The new project from JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise, titled After This, hits stores on March 27, 2012! It’s the group’s sixth project, recorded live in July of 2011, and featuring guest appearances from Hezekiah Walker, John P Kee, Tye Tribbett, LaShun Pace and more!

The lead single and title track, “After This,” has made an impact at radio and online since it was released a couple of months ago. It continues to rise, having broken into the Top 15 at radio.

1.Lord of All – feat Hezekiah Walker
2.My King
3.Now – feat James Fortune
4.After This – feat Bishop Eric McDaniels
5.Love Lifted Me – feat Tye Tribbett
6.You
7.Victor
8.Grateful
9.Working Out For Me – feat John P. Kee & Lisa Knowles
10.I Am
11.The Blood – feat Lashun Pace
12.Reap

You can pre-order After This now at Amazon.com by clicking here.

The 27th Annual Stellar Awards were held on Saturday, January 14, 2012 in Nashville, TN at the Grand Ole Opry House.

And here are this year’s winners (winners in bold and blue)!

Artist of the Year
Earnest Pugh
Kirk Franklin
Mary Mary
VaShawn Mitchell

Song of the Year
“Nobody Greater” | Darius Paulk
“Well Done” | Deitrick Haddon
“I Smile” | Kirk Franklin
“I Choose To Worship” | Wess Morgan

Male Vocalist of the Year
Earnest Pugh
Israel Houghton
Smokie Norful
VaShawn Mitchell

Female Vocalist of the Year
Beverly Crawford
Kim Burrell
Martha Munizzi
Yolanda Adams

Group/Duo of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA
Mary Mary
Rance Allen Group
Trin-i-tee 5:7

New Artist of the Year
Greater Mt. Calvary Church Choir
Preashea Hilliard
Todd Dulaney
Y’Anna

CD of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA – I Believe
Kirk Franklin – I Smile
Mary Mary – Something Big
VaShawn Mitchell – Triumphant

Choir of the Year
Chicago Mass Choir
Mississippi Mass Choir
Ricky Dillard
Shekinah Glory Ministry

Producer of the Year
Aaron Lindsey, Tommy Sims & Israel Houghton for Love God. Love People.
Kirk Franklin for Hello Fear
VaShawn Mitchell, Daniel Weatherspoon & Rick Robinson for Triumphant
Warryn Campbell/Mary Mary for Something Big

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA
Mary Mary
Trin-i-tee 5:7

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson & Spiritual Voices
Rance Allen Group
The Soul Seekers

Contemporary Male of the Year
Deitrick Haddon
Earnest Pugh
Israel Houghton
VaShawn Mitchell

Traditional Male of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson
John P Kee
Rance Allen
Smokie Norful

Contemporary Female of the Year
Kim Burrell
Preashea Hilliard
Y’Anna
Yolanda Adams

Traditional Female of the Year
Beverly Crawford
Evelyn Turrentine-Agee
LaShun Pace
Twinkie Clark

Contemporary CD of the Year
Deitrick Haddon | Church on the Moon
Kirk Franklin | Hello Fear
Mary Mary | Something Big
VaShawn Mitchell | Triumphant

Traditional CD of the Year
John P Kee | The Legacy Project
Mississippi Mass Choir | Then Sings My Soul
Ricky Dillard | Keep Living
Smokie Norful | How I Got Over…

Urban Inspirational Performance of the Year
Deitrick Haddon | “Well Done”
Kirk Franklin | “I Smile”
Mary Mary | “Walking”
VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater”

Music Video of the Year – Short Form
Martha Munizzi | “Excellent” (Martha Munizzi)
Christian Heuer | “Walking” (Mary Mary)
Canton Jones | “God” (Canton Jones)
VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater” (VaShawn Mitchell)

Music Video of the Year – Long Form
Deitrick Haddon | Church on the Moon
Jerry Parries | Bishop Morton Celebrates…
Mississippi Mass Choir | Then Sings My Soul
Ricky Dillard | Keep Living

Traditional Choir of the Year
Chicago Mass Choir
Greater Mt. Calvary Church Choir
Mississippi Mass Choir
Ricky Dillard

