Little movement in Billboard’s top 5 this week, with the exception of Mary Mary’s return to the mix, from the #6 spot to the #5 spot.

Other than that, WOW Gospel 2010 is still at #1, followed by BeBe & CeCe Winans, James Fortune & FIYA, and Tamela Mann at #2, #3, and #4 respectively.

Other than that, things are pretty… simple.

Just wanted to write a quick post to let you guys know that, as some predicted, BeBe & CeCe Winans won the NAACP Image Award on Friday night for “Outstanding Gospel Album,” for their reunion project, Still.

Also, as I joked but didn’t really EXPECT to happen, Mary Mary won “Outstanding Song” for “God In Me.”  The chart-topping single was up against Maxwell’s “Bad Habits” and “Pretty Wings,” Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It” and Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind.”  And the Marys won.  That’s HUGE for them.  Whoo hoooo, ladies!

Side note–  Tamela Mann gave an awesome performance of her single, “Joy Of The Lord,” in tribute to Tyler Perry, who was honored with the Chairman’s Award.  She looked great and sounded great.

I’m more than a little miffed that the dude from the movie Precious arrograntly refused to stop speaking when they kept giving cues to do so– it meant that the LIVE telecast was cut off, and we only got to see the first verse and chorus of Mary Mary performing “God In Me,” which was the show’s finale, of sorts.

It’s like… this ain’t the Oscars, buddy.  The network isn’t gonna delay their scheduled programming for your speech or, as much as I love it, for the NAACP Image Awards.  And, as my wife pointed out, you made the Marys have to stand in position while you gave your lil’ speech– one is 8 months pregnant and the other had laryngitis.  Don’t mess with our Marys, dude!

*glaring at him, then realizing that I’m too invested in this*

Oh well.  Maybe he’ll send them a lil’ written apology for that move– maybe I’ll start a petition to encourage it. LOL  Kidding.  I’m sooooooo not writing anything else about this… I’m just sayin’.

Who else watched?  What did you think?

Is it just me, or is gospel the only genre that allows (maybe expects, and even demands) artists’ names to follow the format of “So-And-So” & “Such-And-Such”?

Think about it… Jonathan Nelson & Purpose, Myron Butler & Levi, DeWayne Woods & When Singers Meet…

But it didn’t just start happening… there was Israel & New Breed, Kirk Franklin & The Family, Fred Hammond & Radical For Christ…

And before them, Richard Smallwood & Vision, Walter Hawkins & The Hawkins Family, Andraé Crouch & The Disciples…

And let’s not forget the choirs– Hezekiah Walker & LFC, Ricky Dillard & New G, John P Kee & New Life, Milton Brunson & The Tommies, O’landa Draper & The Associates…

Understand this– my absolute ALL-TIME FAVORITE gospel artists are mentioned above, so I’m not mad at their names at all.  Love you guys and you KNOW it!

I definitely think the the name choices make sense– ours is the only genre with the artist format of frontmen backed by an ensemble or a choir.

But I’d be lying if I said it isn’t refreshing when I hear creative names like Mary Mary, Excelsior, 21:03 and Mali Music.

In short, it’s not a good or bad thing, just… a thing.  A gospel thing.

Anyone noticed???

Word has it that Tina & Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) will be performing on the NAACP Image Awards tonight.  As I mentioned yesterday, the awards show will be broadcast live from L.A. on FOX tonight at 8pm ET.

According to a Twitter message sent by Erica Campbell yesterday, the gospel duo are seeking prayers for their performance tonight– “Tina has laryngitis n I’m 8mo pregnant, pray 4 MM!!”

Geeeeeeez.  I dunno how they do it, but they do it.  Touch ‘em, Lawd!

Don’t forget to tune-in to FOX tomorrow night, February 26th, at 8pm ET for the LIVE broadcoast of the NAACP’s 41st annual Image Awards.  The nominees, announced in January, for “Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)” are:

Donnie McClurkin - We All Are One
Shirley Caesar - A City Called Heaven
Fred Hammond - Love Unstoppable
BeBe & CeCe Winans - Still
Vickie Winans - How I Got Over

As I predicted earlier, I’m banking on BeBe & CeCe for this one.  Also, don’t forget that Mary Mary is nominated in the “Outstanding Song” category (the overall category, not the gospel one)… dunno if they’ll win that one, but given the favor on them lately, I can’t say I’d be surprised.  Yay Marys! LOL

To see a full list of nominees, click here.

