The nominees for the 26th annual Stellar Awards were announced on Saturday in Nashville, TN during a live telecast on gmc, hosted by Donnie McClurkin and featuring performances by Jessica Reedy, VaShawn Mitchell, Lucinda Moore, Joe Pace and more.

The show takes place on Saturday, January 15, 2011 in Nashville, TN. It will be hosted by Donnie McClurkin, alone, serving as the first time that the show has been hosted by only one person. Also, in honor of Albertina Walker, the “Female Vocalist of the Year” category will be forever named the “Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year” award.

The following are the recipients of the special awards:

Donald Lawrence will receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award
Kirk Franklin will receive the Thomas Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award
Vanessa Bell Armstrong will receive the Dr. Bobby Jones Legend Award

And the nominees are…

Artist of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans
Fred Hammond
James Fortune & FIYA
Marvin Sapp

Song of the Year
“Close to You” | BeBe Winans
“They That Wait” | Fred Hammond, Calvin Rodgers, Phillip Feaster, Ericka Warren, Michael Bethany and Dynna Wells
“Encore” | James Fortune, C. Fortune and T. Vaughn
“Best In Me” | Marvin Sapp

Choir of the Year
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
James Hall & Voices of Citadel
Victory Cathedral Choir
Wilmington Chester Mass Choir

New Artist of the Year
Forever Jones
Kristina Halloway
Travis Greene
Victory Cathedral Choir

CD of the Year
Fred Hammond | Love Unstoppable
J. Moss | Just James
James Fortune & FIYA | Encore
Marvin Sapp | Here I Am

Producer of the Year
Aaron Lindsey for Here I Am
Donald Lawrence for The Experience
Fred Hammond for Love Unstoppable
James Fortune, Terrance Vaughn and Ayron Lewis for Encore

Female Vocalist of the Year
CeCe Winans
Karen Clark Sheard
Lucinda Moore
Tamela Mann

Male Vocalist of the Year
Byron Cage
Fred Hammond
J. Moss
Marvin Sapp

Group/Duo of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans
Forever Jones
James Fortune & FIYA
The Anointed Pace Sisters

Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year
Byron Cage
Fred Hammond
J. Moss
James Fortune

Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year
Alvin Darling
Darrell Hines
Marvin Sapp
Marvin Winans

Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year
CeCe Winans
Karen Clark Sheard
Lisa Page Brooks
Tamela Mann

Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year
Fredericka Faison
Lucinda Moore
Shirley Caesar
Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Traditional CD of the Year
James Hall & Voices of Citadel | Won’t It Be Wonderful
Marvin Sapp | Here I Am
Shirley Caesar | A City Called Heaven
Vanessa Bell Armstrong | The Experience

Contemporary CD of the Year
BeBe and CeCe Winans | Still
Fred Hammond | Love Unstoppable
J.Moss | Just James
James Fortune and FIYA | Encore

Contemporary Choir of the Year
God’s Little Soldiers International
Myron Butler & Levi
Youth for Christ
Youthful Praise featuring J.J. Hairston

Traditional Choir of the Year
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
James Hall & Voices of Citadel
Victory Cathedral Choir
Wilmington Chester Mass Choir

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans
Forever Jones
James Fortune and FIYA
Trin-i-tee 5:7

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
James Greer & Company
The Anointed Pace Sisters
The Christian Angels
The Mighty Clouds of Joy

Quartet of the Year
Reverend F.C. Barnes & Company
The Christian Angels
The Golden Wings Quartet
The Mighty Clouds of Joy

Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
DJ Official | Entermission
Everyday Process | Outtadisworld
Sho Baraka | Lions and Liars
Trip Lee | Between Two Worlds

Music Video of the Year
BeBe and CeCe Winans | “Close to You”
Kirk Whalum | “Make Me a Believer”
Shirley Caesar | “Playground In Heaven”
The Anointed Pace Sisters | “If I Be Lifted Up”