Contemporary Choir of the Year
Lonnie Hunter & Structure
Shekinah Glory Ministry

Instrumental Gospel CD of the Year
Harold Rayford | I Am the Instrument
Moses Tyson Jr | Music Remastered & Sacred Organ
Todd Ledbetter | Meditations: Hymsn in the Key of Jazz
Winston Stewart | Season

Special Event CD of the Year
Bishop Paul Morton | Still
John P Kee | The Legacy Project
Shekinah Glory Ministry | Refreshed By Fire
VaShawn Mitchell | My Songbook

Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
Flame | Captured
Lecrae | Rehab
Lecrae | Rehab: The Overdose
Viktory | Birth of a Legacy

Children’s Project of the Year
Teen Pure N Heart | Pure N Heart Live
Santiago & Claude Deuce | My Destiny Place – My Imagination
The Velasquez Singers | Ten
T-Rep The Young Prayzr | Let’s Go

Quartet of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson & Spiritual Voices
Rance Allen Group
The Soul Seekers

Recorded Music Packaging of the Year
Christina Jones for Dominionaire (Canton Jones)
Denise Trotman & Greg Gilligan for Hello Fear (Kirk Franklin)
Martha Munizzi for Make It Loud (Martha Munizzi)
Tanner Gary for Triumphant (VaShawn Mitchell)

Praise and Worship CD of the Year
Earnest Pugh | Earnestly Yours
Israel Houghton | Love God. Love People.
Shekinah Glory Ministry | Refreshed By Fire
VaShawn Mitchell | Triumphant

Spoken Word CD of the Year
Marco the Poet | Marco the Poet EP
Michael Diallo McLendon | The Diallo Experience
Selah | Look At You Loving Me
Trupoetry | Trupoetry

Radio Station of the Year Finalists:

Major Market (3M+)
WPZE 102.5 FM (Atlanta, GA)
WPRS 104.1 FM (Washington, DC)
KJLH 102.3 FM (Los Angeles, CA)
WGRB 1390 AM (Chicago, IL)
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Large Market (1-3M)
WHAL 95.7 FM/1460 AM (Memphis, TN)
WFMI 100.9 FM (VA-Norfolk-Newport, VA)
KCAO 600 AM (Baltimore, MD)
WMBM 1490 AM (Miami, FL)

Medium Market (500,000-1M)
WLOU 1350 AM (Louisville, KY)
WPRF 94.9 FM (New Orleans, LA)
WENO 760 AM (Nashville, TN)
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]
WPZK 102.5 (Little Rock, AR)

Small Market (under 500,000)
WDJL 1000 AM (Huntsville, AL)
WJNI 106.3 FM (Charleston, SC)
KOKA 980 AM (Shreveport, LA)
WIMG 1300 AM (Trenton, NJ)

The show was hosted by Marvin Sapp and Dorinda Clark Cole, and will begin airing in local markets on January 21, 2012 (visit the Stellar Awards website for Local Airdates). The program will also be broadcast on gmc on February 11, 2012 at 8pm ET.

I will never forget my first real introduction to LaShun Pace’s solo artistry. I was watching the 1999 Stellar Awards and she won an award for her album, Just Because God Said It.

The music they played from her album as she walked to the stage was the album’s opener, “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder),” a clever Christian remake of Maxwell’s mainstream tune.

I was so captivated by the tone and harmonies on it that I went and purchased it from my favorite Chicago music store, Dr. Wax. And I wore that CD out.

Tunes like the title track, her remake of Walter Hawkins’ “Be Grateful,” and the “Prophetic Medley,” showcased a soprano so soaring that she can reach the rafters, and vocals so strong that they can shake them once she gets up there.

My absolute favorite tune on the project is “Where I Am,” a heartfelt believer’s declaration of the joys of being saved and sanctified: “I can’t remember how it felt to be anywhere but where I am.”

