The soundtrack for the recently released major motion picture, Joyful Noise, has debuted at #1 this week on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart. The project, produced by Mervyn Warren, features some pop-music-made-gospel by co-stars Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton and KeKe Palmer, as well as an original tune from Kirk Franklin.

I should also point out that the South African all-male a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo debuted at #4 with their Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Friends project. And Come Sunday, a special gospel project from jazz bassist Charlie Haden and the late Hank Jones, an acclaimed jazz pianist, debuted at #6. That’s a good project.

I have something to say about all three of these projects impacting the gospel charts the way they have… I think I’ll save it for an editorial in GospelPundit Weekly. If you’re not subscribed, do so HERE– it comes out every Thursday evening and you don’t wanna miss it!

In the meantime, check out the full top 10…

1 | Various Artists – Joyful Noise Sountrack
2 | William McDowell – Arise
3 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
4 | Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Friends
5 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
6 | Charlie Haden & Hank Jones – Come Sunday
7 | Lecrae – Rehab
8 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…
9 | Jessica Reedy – From the Heart
10 | Shirley Caesar – The Ultimate Collection

WOW Gospel 2011 fell out of the Top 10, perhaps for the first time since its release last January. No matter– WOW Gospel 2012 hits stores this coming Tuesday… it’ll be back!

Next week, expect to see James Fortune & FIYA’s new album, Identity, at the top of the charts. I’m curious to see if it will outsell the mainstream-promoted Joyful Noise soundtrack, but it’s definitely going to clobber sales in the gospel market. And it should– check out my review 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.

Sunday Best winner Amber Bullock, hangs in there at #1 this week with her debut album, Thank You.

William McDowell’s Arise rises back to #2… I thought that was clever play on words, but maybe it’s just early.

Anyway, the top 10 features the same folks, with minor switches of positions…

1 | Amber Bullock – Thank You
2 | William McDowell – Arise
3 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
4 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
5 | Lecrae – Rehab
6 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
7 | WOW Gospel 2011
8 | Jessica Reedy – From the Heart
9 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…
10 | Le’Andria Johnson – Christmas Best

Like I said last week, I’m expecting this line-up, or some variation of it, to hold for a while.

Anyone buyin’ music right now???

Dunno if I’ve ever mentioned it on here, but I’m a web design geek.

I love coding, scripting and formatting. I love HTML, CSS, PHP and a bunch of other acronyms that you probably don’t want to know about.

It’s no secret that the gospel industry is, at times, behind the times in technology and web design. Images are grotesquely pixelated, links don’t work, click someplace and it redirects to a page that hasn’t been updated since 2004…

It’s refreshing to see well-done websites in gospel music. Here are our 4 favorite artist websites of 2011…

1. Mary Mary’s fan site, ILoveMaryMary.com

2. Melinda Watts’ rebranded official website, MelindaWatts.com

3. Lecrae’s artist page at Reach Records.com

4. Tim Bowman, Jr.’s official site, TimBowmanJr.com

Lemme know what you think!

2011 is just about over. Don’t enter 2012 without checking out our Top 10 Favorite Albums of the Year. And get ‘em!

In no particular order…

1. Andraé Crouch – The Journey
He’s not a legend just because of his pleasing personality. He has consistently made phenomenal music for the entire Body of Christ, across the globe. This project is just the latest in his sprawling catalog of must-have music. You must… have it.

2. Donald Lawrence – YRM (Your Righteous Mind)
It’s no secret that we love D. Lawrence at GospelPundit.com. He just does gospel music RIGHT. And with this album, he continues in excellence. Great music, great messages.

3. Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
This trendsetter and tastemaker of gospel music didn’t push the envelope as far as he has in the past, but he still gives us plenty to chew on and enjoy.

4. Mary Mary – Something Big
It’s almost like this sister duo knew how monumental their year would be, with award after award and a reality show in the works. The title is almost prophetic… it’s their soundtrack, and ours, too.

5. Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
The looooong-awaited solo debut of this “man of standard” debuted at #1 and has experienced great sales for months. It’s not just cuz he’s hilarious– it’s cuz his album rocks.

6. Kim Burrell – The Love Album
To the chagrin of many, one of gospel’s most recognized and celebrated voices delivered her much-buzzed about “secular” album. It’s still gospel… and she sang the daylights out of every single track.

7. Dorinda Clark Cole – I Survived
With this project, we got Dorinda doing what she does best– a well-produced and current sound laced with traditional influence and familiarity.