Urban Inspirational Performance of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans | “Still”
Forever Jones | “Get Ready”
James Fortune & FIYA | “Encore”
Marvin Sapp | “Here I Am”

Recorded Music Packaging of the Year
Cameron Hilson and Mark Neubauer for Get Ready
Denise Trotman for Here I Am
Derek Blanks and Ken Barboza for Still
Jeff Gilligan for Love Unstoppable

Praise and Worship CD of the Year
Darwin Hobbs | Darwin Hobbs Live: Champion
James Fortune & FIYA | Encore
Phil Tarver | Place of Worship
The Anointed Pace Sisters | Access Granted

Children’s Project of the Year
God’s Little Soldiers International | Soldier Story
Kingdom Kids Worldwide | Kingdom Kids Worldwide Volume 1
The Velasquez Family Singers | While We Still Have Time
Youth for Christ | Thanks In Advance

Special Event CD of the Year
BeBe and CeCe Winans | Still
Kirk Franklin | Are You Listening
Various Artists | CoCo Brother Live Presents Stand 2010
Various Artists | WOW Gospel 2010

What do you guys think of the nominees???

I noticed that Marvin Winans was listed on the final round ballot for a 2011 Stellar Award (I think for Male Vocalist of the Year) for THIS song, THIS recording.

Dunno if he’ll win, but it’s definitely a worthy performance, in my humble and completely unbiased opinion (OMG… MARVIN WINANS IS ONE OF THE BEST SINGERS TO EVER ENTER GOSPEL MUSIC).

This isn’t the full performance, as it cuts to the finale with some other incredible vocalists including Darrell Hines and the incomparable Walter Hawkins.  No matter, anyhow. By the end, I’m just about torn up.

Thoughts???

Just a great throwback video (GOTTA be from the 80s, given those shoulder pads and puffy pants) featuring Marvin Winans and Vickie Winans singing the Winans hit “Ain’t No Need To Worry.”

Stumbled upon this randomly, but I enjoyed it. They’re BOTH some singing folks and the tune is classic!

Whatcha think???

I love this song more than I can express– it’s just classic to me.

This isn’t the original performance, but it’s great all the same.  It’s “Jesus Saves” by Marvin Winans and the Perfected Praise Choir, and this particular video features Vickie Winans on guest vocals, too!

How about that?!

Ran across this video of Marvin Winans while preparing to post a different one…

I’m sayin’ this in the most secure-within-myself way I know how– something about that man’s voice just drives me bananas!  It’s like butter.  Or like velvet.  Whatever it is, it’s dope.

On this video, Marvin Winans is singing his single, “I Still Believe,” from his solo debut album, Alone But Not Alone.  The track is waaaay too low for this performance, so the mix is almost ALL lead vocal…

I know that’s not ideal, sound-wise, but goodie goodie for us– we get to hear even MORE of the vocal nuances and tricks that make him who he is.

Check it out–

GEEEEEEZ. Whatd’ya think?!

A couple of weeks ago, GospelPundit.com contributing writer Mia Paylor wrote her first editorial in her new series, Purchase Or Pass, regarding Jason Champion.  You guys loved it so much (and so did I), that I figured we need to hear from Mia again, sooner than later.

So, without delay, here’s Mia’s… policy… on purchasing music. *giggling*

*     *     *

Jesus said we should forgive 77 times. But at $10 each, I can’t afford to forgive $770 worth of disappointing CDs!  Once I hit $20, you’re CUT from my “MUST BUY” list. My most common disappointment is unmet expectations…and my most recent encounter with it involves Byron Cage.

Byron Cage’s self-titled GospoCentric debut is a CLASSIC. With production headed by Kurt Carr, this CD impacted how Praise & Worship was done…PERIOD. What praise team didn’t sing “The Presence of the Lord is Here”…and beg to cut at least two modulations?! The power of God, a seamless flow from high praise to reverent worship, top-notch background vocals, and well-written, perfectly arranged…very church-friendly songs were all present on this CD. Surely, I’d get more releases like this from Byron. My expectations were sealed!