Take a listen to snippets of it here:

And the nominees for the 27th Annual Stellar Awards are…

Artist of the Year
Earnest Pugh
Kirk Franklin
Mary Mary
VaShawn Mitchell

Song of the Year
“Nobody Greater” | Darius Paulk
“Well Done” | Deitrick Haddon
“I Smile” | Kirk Franklin
“I Choose To Worship” | Wess Morgan
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Male Vocalist of the Year
Earnest Pugh
Israel Houghton
Smokie Norful
VaShawn Mitchell
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Female Vocalist of the Year
Beverly Crawford
Kim Burrell
Martha Munizzi
Yolanda Adams
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Group/Duo of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA
Mary Mary
Rance Allen Group
Trin-i-tee 5:7

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

New Artist of the Year
Greater Mt. Calvary Church Choir
Preashea Hilliard
Todd Dulaney
Y’Anna

CD of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA – I Believe
Kirk Franklin – I Smile
Mary Mary – Something Big
VaShawn Mitchell – Triumphant

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Choir of the Year
Chicago Mass Choir
Mississippi Mass Choir
Ricky Dillard
Shekinah Glory Ministry
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Producer of the Year
Aaron Lindsey, Tommy Sims & Israel Houghton for Love God. Love People.
Kirk Franklin for Hello Fear
VaShawn Mitchell, Daniel Weatherspoon & Rick Robinson for Triumphant
Warryn Campbell/Mary Mary for Something Big

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA
Mary Mary
Trin-i-tee 5:7
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson & Spiritual Voices
Rance Allen Group
The Soul Seekers

Contemporary Male of the Year
Deitrick Haddon
Earnest Pugh
Israel Houghton
VaShawn Mitchell

Traditional Male of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson
John P Kee
Rance Allen
Smokie Norful

Contemporary Female of the Year
Kim Burrell
Preashea Hilliard
Y’Anna
Yolanda Adams
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Traditional Female of the Year
Beverly Crawford
Evelyn Turrentine-Agee
LaShun Pace
Twinkie Clark

Contemporary CD of the Year
Deitrick Haddon | Church on the Moon
Kirk Franklin | Hello Fear
Mary Mary | Something Big
VaShawn Mitchell | Triumphant

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Traditional CD of the Year
John P Kee | The Legacy Project
Mississippi Mass Choir | Then Sings My Soul
Ricky Dillard | Keep Living
Smokie Norful | How I Got Over…
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Urban Inspirational Performance of the Year
Deitrick Haddon | “Well Done”
Kirk Franklin | “I Smile”
Mary Mary | “Walking”
VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater”

Music Video of the Year – Short Form
Martha Munizzi | “Excellent” (Martha Munizzi)
Christian Heuer | “Walking” (Mary Mary)
Canton Jones | “God” (Canton Jones)
VaShawn Mitchell | “Nobody Greater” (VaShawn Mitchell)

Music Video of the Year – Long Form
Deitrick Haddon | Church on the Moon
Jerry Parries | Bishop Morton Celebrates…
Mississippi Mass Choir | Then Sings My Soul
Ricky Dillard | Keep Living

Traditional Choir of the Year
Chicago Mass Choir
Greater Mt. Calvary Church Choir
Mississippi Mass Choir
Ricky Dillard

Contemporary Choir of the Year
Lonnie Hunter & Structure
Shekinah Glory Ministry

[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Instrumental Gospel CD of the Year
Harold Rayford | I Am the Instrument
Moses Tyson Jr | Music Remastered & Sacred Organ
Todd Ledbetter | Meditations: Hymsn in the Key of Jazz
Winston Stewart | Season
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Special Event CD of the Year
Bishop Paul Morton | Still
John P Kee | The Legacy Project
Shekinah Glory Ministry | Refreshed By Fire
VaShawn Mitchell | My Songbook

Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
Flame | Captured
Lecrae | Rehab
Lecrae | Rehab: The Overdose
Viktory | Birth of a Legacy
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Children’s Project of the Year
Teen Pure N Heart | Pure N Heart Live
Santiago & Claude Deuce | My Destiny Place – My Imagination
The Velasquez Singers | Ten
T-Rep The Young Prayzr | Let’s Go

Quartet of the Year
Keith Wonderboy Johnson & Spiritual Voices
Rance Allen Group
The Soul Seekers
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Recorded Music Packaging of the Year
Christina Jones for Dominionaire (Canton Jones)
Denise Trotman & Greg Gilligan for Hello Fear (Kirk Franklin)
Martha Munizzi for Make It Loud (Martha Munizzi)
Tanner Gary for Triumphant (VaShawn Mitchell)

