Melinda Doolittle, the American Idol alum that impressed the nation with impeccable vocals and a humble heart, released a Christmas tune last week, “God Bless Us Everyone.”
It’s a keeper. Feel-good, warm and classic are all hallmarks of the tune, topped with her heartfelt and passionate vocal delivery.
*runs to pour some eggnog*
In a time when GOOD Christmas music is lacking, and no one is really making classic stuff anymore, this is a must-have.
Make sure you tune in to TBN’s Praise The Lord at 9pm CST tonight to catch gospel’s new family band, Forever Jones, performing songs from their new record, including the hit single “He Wants It All.”
Also on the program will be former American Idol contestants Melinda Doolittle and Bo Bice, as well as southern gospel crooner Jason Crabb.
Who’s tunin’ in???
The 41st annual Dove Awards were taped last night in Nashville, TN at the Grand Ole Opry House. The show, hosted by Natalie Grant and Bart Millard (of MercyMe), featured a who’s-who of artists and execs in Christian music, along with great collaborative performances.
Among the winners in gospel categories were Fred Hammond (Contemporary Gospel Album – Love Unstoppable), Smokie Norful (Traditional Gospel Recorded Song – “Justified”), and Israel Houghton(Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song – “The Power Of One”). There was also a tie between BeBe & CeCe Winans (“Grace”) and Israel Houghton (“I Just Wanna Say”) in the Urban Recorded Song category.
The night was great, featuring key performances by Donald Lawrence & Jason Crabb (in a special tribute to Andraé Crouch), Natalie Grant & Jordin Sparks, TobyMac, BeBe & CeCe Winans, MercyMe, Francesca Battistelli and more. As I mentioned yesterday, I was backstage for much of the preparation and the taping, itself, so I missed seeing a lot of the performances (I could hear ‘em though, and I loved it!).
I’ve also gotta say that I loved the vibe of the show. Everyone seemed like one big family and I didn’t see too many of those “gotta-hold-it-together-for-the-camera, but-I’m-really-mad-that-I-didn’t-win” faces.
All in all, the evening was great fun. Backstage, I got a chance to speak with Natalie Grant, Donald Lawrence & The Co., Wess Morgan, Brian Courtney Wilson, Calvin Nowell, B. Reith, Mandisa, Melinda Doolittle, TobyMac, Casting Crowns, Tony LeBron, Britt Nicole… I KNOW I’m forgetting folks. 
Sorrrrry…
If you don’t know who some of the above-noted folks are, tell me so I can feature them for you QUICKLY. And I think I’m gonna write an editorial soon, cuz I’ve got something else to say… stay tuned.
For a full list of winners, head over to gmc’s official website.
The show will air this Sunday, April 25th, at 8pm ET/7 CST exclusively on gmc.
Watchin’???
As you’ve gotta know by now, Y’Anna Crawley was crowned Sunday Best on BET last night! Whooo hooooooooooooo!!! If you recall, I called that one (despite my oft-proclaimed love of Jessica’s artistry). Congrats to you, Y’Anna! BIG things are in store.
I guess this is my last recap until next season. You ready? Let’s go get ‘em. 
The show opened with Kirk talking about the car they’d win, but I was just anxious to see some good singin’. Right after the first commercial break, Donald Lawrence & Co. took to the stage with their hit single, “Back II Eden.” LOVED IT. First, they sounded and looked great (of course). But by the time Floyd Wilkinson took the mic for the vamp, I nearly lost it. That dude sounded like a trillion bucks and he brought his game, for real. I want a D. Lawrence tour– who do I have to talk to???
As if THAT wasn’t enough, Y’Anna and Jessica followed with a performance of New Edition’s classic R&B song, “Can You Stand The Rain.” WHAT?! At first, I was like “who would’ve thought to do this,” but as my boy, Al, reminded me: The Murrills just re-made it on their debut album, Family Prayer. In any event, Y’Anna and Jessica sang it like they owned it– great job.
Next came individual performances from Y’Anna (“Encourage Yourself”) and Jessica (“I Surrender All”). Both performances were great, of course. Y’Anna was noticeably hoarse, but she’s a pro– she pulled through and still gave a great performance. Jessica gave her all, as usual, and had BeBe and Erica crying so tough that they couldn’t gather the words to comment on it.
The “concert” continued with BeBe & CeCe Winans reuniting on stage with new music for the first time in yeeeeaaaars (note: I say “new music,” cuz they reunited to perform “Hold Up The Light” with Melinda Doolittle on American Idol in 2007). The performed their single, “Close To You,” from their forthcoming, highly anticipated reunion album.
It was GREAT to see them together again. They sounded amazing (both have age-less, classic voices that I can listen to day-in, day-out). Someone on Twitter (follow me!) said that they didn’t really play off of each other that well this time, but I think they just haven’t done it in a while… it’ll be SOOOO on point by the time they start their Reunion Tour!
Finally, Kirk announced that Y’Anna won the competition.
And I wrote that as anticlimactically as it occurred on the show, which brings me to an important note…
A lot of people expressed EXTREME disappointment over the fact that the entire season was taped in less than two weeks, including the finale (two versions of it were taped, one with each finalist winning, and our votes determined which version would air). People said “but, it should be live like American Idol,” or “it takes away some of the excitement.” And I said “well, let’s just wait and see… it should still be emotional for the ladies.”
When the announcement was made, both Jessica and Y’Anna looked as casual as if they were being selected for softball teams. No tears, no shaking, no arms waving in praise… I needed SOMEbody to fall out!
Hear me clearly: I do not fault THEM for that. I think they gave as much of a “real” expression as they could, considering that one had to conjur up excitement and the other had to fabricate disappointment, then flip it and re-record it again… but that’s the magic of television for ya! 
Y’Anna closed the show out with her upcoming single, “I Promise,” produced by Buster & Shavoni (ain’t heard from y’all in a minute!). From Twitter to text messages, I think we AAAALLLL screamed out “this is like a BRANDY track!” And it soooooooo coulda been– but Yannie’s got this one… and I’m glad to hear it.
What did you all think of the finale?!
FOLKS, don’t forget that the Dove Awards are airing LIVE tomorrow night at 8pm ET on the Gospel Music Channel.
I’m excited for the performances, with Mary Mary opening (how cool is THAT?!), immediately followed by Kierra Sheard (I smell a medley comin’). Plus, Jonathan Nelson is slated to perform, and I still rock to “My Name Is Victory” like it came out last week.
Set your DVRs and VCRs and what not… it should be good!
Plus, heads-up: GMC is airing a special documentary, From Idol to Inspiration, which discusses Christian contestants on American Idol, featuring interviews from Mandisa, Melinda Doolittle and others. It comes on at 7pm ET, before the Doves. Tune in!