8. Lecrae – Rehab: The Overdose
He may be Christian music’s most well-known hip-hop artist at this point, and rightfully so. His music cuts, inspires, educates and equips. Get on board.

9. Jessica Reedy – From the Heart
This long-awaited debut album offered a more soul/R&B vibe than many might have predicted, but her vocal performance and passion on each track is undeniable.

10. Claude Deuce – Wanna Be Winans mixtape
This was both creative and incredibly well-done. And, perhaps best of all, free for downloading!

Congrats to Sunday Best winner Amber Bullock, whose debut EP, Thank You, debuts at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart this week!

Labelmate Le’Andria Johnson follows at #2 with William McDowell landing at #3 from his #1 spot for the past four weeks.

Here’s the full top 10:

1 | Amber Bullock – Thank You
2 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
3 | William McDowell – Arise
4 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
5 | Lecrae – Rehab
6 | Jessica Reedy – From the Heart
7 | WOW Gospel 2011
8 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…
9 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
10 | Le’Andria Johnson – Christmas Best

That’s juuuuust about all we’re getting in terms of new releases until the new year, so I’m expecting this line-up, or some variation of it, to hold for a while.

Billboard has released its annual year-end charts for 2011, based on chart performance in sales and radio.

Leading the packs are Kirk Franklin and VaShawn Mitchell, for the top album and top song of the  year, respectively.

Check out the Top 10 Best Albums and Songs in gospel music below!

Best Gospel Albums:

1 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
2 | WOW Gospel 2011
3 | Mary Mary – Something Big
4 | Lecrae – Rehab
5 | VaShawn Mitchell – Triumphant
6 | Deitrick Haddon – Church on the Moon
7 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of…
8 | William McDowell – As We Worship: Live
9 | Lecrae – Rehab: Overdose
10 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…

Best Gospel Songs:

1 | VaShawn Mitchell – “Nobody Greater”
2 | Kirk Franklin – “I Smile”
3 | William McDowell – “I Give Myself Away”
4 | James Fortune & FIYA – “I Believe”
5 | Marvin Sapp – “He Has His Hands On You”
6 | Deitrick Haddon – “Well Done”
7 | Troy Sneed – “My Heart Says Yes”
8 | Mary Mary – “Walking”
9 | Trin-i-tee 5:7 – “Over & Over”
10 | Earnest Pugh – “I Need Your Glory”

Click here to check out all of the year-end charts!

C’mon, William McDowell! Show ‘em! Lol

He’s still #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart, for the fourth week in a row, and he’s been there since the debut of his newest project, Arise.

Here’s the full top 10:

1 | William McDowell – Arise
2 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
3 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
4 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
5 | Jessica Reedy – From the Heart
6 | Lecrae – Rehab
7 | WOW Gospel 2011
8 | Genita Pugh – My Purpose
9 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…
10 | Le’Andria Johnson – Christmas Best

Shout-out to Le’Andria, with two albums in the Top 10. Her Christmas project had a limited release last week, so she made a pretty strong showing and I expect it will rise with the full release this week.

Also, looking to see how Amber Bullock fares this week with her debut EP, Thank You. I reckon she might hit #1…

William McDowell remains at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart for the third consecutive week, with his newest project, Arise. Le’Andria Johnson follows at #2, with a Marvin Sapp compilation from Verity rocketing from #10 to #3.

Also, indie artist Genita Pugh debuts at #9 with her latest album, My Purpose.

Check out the full top 10:

1 | William McDowell – Arise
2 | Le’Andria Johnson – The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson…
3 | Marvin Sapp – Playlist: The Very Best of…
4 | Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear
5 | Isaac Carree – Uncommon Me
6 | Lecrae – Rehab
7 | WOW Gospel 2011
8 | Jessica Reedy – From the Heart
9 | Genita Pugh – My Purpose
10 | Kierra Sheard – Free

I don’t have Genita Pugh’s project, but I took a listen at Amazon.com and it ain’t half shabby. Check it out–

Hey folks– visit http://www.watchgmctv.com/vote to vote in this year’s Music Video Awards at gmc.

If you do, you’ll be entered to win a $20 iTunes gift card (that’ll get you two albums, or like… 20 singles!).

I just voted and noticed some of my favorite videos over there, like Mary Mary’s “Survive,” Lecrae’s “Background” and Kirk Franklin’s “I Smile.”

Who are you pickin’?