Praise and Worship CD of the Year
Earnest Pugh | Earnestly Yours
Israel Houghton | Love God. Love People.
Shekinah Glory Ministry | Refreshed By Fire
VaShawn Mitchell | Triumphant
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Spoken Word CD of the Year
Marco the Poet | Marco the Poet EP
Michael Diallo McLendon | The Diallo Experience
Selah | Look At You Loving Me
Trupoetry | Trupoetry

The following are the recipients of this year’s special awards:
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

John P. Kee will receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award
Vy Higgensen will receive the Thomas Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award
Dorothy Norwood will receive the Dr. Bobby Jones Legend Award

Radio Station of the Year Finalists:

Major Market (3M+)
WPZE 102.5 FM (Atlanta, GA)
WPRS 104.1 FM (Washington, DC)
KJLH 102.3 FM (Los Angeles, CA)
WGRB 1390 AM (Chicago, IL)
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]

Large Market (1-3M)
WHAL 95.7 FM/1460 AM (Memphis, TN)
WFMI 100.9 FM (VA-Norfolk-Newport, VA)
KCAO 600 AM (Baltimore, MD)
WMBM 1490 AM (Miami, FL)

Medium Market (500,000-1M)
WLOU 1350 AM (Louisville, KY)
WPRF 94.9 FM (New Orleans, LA)
WENO 760 AM (Nashville, TN)
[list courtesy of GospelPundit.com]
WPZK 102.5 (Little Rock, AR)

Small Market (under 500,000)
WDJL 1000 AM (Huntsville, AL)
WJNI 106.3 FM (Charleston, SC)
KOKA 980 AM (Shreveport, LA)
WIMG 1300 AM (Trenton, NJ)

The awards show takes place on Saturday, January 14, 2012 in Nashville, TN. It will be hosted by Marvin Sapp and Dorinda Clark Cole.

Earnest Pugh has debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart with the release of his new project, Earnestly Yours.  He moves Kirk Franklin to the #2 position, with Mary Mary following at #3.

The rest of the top 10 is right here:

1 | Earnest Pugh – Earnestly Yours
2 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
3 | Mary Mary – Something Big
4 | Trin-i-tee 5:7 – Angel & Chanelle
5 | WOW Gospel 2011
6 | Yolanda Adams – Becoming
7 | Deitrick Haddon – Church on the Moon
8 | Tedashii – Blacklight
9 | Lecrae – Rehab
10 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of Marvin Sapp

As I predicted last week, the label was able to pull off some impressive numbers for Earnest Pugh’s new album.

Norman Hutchins also debuted at #11 with his new release, If You Didn’t Know, Now You Know.  And LaShun Pace’s Reborn lands at #31 its first week out.

It’s a good day for new music.  Get some–

Earnest Pugh – Earnestly Yours

LaShun Pace – Reborn

Norman Hutchins – If You Didn’t Know, Now You Know

Click on an album cover above to listen and/or purchase the projects!

One of gospel’s powerhouse female vocalists, LaShun Pace, is putting the finishing touches on her new album, Reborn, due in stores June 28, 2011.  The 12-track project is Pace’s first in 4 years.

I got a sneak listen to her first single, “Something to Live For,” and I got so excited that I begged to be able to share it with you guys… they said “yes.”

Soooo, I’ve just added it to the Pundit Player (peep the black bar at the bottom of your screen… if you don’t see it, clear your browser’s cache and reload!).  It’s got that unmistakable “Pace” sound to it, with LaShun in great voice and dominating her lane.

Check it out!

Word has it that LaShun Pace is holding auditions for new background singers in Atlanta, GA on October 23rd.  To learn more, visit the ‘Events’ section of www.takeovamovement.com.

She’s also looking for some new music, so if you’ve got the goods, email her at lashunpacemusic@gmail.com!

Anyone planning to give it a go???

Here’s my recap for you kind people– ‘ppreciate your patience.  If you’d rather NOT wait, though, don’t forget that you can always follow me on Twitter for my live recap every Sunday night: http://www.twitter.com/gospelpundit.

