Mary Mary and Fred Hammond have been named among a who’s-who list of artists slated to perform in the 2012 Essence Music Festival.

The annual music festival takes place each Summer in New Orleans. Other artists announced to perform include Aretha Franklin, Fantasia, Ledisi and Mary J Blige.

This year’s festival runs from July 6-8, 2012 in New Orleans, LA. For more info, and for tickets, visit www.essencemusicfestival.com.

Bishop TD Jakes is set to release the second installment of Sacred Love Songs on May 31, 2011.  The project, titled Sacred Love Songs 2, is a 12-track compilation of music inspired by the new movie Jumping the Broom on Sony Pictures.

With guest artists ranging from Fred Hammond to Karen Clark Sheard, El DeBarge to Joe, Bishop Paul Morton to Ledisi, this project promises to have a little something for everyone.

The first single from Sacred Love Songs 2 is a modern remake of Kirk Franklin’s hit “Love,” recorded by Anaysha Figueroa.

Here’s a full track listing…

1. The Vow featuring Bishop T.D. Jakes
2. Let’s Stay Together featuring Ledisi
3. Back At One featuring Micah Stampley
4. Just Take My Heart featuring Crystal Aikin
5. Closer featuring Joe
6. The Homily featuring Bishop T.D. Jakes
7. Inseparable featuring Karen Clark Sheard & Kirk Whalum
8. My Lady And Myself Featuring Fred Hammond
9. Love featuring Anaysha Figueroa & Bishop T.D. Jakes
10. Finally featuring Bishop Paul Morton
11. How Can You Love Me featuring El Debarge
12. Don’t Go To Bed Mad featuring Terry Thomas

Looks pretty good!

BMI has announced that its Trailblazers Awards luncheon, the heralded, exclusive event of each year’s Stellar Awards weekend, will be aired on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 7pm ET, exclusively on gmc.

The special, co-hosted by Donnie McClurkin and Kim Burrell, was recorded live during last month’s 12th Annual BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards Luncheon on Friday, January 14th. Honored this year were Shirley Caesar and Commissioned, with jaw-dropping performances from Kim Burrell, the Clark Sisters, Ledisi, Lucinda Moore, Marvin Sapp, Dawkins & Dawkins, Men of Standard and many more.  Donald Lawrence, with DeWayne Woods, handled musical direction of the event.

An encore presentation of the program will air at 8:30pm ET, immediately following its initial broadcast.

The Walter Hawkins Tribute Concert airs THIS SUNDAY at 8pm ET on gmc, but someone from the balcony recorded Ledisi’s performance and posted it a tad EARLY!

Peep it here–

Who else is lookin’ forward to SUNDAY?! YESSSSSS!

Who rocks the recaps?  Troy Lilly rocks the recaps.

And he’s back with more this week.  Without delay… here’s our buddy, Troy Lilly, with his take on last night’s episode of BET’s Sunday Best…

*     *     *

After weeks of watching the judges voice their opinions and make – at times – controversial cuts from the lineup, it’s time for YOU to decide who will become Sunday Best this year.  No more blaming the judges, people.

So, the show last night began by reminding us what the winner walks away with besides a whole bunch of votes: a national recording contract – and a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO! Exciting, right?

The episode also introduced music directors, Stanley Brown and PJ Morton, and featured an instrumental by trumpeter Shemar Allen as a tribute to New Orleans, Louisiana, the host city for this season’s show.

Ledisi, another phenomenal R&B singer, opened the show with “Higher Than This,” a song from her latest album. I was sure the “high” she refers to was, well you know, that of a man. Ledisi (almost) convinced me the song was written about God. There are only two words for her singing style last night: church bred. I’ve been following her on Twitter, too, and she’s got a little word in her.

And then later in the show, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, who is nothing less than a gospel music legend, sang “Good News,” a song EJ premiered on GospelPundit.com last year before anyone else.  But on to the contestants…

Elder Goldwire McLendon – “I Know It Was the Blood” and “Jesus Be a Fence Around Me”

I wanna be like Elder McLendon when I grow up. He’s got Holy Ghost swagger! And he strutted it all over the stage yet again. Although I feel he was shortchanged a bit by the communion song (he could’ve really handled something far more challenging), he still managed to make “I Know It Was The Blood” his own.  I would have loved another song like “Jesus Be a Fence,” which Elder sang next.

On this song he showed more of the energy and vitality we saw last week during his performance of “He’s All Over Me.” Particularly during the vamp, he added some nice adlibs and, of course, hop scotched like a pro. Last night Elder said something that stood out to me: “I am not singing to people, I sing to God.” It’s clear that knowing who you’re singing to makes a world of difference.