You tuning-in???

The charts have such little activity right now, I nearly didn’t wanna look at ‘em.  And I definitely didn’t feel like typing it… but I shall.

The top 7 albums are in precisely the same spots that they were in last week…

WOW Gospel 2010 is #1, BeBe & CeCe Winans are #2, James Fortune & FIYA’s Encore is #3, Tamela Mann’s The Master Plan is #4 and Fred Hammond is #5 with Love Unstoppable, Mary Mary sits at #6 and Hezekiah Walker & LFC at #7.

Brian Courtney Wilson’s Just Love gets bumped up to #8 from its #9 spot last week.  And Vickie Winans makes a huuuuge leap, from #22 to #9 this week.  I’m assuming that’s from her appearance last week on The Mo’Nique Show on BET.

The next album to shake things up will be Marvin Sapp’s Here I Am, hitting stores in just 3 weeks, on March 16th.  But, stay close to me, folks… some of you are gonna receive it before then…

The nominees for the 41st annual Dove Awards were announced on Thursday.

Natalie Grant and Bart Millard will host the awards show on April 21st.  Unlike last year, the awards will not be broadcast live– they will air on gmc on Sunday, April 25, 2010 from 8pm-10pm EST.

There are 43 categories and you guys don’t know most of the names in ‘em, so I’m not typing it all… sorry.  BUT, you can visit http://www.gmclife.com/41st-dove-award-nominees for the full list.

In the meantime, a quick recap of some of the folks you’ll find there:

Donnie McClurkin, Israel Houghton, Melinda Watts, Freddy Washington, Brian Courtney Wilson, Mali Music, Vickie Winans, Smokie Norful, Mary Mary, Crystal Aikin, Bishop Paul Morton, Hezekiah Walker, Heather Headley, Mandisa, B. Reith, Fred Hammond, Group 1 Crew, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., BeBe & CeCe Winans… see, there are just too many to name!

Ok, more Dove Awards info and discussion as the time draws nigh.  Until then, tell me what you think about the nominee list!

Has everyone seen the music video for the “We Are The World” remake by now?

It features a bunch of artists, including BeBe Winans and Mary Mary.  BeBe grabs a verse on the song, while the ladies of Mary Mary get ad libs GALORE and a lot of camera time (in fact, you can see ‘em on the still screenshot below). They’re EVERYWHERE! LOL

What did you think of the remake?

Word has it that “Be U,” the new book from gospel duo Mary Mary, will be available in stores on April 6, 2010.

You might consider the book to represent the launch of an entire Be U brand that the Marys are doing, which will include a bath & body line as well as apparel.

I believe that the inspirational book will be available on paperback and in digital form on Simon & Schuster.  Peep the book cover below:

Whatd’ya think???

Check your local PBS listings to catch In Performance At The White House: A Celebration Of Music From The Civil Rights Movement TONIGHT (in most cities, at 8pm ET/7pm CST).

Yolanda Adams was among those fortunate enough to sing before President Obama in the Civil Rights concert celebration.  She performed Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” to an audience in the White House’s East Room.  PBS has already posted some of the performances on YouTube.

Personally, I’m not thrilled with the song choice– I generally think of this song as one intended for a gravely male voice, not a pure, clean and soaring voice like Yolanda’s.  But after just a short time, she definitely captivated the audience with her sound and her message.  Something about the tune even made Mr. President snuggle up with the Mrs. about 1 minute in (I just LOVE them!).

Other performances came from Jennifer Hudson & Smokey Robinson (”People Get Ready” - click here to watch it), the Blind Boys Of Alabama, Bob Dylan, Seal, Natalie Cole and more.

It looks like the same house band that played last year when Mary Mary performed at The White House in tribute to Stevie Wonder (which would also be the house band of American Idol).  Musical direction is coming from Rickey Minor and I think I spotted Teddy Campbell (husband of Tina Campbell, from Mary Mary) on the drums.  So, you see… all things come back to Mary Mary. LOL

Okay, tune in tonight to catch the full performance.  I’m just thrilled that President Obama hosts so many great concerts and parties… wonder why he didn’t invite me… must’ve gotten lost in the mail.  It’s cool.