I think last night’s show was a bit more mellow than previous shows.  Everyone kinda had slower, building arrangements of songs made famous by gospel FAMILIES, which was a nice lil’ concept.  Don’t get me wrong– they still brought it, but it wasn’t as flashy and high-energy as previous episodes have been.

The show opened with The Williams Brothers singing “Living Testimony.”  These gentlemen have some of the sweetest voices in the game– I loved it.  Wished they had done a little bit of “Cooling Water,” but I can’t have it all.  Or can I?

Up next came the contestants, one-by-one, and I was kinda shocked to see that they didn’t do a joint performance this go ’round– the show featured songs from families that were gospel groups (i.e., Clark Sisters, Pace Sisters, Williams Brothers, Winans, Mary Mary)… seemed like this was THE WEEK to do a group song together.  But whateva…

Each contestant sang two songs, throughout the night, but I’ma recap both songs as I chat about each contestant.  Got it?

Jessica Reedy opened the show with “The Question Is” by The Winans.  It’s a classic song which she, of course, put her own little smooth and jazzified spin on it.  She was clearly a bit hoarse, as was evident by a couple of cracks in her vocal performance, but (as was noted by Tina Campbell), she was SUCH a pro, turning those cracks into intricate riffs that just WORKED.  Great job.

Her second song was “Still Here” by The Williams Brothers.  Before she performed, we got a chance to see footage of her prep time with Donald Lawrence and the singers.  THAT YOUNG WOMAN was arranging the background vocalists, changing stuff up, and did a DERN good job, you hear me?!  The performance was SOOO in the pocket– she’s just got it.  She’s my fave, no doubt.

Latice Crawford started with “Is My Living In Vain” and did a great job, also, putting her own spin on it.  She revved up like a pro towards the end of it and definitely left me wanting a bit more.  Her second song was “I’ll Take You There” and she really sang on that thing, as always, but it just didn’t quite CLICK for me.

I enjoy her, always, but I have to admit that I zoned out a little for some portions of her performances.  Tina Campbell said it best– there was a disconnect that made us uncomfortable cuz SHE didn’t seem as confident.

Y’Anna Crawley (another fave of mine) started with “Heaven” by Mary Mary.  I thought she did it well, though a lot of the ad libs sounded just like the stuff that the Marys did at first.  Toward the second part of the song, she flipped it sho’ nuff, though, and I was like “THAT’S what Y’Anna brings!”

Her second song was the classic “Ain’t No Need To Worry” by The Winans and Anita Baker.  I immediately thought “noo… y’all shoulda given this to Jessica” because her voice is so right for the Anita Baker deal.  BUT LEMME TELL YA, this was a perfect song for Y’Anna and here’s why:  it finally gave us the opportunity to see that she can also do the smooth, jazzy thing.  We’ve always seen her CLOBBER a song, but we’ve not really had the opportunity to see her work it from a quiet place.  She delivered in a BIG way for me.  Great job, ma’am!!!

At the end, NONE OF ‘EM got sent home.  We’ll see ‘em all next week for some “Sing Off” they’re gonna have.  I feel some kinda way about that cuz I don’t think the “sing off” should be the criteria for whether someone should be a gospel artist or not.  We already have too much of that in the industry (but that’s for ANOTHER post… showboatin’ and what not).

Folks, at the end of the day, EACH of these three women are phenomenal vocalists who just HAVE it.  They are all artists.  Any one of them will be on my iPod for a good month and, if given the right songs/producers, could have award-winning albums.

The Anointed Pace Sisters wrapped up the performances by rippin’ into “Already Done.”  I was already jammin’ (“already done done… already done done done done done”), but when Lashun Pace came onto stage… Loved it!!!!  She looks great (they all did, really) and they killed.  Glad that they got some BET exposure, too… long overdue.

Soooooooooooooo??? What did y’all think???

Word has it that The Anointed Pace Sisters are doing another live CD/DVD recording on April 25th in Decatur, GA.  This project, titled Access Granted, will be produced by Asaph Ward and should be in stores in 2010.

I think it’ll be good, but am I the only one hoping that LaShun will make a guest apperance on this album???