LeAndria Johnson – “Running Back to You” and “Set Me Free”

Judge Donnie McClurkin asked last night if there’s anything LeAndria can’t sing.  I’d have to ask the same question because, if there is, I haven’t heard it yet. LeAndria tackled a classic Commissioned song first with stunning results. It may have been difficult for another singer to deliver a signature song without sticking to the original artist’s style. Not LeAndria. One of her greatest attributes as a singer, in my opinion, is her ability to interpret songs in a unique way. As I said a few weeks ago, song interpretation is what makes a singer an artist.

She was clearly up for the challenge on her second song as well. Not only did she interpret Myron Butler & Levi’s “Set Me Free,” she shared a personal testimony at the same time.  “I may have lost my house,” she sang, “but God’s got a mansion for me.” I believe he has so much more.

The Faceoff

The true faceoff of the evening, however, came in the form of a duet between Elder McLendon and LeAndria. They teamed up and sing “I’ll Take You There” to close the show. Hand in hand for the majority of the song, the pair played off of the large age gap between them and marched around the stage cheerfully in a performance that was rather harmonious for them to be going against ach other for the Sunday Best title. It was definitely a highlight of the show.

Their fate is now in your hands. You’ve been watching every week. You’ve seen the good and the not so good. You’ve seen each of them leap across the stage and bring the judges to tears.  Now you must decide who is Sunday Best.

Remember, you can vote until Saturday June 19, 2010 at noon EST. To vote online at the Sunday Best page on BET.com, click here.

What’s the verdict?

I will admit that I was skeptical– if you remember last year’s Celebration Of Gospel, there were just a bunch of moments that left us wondering… “WHY?!”

But this year, for its 10th anniversary, BET seems to have taken time and done things well and with purpose.  I honestly thought it was a GREAT show.

My quick comments about each song, in order:

Fred Hammond featuring Kelly Price and Shirley Caesar – “Awesome God”
I loved the album version of this song (and wondered if it should’ve been the single) for months now. For me, the addition of Kelly Price to the performance made this song a great opener.

Yolanda Adams – “Victory”
It’s a great song, and Yolanda always gives an incredible live performance, but I didn’t necessarily NEED it. Just seemed a bit random.

Anthony & Tarsha’ Hamilton – “Better Is One Day”
One of the best performances of the night for me. It was an awesome arrangement of a CCM favorite, it was heartfelt and simple. And Tarsha’ can SING! Geeeeeeez.

Bobby Jones & The Nashville Super Choir featuring Y’Anna Crawley – “The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow”
Dunno what was up with Dr. Jones’ costume in the beginning (it was creative, but the bubble wrap thing threw me for a loop), but by the time the singing started, I was all in. Y’Anna sounded & looked great, the Nashville Super Choir went hard, and it was a solid performance.

Kelly Price & Ledisi – “How Great Thou Art”
From what I hear, BET edited some of the best parts of this performance from the TV broadcast. No matter… even as an edited shadow of itself, the performance was one of the night’s best. These are two of the most gifted female vocalists in the music biz right now. Loved it.

BeBe & CeCe Winans – “Close To You”/”Grace”
I sent a tweet last night that, though I love them, BeBe & CeCe could’ve done a throwback tune for me and I would’ve been thrilled. From a business standpoint, I get it (and they still did a great job)… I’m just even more eager for that reunion tour!

City Of Refuge P.S.A.L.M.S. Choir – “Shout”
I’m not a huge fan of the choir, but they did a great cover of this classic Milton Brunson tune. Lots of energy and a clean look make them stand out. Nice job.

Shirley Caesar – “Celebration”
The First Lady of Gospel always delivers a solid performance. Performing her newest single, she remained consistent and demonstrated that traditional vocals will NEVER go out of style.

James Fortune & FIYA – “I Trust You”
A bit underwhelmed by the use of background vocal tracks instead of live bgv’s until the vamp, but the song is powerful and so was the performance. This group is solidifying itself as a mainstay in the gospel landscape.

Fred Hammond – “They That Wait”
Actually, I wasn’t as interested in this song without John P. Kee being there. Makes me wonder if, in the end, it wasn’t the collabo that made the song so popular. I didn’t necessarily need to see this performance, especially given that he did the opener…

Fantasia & Diane Barrino – “He’s Done Enough”
From the moment she hit the stage, Fantasia’s shoes were off and she was jumpin’. It’s how she does gospel and I LOVE it. I also loved seeing her mama lookin’ like an artist herself… they performed together at the 2009 Chicago GospelFest and on Bobby Jones last season– I could get used to this!

Rance Allen Group – “Something About The Name Jesus”
Watching Rance Allen perform is always an adventure– you never know where the riffs & squalls are gonna come from, but you know they’re coming! It was great to hear him sing this classic tune, but I’m beginning to see less of a need for the “Group.”

