Of The Year - Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir, Souled Out (Verity)

Traditional CD Of The Year - Shari Addison, Shari Addison (Verity)

Urban/Inspirational Single Of The Year - “God In Me” by Mary Mary, The Sound (Columbia)

Music Video Of The Year - “How I Got Over” by Vickie Winans, How I Got Over (Destiny Joy)

Contemporary Choir Of The Year - Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir, Souled Out (Verity)

Traditional Choir Of The Year - Bishop Paul S. Morton & The FGBCF Mass Choir, Cry Your Last Year (Light)

Special Event CD Of The Year - The Clark Sisters, J. Moss & Kierra Sheard, Silky Soul Music - A Tribute To Maze (Barantera Music Group)

Instrumental CD Of The Year - Ben Tankard, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Verity)

Rap/Hip-Hop Gospel CD Of The Year - Da’ T.R.U.T.H., The Big Picture (Cross Movement)

Children’s Performance Of The Year - Rev. Dr. Emory Andrews & Oxon Hill High School Choir, Amazing (Yrome)

Quartet Of The Year - Lee Williams & The Spiritual QCs, Fall On Me (MCG)

Praise & Worship CD Of The Year - Stephen Hurd, Times Of Refreshing (Integrity)

Recorded Music Package Of The Year - Denise Trotman for Donald Lawrence’s The Law Of Confession Pt. 1 (Quietwater/Verity)

Stellar Radio Awards:

Internet Radio | http://www.ishoutforjoy.com
Small Market | WEUP 1700 AM – Huntsville, AL
Medium Market | Hallelujah FM – Little Rock, AR
Large Market | WTLC 1310 AM – Indianapolis, IN
Major Market | WLIB 1190 AM – New York City, NY

Lonnie Hunter of Praise 103.9 in Philadelphia was awarded with the Announce Of The Year Award. And the Central South Distribution REACH Awards were awarded to Vickie Hill (Saginaw, MI), Willie Mae MacIver (Dallas, TX) and Michael A. Davis (Memphis, TN).

I was surprised only by about two of these wins– I thought that Praise & Worship CD Of The Year would go to Israel Houghton.  He really got shafted this year, because The Power Of One was one of the best albums to come out in 2009.  The fact that he was only nominated in three categories, one of which was for packaging… c’mon.  But, kudos to Stephen Hurd anyhow.

Second, I didn’t think Hezekiah Walker & LFC would walk away with Artist Of The Year.  I really figured it would go to Donald Lawrence.  Either way, I’m thrilled.  I have loved Pastor Walker for YEARS and I couldn’t be more excited for him… he definitely deserved to be recognized and that album is an absolute favorite from the past year.

So, that’s THAT.  If you get Gospel Music Channel, the show airs on February 28th at 8pm ET/7pm CST.  BUT, it will likely air in your region before that… I’ll post the local dates and times when the Stellars post it… I can’t type all of that! LOL

And check back here throughout the week for my recaps– I went a lot of places, chatted with a lot of folks, and I’ve got LOTS to tell you.  Deal?  DEAL!

In the meantime, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK of the winners!!!

Heheheee… I stand in agreement with you good people.

Who do you think should win ARTIST OF THE YEAR at the 2010 Stellar Awards?

Donald Lawrence - 51% (129 votes)

Kierra Sheard - 22% (55 votes)

Hezekiah Walker - 19% (49 votes)

Vickie Winans - 8% (20 votes)

 

It’s not that the other albums are bad AT ALL.  In fact, I enjoy each of ‘em.  But there’s just something about that Law Of Confession, Vol. 1 project from Donald Lawrence… simply incredible.

Make sure you follow me on Twitter to receive up-to-the-second Stellar Award results on Saturday– see if your favorite artist won!

Until then, go ahead and vote in the next poll on the sidebar, which asks:

Which January 26th release are you most excited about???

Earlier today, James Fortune announced on Twitter that his label posted some snippets from his upcoming album, Encore, on YouTube.  The project, is due at the end of this month, on January 26th.

Consider this a little web listening party with some commentary dropped in between the tracks…

My personal fave so far is the very last track on the video, with Kierra Sheard on it… yessir!!!

Whatd’ya think of the new music from James Fortune & FIYA???

The incomparable Karen Clark Sheard took a quick minute from her schedule to catch up with me about what she loves most about Christmas.  She also weighed in about her Christmas plans and… I kinda wanna hang out with the Sheards during the holiday season! LOL

Here’s what she had to say…

“My favorite part of the Christmas holiday (and this is a tough one, because there are so many parts of this holiday season I love and enjoy so much…), but to try and narrow it down, I’d say it’s the how the “atmosphere”, collectively, and nationwide, seems to change to that of kindness, peace, and love… and the desire to give, in all facets, at this time, seems so much stronger.

As Christians, of course we know, believe, share, and primarily celebrate God’s greatest gift to us: His son, Jesus.  Although there are those who don’t agree, believe, or even know this, for the most part, the Christmas holiday is the only holiday, I know, where people still (no matter their background or personal beliefs) seem to come together and really make a valid effort to at least “practice” some of what our Savior came to earth for.

Also at this time, it appears most people will at least acknowledge the awesome truth which I and my family consistently rejoice over:  He (Jesus) came to earth, born in a manger… just for “lil ole us.”  And so during this short time/season, the world, for the most part is just a little ‘different’, in a “positive way…”

Some of my plans for the Christmas holiday include: spending time with my wonderful family, who I love and adore, at home… enjoying each other and just having good ole’ fashion fun!

We love to laugh and we also play games.  And we’ll go to various events together over the holiday season (such as going for family drives looking at various lights and holiday decorations in the city, holiday shopping, holiday shows/musicals, etc.), where a lot of times, because of all of our hectic schedules, we don’t get a lot of time to do, as frequently as we’d all like, during the year.

My daughter, Kierra, and I also cook together, and have extra “girl” time! As 1st Lady of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, where my husband, J. Drew Sheard, is pastor, I also look forward to attending and supporting, with my family, the special holiday events we have at our ministry, such as:  our music dept’s annual Christmas concert, our Christmas productions/plays, our many auxiliaries’ community outreach programs, and other various celebrations for our youth and young adults.

This is also a time where I honestly do try and relax a little and get some much needed rest!  I’ll also be “gearing up” to promote my new, upcoming project, All In One, which I am so excited about, and I also hope you all enjoy!

I’m always ready for another new year of ministry and I am truly so grateful to God for each new year.

Happy holidays to everyone and God Bless you! Remember Jesus, celebrate Him this season, and all year long.”