Already familiar with Isaiah Thomas’ “I Will Bless the Lord”, I didn’t rush out to buy Byron’s 2005 release, An Invitation to Worship (produced by PAJAM). After hearing “We Love You”, which sounds like Byron’s a featured guest on J. Moss’ song, I opted to pass on it altogether. Both songs were nice. I just couldn’t imagine how they fit together on the same CD.

But, I did purchase Byron’s 2007 release, Live at the Apollo (also produced by PAJAM), when I found out Kim Burrell was featured on it. It had its highlights…specifically, “Royalty”, “Anyhow” and “If You Never.”  But, where did the seamless flow go? Where were the well-written, church-friendly Praise & Worship songs?

So, this time, my good friend, Cynthia Jones (make-up artist extraordinaire), had to convince me to give Bryon’s most recent release, Faithful to Believe (produced by Aaron Lindsey), a listen. She said that she shared my reservations initially, gave it a shot anyway and was pleased with the CD.

So, I downloaded it…and it’s definitely a step up from the last two releases. “I Give You Praise” is a nice Praise & Worship song. “Simply Yes” and “I Can’t Hold It” are soul-stirring choir selections. And “Lord, You are My Everything”, with Karen Clark-Sheard and Pastor Marvin Winans, is a churchy treat. But, WHERE, OH WHERE is the PLETHORA of songs that praise teams everywhere MUST learn? And why are the background vocals lacking precision?

If Byron hadn’t been marketed as “The PRINCE of Praise”, I’d be at peace with my post Byron Cage purchases. Instead, I’m longing to have my princely expectations met. If my expectations were set in error, tell me!

Artists should use the formula that catapulted their recording career while preparing to record subsequent projects. I think that would decrease the likelihood that CD-buying supporters will be disappointed with what an artist offers as it relates to their future CDs style, flow, lyrics, and overall production.

I’m willing to purchase Byron’s future projects. But, first, I have a question. What should I expect from a Byron Cage CD?! Depending on the answer, I’ll ignore my $20 cut-off limit, tweak my expectations accordingly and prepare to buy the next release.

*     *     *

I hear you, Mia.  I will say that I enjoy his most recent release more than his previous two… but there’s nothing like that first one on GospoCentric!

What do you folks think?

Will this song EVER get old?  No, no no no no no…

This particular performance of The Winans’ “The Question Is” is from an annual Christmas event that takes place in Chicago called Christmas Glory.  The late, but great Ron Winans isn’t with them at this point, but the performance is still awesome.

Whatd’ya think???

YES… SUH!

That’s pretty much all you wanna say in response to “It’s All God,” the new single from the Soul Seekers, featuring Pastor Marvin Winans.

I added it to the PunditPlayer a few weeks ago, but they just released the video for it (from their live recording) and it’s even BETTER to listen when ya watch it!!!

Is that vocal performance an instant classic or what?!

I just love hearing Marvin Winans sing.  And this is one of those “wish-I-was-there” type of moments– it just looks like they had a GREAT sing-along type of time.

PAJAM featured this video on YouTube.  It features Marvin Winans singing Fred Hammond’s “You Are The Living Word,” before transitioning to “Stand” (for which he brings out Donnie McClurkin and J Moss).

Check it out:

Whatd’ya think?!

I heard that the first single from contemporary quartet The Soul Seekers would feature Pastor Marvin Winans, and I knew it would be incredible on that basis alone.

The track, “It’s All God,” does not disappoint.  It features a simple melody, tight harmonies, great instrumentation, and guest vocals from the incomparable Marvin L. Winans.

For your listening pleasure, I’ve added the track to the PunditPlayer.  Click here to take a listen!

In February, I reported that the album, titled SS2, would be in stores on May 4th, but I think it might have been pushed back a lil’ bit.  Once I hear, I’ll let ya know.

In the meantime, lemme know what you think!!!