Tye Tribbett & G.A. – “So Amazing”
It’s been said that this is the last we’ll see of G.A., as Tye is reportedly disbanding the group (per in-the-know journalist Jawn Murray, who attended a “farewell concert” on New Year’s Eve). If so, this was a nice performance to end their run. The song is good, the energy was what we’ve come to expect… cool deal.

Donnie McClurkin – “We Fall Down”
Donnie continues to demonstrate why there is no substitute for a good song and a solid vocal performance. No frills or gimmicks– just a 10-year-old tune and a vocalist who never really misses. Excellent.

Marvin Sapp – “The Best In Me”
This song was a hit from the moment he sang the first note at his live recording. And you all have been listening to it here for a while now, and lovin’ it. Another dynamic performance from an incredibly gifted singer. Chalk up another one for Marvin Sapp.

Donald Lawrence – “Back II Eden”/”The Best Is Yet To Come”
An awesome finale performance, with the incredible Floyd Wilkinson on the vamp, from the man with the Midas touch. The only thing missing for me was Donald’s group of singers, but I’m just spoiled.

All in all, this show was really great. The tribute to Steve Harvey was heartfelt and touching. And I’ll say this– if some of the greatest ministers of music in our industry come together annually, and interact with non-believers, we’re SUPPOSED to see a change in people. What that says for other annual televised gospel programs, I’m not sure… but it’s encouraging to see what God’s been doing in Steve’s life through Celebration Of Gospel.

Now… WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE SHOW?!

Folks, don’t forget to watch BET’s Celebration Of Gospel this coming Sunday.  It’ll feature your favorite artists– gospel and secular– in what should be a really good hour or two of performances.

Click here if you wanna review the performance roster again.  Celebration Of Gospel airs on BET this Sunday at 8pm ET/7pm CST.

I’m probably most excited to see Yolanda Adams, Fantasia and Diane Barrino, Donald Lawrence, Kelly Price, Ledisi…

Which performances are you most eager to see?

Gospel’s favorite sister duo, Mary Mary, recorded a Christmas special for Gospel Music Channel (GMC) a while back… it’s airing this coming Sunday, at 8pm ET.

Click here to visit GMC’s website and watch a promo clip.

Last year was the first year I had GMC and I was blown away by their original Christmas programming.  From concepts to production, I got all excited for the holidays, in part, because of their Christmas concerts and shows.  It’s the first place that I heard Ledisi performing Christmas tunes (she had her own Christmas special… can y’all re-air THAT?!), it’s the first place that I saw George Huff command an audience’s attention like a seasoned pro (Christmas at Union Station)… just great stuff.

ALL THAT TO SAY, I’m watching.  You?

Word has it that a couple of changes have been made to the initial artist line-up for BET’s Celebration Of Gospel, which will be taped this Saturday in Los Angeles.  Torrence Glenn, of BET.com, announced the changes on his blog yesterday.

It appears that Deborah Cox and Tamia are no longer appearing with Kelly Price, as originally stated (the three of them have an upcoming joint R&B album, The Queen Project)… Kelly will be going it alone.  I’m rather thrilled about that.

Sherri Shepherd, Robin Givens and Ernie Hudson are doing spoken word pieces, hopefully in one segment… no offense to them, but I’m just not big on spoken word.  Is that wrong?

Ledisi has been added to the roster of performing artists, and so has Yolanda Adams– both are absolutely spectacular to watch live, so I’m pretty impressed with BET!

I don’t think the gospel community acknowledges and appreciates Táta Vega like it could.  Not because the industry is being rude… just cuz everyone doesn’t know about the musical treasure that she is.

The entire WORLD knows her voice– she’s the singing voice of Shug Avery in the classic film The Color Purple (remember her singing ”Speak Lord” and “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)”?!).

But before she did THAT, she was a well-known lead vocalist with Andraé Crouch.  She’s got a whimsical performance style and a voice like none other… the only similar contemporary vocalist that comes to mind is Ledisi, in that they both use their entire EXISTENCE to interpret a song, a line, a note… and give you what’s there.

She’s released several solo projects and has provided background vocals for everyone from Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan to Madonna and Stevie Wonder.  You MIGHT have also heard her lead vocals recently on Kirk Whalum’s Gospel According To Jazz Chapter II (“El Todopoderoso”) or Andraé Crouch’s Mighty Wind album (“I Was Glad”).

I couldn’t decide between two videos I wanted to post, so you’re gettin’ both of ‘em.

The first is Táta Vega singing with Andraé Crouch on the classic song “Right Now”:

The second video features Táta singing “Until Jesus Comes”:

Sooooooooo… whatd’ya think?!