Words needn’t really be uttered, nor will they EVER do justice in trying to talk about Lalah Hathaway’s voice and vocal ability. EVER! LOL
Listen to the rich and full tone, the unbelievable color there… the control… the musical choices in ad libbing…
Here, she’s singing the instant classic “Don’t Forget To Remember” with Donald Lawrence and ‘em at a TV One thing a few years ago.
PLEASE tell me what you think about THAT singing RIGHT THERE! LOL
The BMI Trailblazers Awards take place during Stellar Awards weekend and they are always the hottest ticket in town (perhaps moreso than the Stellars!). This year, I spoke to soooooooo many industry folks who said it featured some of the greatest performances they had ever seen in their LIVES. EVER!
I was so excited for last night, when Gospel Music Channel aired the awards show, full of tributes for and from gospel’s finests. But ummm… somewhat lackluster for me. And it wasn’t cuz the performances weren’t brilliant– it was cuz they kept cutting off the people!
I get that we have to do commercial breaks and the editors had to contend with the dragging on of gospel vamps (some folks NEVER end a song). But still… that’s the genre. And many lovers of the genre appreciate, no… LOOK FORWARD TO the vamps!
Case in point: Kierra Sheard. She sang “Jesus Is A Love Song” like it was her own song and, right when she was about to demolish the vamp “Je-sus is… a love song… love… song…,” they went to commercial and that was it. So, we’ll never know how that ended. And they kept doing it! 
I get that there’s a limited amount of air time for the show, and that they have to capture as much as possible… but can’t y’all make it a three-hour program? 
LOL I’m being unfair and unrealistic, and I realize that, but I’m just sayin’…
In spite of my frustration with that, the show was PHENOMENAL. Karen Clark-Sheard sang “Couldn’t Tell It If I Tried” like it was the original recording from Finally Karen, Kim Burrell gave new life to “Prayer of Jabez (Bless Me)” and reminded everyone why she’s oft-imitated, but never matched. And Lalah Hathaway… God gives gifts and favor as He sees fit, but I’m just a little jealous. Like… we’re creating human beings with voices like THAT?! Maaaaaan!!!
Other great performances came from Israel Houghton & Tommy Sims, BeBe Winans, Donnie McClurkin (with an impromptu mic-pass to Darwin Hobbs, who I believe to be severely underrated by consumers), and Twinkie Clark, who plaaaayed that B3 organ!
If you missed it, it’s airing again TONIGHT on Gospel Music Channel at 10pm EST.
Anyone else catch it? WHAT DID YOU THINK?
The 2009 BMI Trailblazers Awards are FINALLY airing on Gospel Music Channel THIS SUNDAY, February 22nd at 8pm EST.
If you recall, I’ve talked about this awesome event for months. It honored Twinkie Clark, Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans, featuring tribute performances by Karen Clark-Sheard, Kierra Sheard, Lalah Hathaway, Tommy Sims, Kim Burrell, and several others. The awards ceremony also honored Marvin Sapp, with a tribute performance by Donnie McClurkin.
For those of you who miss it (DON’T), Gospel Music Channel will be airing encore performances at 11pm EST that night (Sunday), and on Monday, the 23rd, at 10:30pm EST.
We WILL be discussing it in great detail on Monday, so play yourselves if you wanna. 
Watch it!
In honor of Black History Month, Gospel Music Channel has a truckload of programming lined up for the month of February. I wanna highlight:
Say Amen Somebody – February 8th
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this incredible documentary before. It’s one of the greatest. Good music, good stories… don’t miss it.
I used to own it on VHS before my VCR ate the tape. But then, God blessed me with the DVD! 
It features Thomas A. Dorsey, Willie Mae Ford Smith, the Barrett Sisters… Learn this gospel music HISTORY.
BMI Trailblazers Awards – February 22nd at 8pm ET
It went down a couple of weeks ago at the Stellar Awards weekend, honoring Twinkie Clark, Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans, featuring performances from Karen Clark Sheard, Kim Burrell, Lalah Hathaway… a BUNCH of other folks… remember? I KEEP talking to industry people who are saying it featured some of the best performances they have EVER seen. You don’t wanna miss it. They’re also gonna show the shows from 2007 (on February 1st) and 2008 (on February 8th), so set your DVRs now.
They’re also gonna re-air a bunch of Front Row Live performances and more episodes of Bobby Jones Next Generation.
Just go to their website, http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com/blackhistorymonth, for details!
The performers for next week’s BMI Trailblazers Award Luncheon have been announced. If you recall from my earlier post, Twinkie Clark, Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans will be honored this year at the annual Stellar Awards-weekend event.
Well, on hand to salute them will be: Kirk Franklin, Faith Evans, Karen Clark-Sheard, Donnie McClurkin, Kierra Sheard, Kim Burrell, DeWayne Woods, Crystal Lewis, Lalah Hathaway, Heather Headley and more.
Sounds reeaaaally good. We’ll see if I get in… pray without ceasing, folks!
