I love great music.  Even more, I love a great live performance.  You’ve GOT TO be able to sing to pull it off and, if you can’t, it shows.

This year, a lot of great live performances were captured and broadcast across the nation.  Then, folks uploaded ‘em to YouTube.

Here are my 5 FAVORITE televised performances of 2009, in order:

5.  Donnie McClurkin & Karen Clark Sheard - “Wait On The Lord” at the 2009 Stellar Awards
The first single from Donnie McClurkin’s anticipated project did not disappoint. Aside from being a soaring ballad with an encouraging message, it featured one of the greatest voices the gospel industry has ever heard– that of Karen Clark Sheard. The duo gave one of the most thrilling performances of this year’s Stellar Awards telecast, with Karen soaring into the rafters in a way that any music lover could appreciate (and die-hard KCS fans were simply drooling over).

4. Kirk Franklin, Myrna Summers, Milton Biggham - Tribute To Rev. Timothy Wright at the 2009 Stellar Awards
At the time, the late Rev. Timothy Wright’s health was on a roller coaster– good days followed by bad ones. Kirk Franklin produced a moving segment, blending some of his hits with classic songs from the incomparable “Godfather Of Gospel Music.” With featured appearances by Myrna Summers and Rev. Milton Biggham, Kirk’s set was an incredible tribute to an incredible man.

3.  Fantasia & Diane Barrino - “He’s Done Enough” on Bobby Jones Gospel
Everyone knows that Fantasia was ACTUALLY s’posed to have signed a gospel contract win she won American Idol. But 2009 finally brought a bunch of gospel performance opps for her and gospel consumers cannot get enough of her. In every case, her signature singin’ and squallin’ brought audiences to their feet and prompted one recurring question from gospel consumers - “when is FANTASIA gonna do a gospel album?!”

It kinda all began in the beginning of the year, when she was featured on BET’s Bobby Jones Gospel, with her mother, Diane Barrino. She ministered like a seasoned pro and gave a performance like only she can.  Even more, she took the topic of her salvation off the table (though, it shouldn’t have been there to begin with) and demonstrated a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

2. Jessica Reedy - “Brighter Day” on BET’s Sunday Best
In my opinion, it was the most incredible performance of the entire season of BET’s Sunday Best.  Jessica stepped from possible underdog to frontrunner with one sweet, flawless, jazzy arrangement of Kirk Franklin’s “Brighter Day.” Channeling the style and finesse of Anita Baker, Jessica utterly floored the judges, Kirk Franklin and the viewing nation.

Though she’s not signed to a record deal yet, she promised ME she’d do her best to re-record THIS cut for her debut album.

1. Kim Burrell - “Bless Me (Prayer Of Jabez)” at the 2009 BMI Trailblazers Of Gospel Awards
Each year, one of the greatest events during Stellar Awards weekend is the BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Awards, at which gospel greats are honored with an award and tribute performances that are second to none. The most gifted vocalists and musicians in the industry participate and, often, attendees can only describe how good the show was by shaking their head in disbelief.

Enter Gospel Music Channel, which secured the rights to nationally broadcast the event for the first time. And what a year to do so– Kim Burrell performed “Bless Me (Prayer Of Jabez)” in tribute to honoree Donald Lawrence. The rest can only be stated by watching the video. LOL

Of course, I couldn’t pinpoint all of the great performances… there were too many.  From Celebration Of Gospel, to the Stellar Awards, BMI Trailblazers Of Gospel Awards and Sunday Best, we saw some dynamic performances from some of the world’s most gifted musicians.

Which TV performances made your list of faves?

The International Gospel Music Hall Of Fame (IGMHF) has announced its 2009 inductees– Bishop T.D. Jakes, BeBe Winans, Myrna Summers, Willie Mae Ford Smith, Bill “The Mailman” Martin and Wyatt T. Walker.

The induction and awards ceremony will be held in Detroit, MI on Saturday, October 31st.  This year marks the 13th anniversary of the organization.  For more details, visit http://www.igmhf.org.

To me, this was one of the greatest performances at this year’s Stellar Awards… all of us in the audience were on our feet, celebrating the great legacy of gospel music from Rev. Timothy Wright.

Kirk Franklin led the tribute, which also featured Myrna Summers and Rev. Milton Biggham. Enjoy: