Word has it that Marvin Sapp took home a BET Award last night– he won in the category for Best Gospel Artist.  I think we all called this one and could’ve seen it comin’ a mile away.  But I’m THRILLED for him!

Also nominated in the category were Vickie Winans, Kirk Franklin presents Artists United (for Haiti Relief song), Tamela Mann and The Anointed Pace Sisters.

By the way, did anyone catch the show???

An obvious highlight for the gospel industry was Kirk Franklin’s performance of “Are You Listening?” with Fred Hammond, Marvin Sapp, Kim Burrell, Yolanda Adams and Karen Clark Sheard.  Everyone was in great voice and looked great and all that.  I could’ve used a BIT more Karen Clark Sheard on the ad libs– but couldn’t we all?

But before all that happened, we had another dope-for-gospel type of moment. I was thrilled to hear Alicia Keys, in the middle of her medley of hits, introduce Kim Burrell, who joined Keys in singing “If I Ain’t Got You” (Burrell changed the lyrics to say ”if it ain’t you, Jesus… if I ain’t got you, Jesus…”).  It was an incredible moment– the audience went BANANAS as if they, too, were die-hard Kim fans since the days of her indie release of Try Me Again (y’know, with the short haircut on it).  I’m glad for where God’s taking her.

(An aside: El DeBarge wasn’t doing gospel, but that medley ministered to my VERY SOUL, so… yeah.  Just needed to say that cuz I grew up on DeBarge.)

OKAY, tell me what you thought of the show, if you caught it, and blah blah blah…

Go!

The nominees for the 10th annual BET Awards were announced yesterday.  The awards program recognizes the gospel genre in its Best Gospel Artist category.  This year, nods in that category go to:

Marvin Sapp
The Anointed Pace Sisters
Kirk Franklin Presents Artists United For Haiti
Tamela Mann
Vickie Winans

Happy about Marvin Sapp, thrilled for the Pace Sisters (project was slept on– read my review for more info), satisfied about Tamela Mann and Vickie Winans.  I dunno that the Haiti relief project should’ve been nominated.  Don’t get me wrong– I love everything that it is, was and ever stood for… I just dunno that it should be put in the Best Gospel Artist category.  Are we saying that, merely for being there, the participants are “the best” this year?

For me, this list is missing BeBe & CeCe Winans.  After a 15-year hiatus, gospel’s most famous duo returns with the highest album debut of 2009, sales that kept them at #1 on the gospel chart for MONTHS, plus media exposure that included a performance on Oprah… and they’re not even nominated?  What must one DO?!  I don’t get the nominations criteria.

I wouldn’t be the only one, of course, as nominations are doled out by a select and secret committee comprised of… well, we’re not really told who.  By the way, what’s with awards shows not telling us who’s doing all the awardin’?!

In any case, I’m predicting Marvin Sapp on this one.  And after a record-breaking debut across all genres of music a couple of months ago, I think he deserves it.

This year’s BET Awards will be hosted by Queen Latifah and will be broadcast live from L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, June 27th at 8pm ET/7pm CST on BET.

What do you think of the nominees???

Make sure you guys tune-in to Bobby Jones Gospel on BET this Sunday at 9am ET.

The Pace Sisters will be singing the “If I Be Lifted Up,” lead single from their latest album, Access Granted.  They’ll also perform “He’s Here.”

As if I haven’t raved enough over this album, I STRONGLY encourage you all to check out their performance and buy the project.  It’s dope.

It’s rare that I pass on doing a CD review, then fall so helplessly in love with a project that I change my mind.  The Anointed Pace Sisters’ latest project, Access Granted, was one such CD and this, the debut album of Smokie Norful’s Victory Cathedral Choir, is another.

The album, Smokie Norful Presents Victory Cathedral Choir (EMI Gospel), was released this Tuesday and, in a nutshell, I’m loving it.  BIG TIME.  Song after song, this project delivers classic choir music that will fit well into the 11am service at anybody’s church.  From choir vocals, to lead vocals, to songwriting and production, the project is a must-have that does not disappoint.

While Smokie Norful is responsible for “presenting” his church choir, I’m glad that it doesn’t feel at all like a Smokie Norful album.  In fact, you’ll only remember that he’s involved with it two times– on the two songs he leads.  Everything else screams “Chicago old school choir” like Milton Brunson & The Tommies or something.

The album opens with the invitational chant “Rejoice” before moving to the band-banging “Come Too Far,” led by Norful.  The vibe slows a bit with “Your Latter,” with a lead vocalist slightly reminiscent of Kim McFarland.

Up next is the shout-ready single, “The Greatest Name,” followed by “You’re All I Need,” a beautiful choral piece that almost sounds like it could have been recorded by Richard Smallwood & Vision.  The worship ballad “You Are Holy” comes next, set delicately to a beautiful piano with an equally beautiful lead vocal over it.  From there, the cohesive project continues to moves seamlessly, from Smokie Norful’s lead on the downright churchy “I’m Still Here,” to “Refuge” and “Just Knowing Jesus.”

The project ends with what might be my favorite track on the album (and which, in my humble opinion, might have been a better single), “I Made It.”  The precise syncopation of the band, choir and lead vocalist on this classic churchy, hand-clapping tune… it’s Sunday morning in all of the right ways.

I think what I like most about this project is that it’s an ode to the true church choir.  It reminds of the days when choir soloists were content to sing their song on Sunday and go back to their 9-to-5 during the week.  The fact that they could sing the walls down at church didn’t make them want to be national recording artists– they were content to serve in their local body.  And serve WELL.

That rant will be for another post, but in the meantime– click here to purchase this project!

I added the single, “The Greatest Name,” to the PunditPlayer several weeks ago (click here to listen again).

Anybody else have this incredible album yet?  Anybody gonna check it out???

The latest project from The Anointed Pace Sisters, titled Access Granted, is a collection of music that has utterly snatched my attention from among the other recent releases in my collection.  And I’d be remiss in my duties here if I didn’t urge you to check it out.

With more than masterful production from Alex Asaph Ward, the sisters provide tight and intricate vocal harmonies with powerful lead vocals on every track.  Recorded live recently in Atlanta, Access Granted captures an energy-packed experience well worth a purchase.

After opening with a brief musical overture of some of The Anointed Pace Sisters’ hits over the years (i.e., “Jesus Be A Fence” and “Safety Zone”), the album launches into the melodic “A Friend,” before settling at the beautiful worship ballad “Daily.”

The project moves seamlessly into “Finally,” a jazzy groove with a driving churchy vamp that transitions well into the next track, “Praise And Worship” (one of my personal favorites because of the complex harmonies and intense band hits).

Proving that the ladies can dominate in any genre, they lay their vocals to “Jesus Will (Do It Again),” a track prepped and primed for a traditional Sunday morning worship service, before sweetly finessing the inspiring “It’s My Time To Blessed.”  The album continues to impress through the end, with tracks like “Get In His Presence” and the hit single “If I Be Lifted Up.”

The greatest hurdle that I see the sisters having is one that has less to do with their music and more to do with their artistry– it’s one of branding.  With eight sisters in the group, consumers may have a difficult time connecting with any one of them and, as a result, with the sum of them.  It would be nice to know more about them as individuals, rather than simply as one group.  But as far as the music is concerned (and that’s what I’m actually reviewing here), you won’t want for much more than The Anointed Pace Sisters have given.

As a final note, I want to point out an obvious, but oft-undiscussed trend in our industry.  Gospel consumers don’t always seem willing to make room in the industry for multiple types of similar artists.  Such is the case as it relates to the concept of a group of sisters, with similar tones, who sing in unison, then split into harmony.  The average consumer might say “like the Clark Sisters do?”  But the reality is that we can’t allow any artist to have the corner market on a certain style of artistry, especially when God doesn’t dole out grace in limited portions.  As evidenced by the Clark Sisters, the Pace Sisters, the Nevels Sisters, and others, excellence abounds in our industry, in this particular style.  Let’s support all of ‘em.

*steps off of soapbox*

Buy the album.  You will adore it.  Click here to check it out.

Major congrats to Byron Cage, whose new album, Faithful To Believe, debuted at #3 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart!

The latest albums from BeBe & CeCe Winans and Fred Hammond remain at their #1 and #2 spots, respectively.  Likewise, Mary Mary’s The Sound holds its #4 position.

The Whispers’ debut gospel project, Thankful, drops from #3 to #5, while The Anointed Pace Sisters (#5 last week) drop to the #11 spot.

Though BeBe & CeCe Winans remain at the top spot with their reunion project, Still, a couple of new projects debuted in the top 5 of Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart this week.

The Whispers debut gospel project, Thankful, enters the marketplace at the #3 position, moving Mary Mary’s album, The Sound, to the #4 slot.

Finally, the newest project from The Anointed Pace Sisters, Access Granted, debuted at #5 on the sales chart, bumping Hezekiah Walker’s Souled Out to the #6 position.

Love Unstoppable, the newest project from Fred Hammond, remains at the #2 spot.  Vickie Winans’ How I Got Over drops from #4 to #12.

I do not have the new project from The Whispers, but with production from Fred Hammond, it’s probably got some good tracks on there.

What I DO have, however, is this Pace Sisters project and it’s got some reeeaaaaallly awesome production (Asaph Ward), good songwriting, and tight vocals and harmonies.  Hadn’t planned to review it, but they’ve swayed me.  Stay tuned for it…

Anybody pick up The Whispers’ or The Anointed Pace Sisters’ projects?

Yesterday, a new video was posted on TyscotTV, the YouTube channel for Tyscot Records.  It’s the concept video for the Anointed Pace Sisters’ new song, “If I Be Lifted Up.”

The track is the first single from their upcoming album, Access Granted, which is due in stores this fall.  I’m LOVIN’ the song cuz these sisters are SINGING (as usual).

Lemme know what you think!

It’s no secret that the women of Zie’l are vocal powerhouses.  They have great voices and use intricate harmonies, which explains why they’re so frequently compared to the Clark Sisters and the Pace Sisters.  But I think those comparisons can also serve to limit them.

I don’t think they’ve really received the recognition that they deserve (yet), and I may have to feature their album as part of the Slept On series…

In the meantime, check out what happens when Larry Robinson (GospelSingingOnTheSpot.com) gets the ladies of Zie’l (minus one in this particular video) to give an impromptu performance… niiiiiiiiiice!

What do you think???

Here’s my recap for you kind people– ‘ppreciate your patience.  If you’d rather NOT wait, though, don’t forget that you can always follow me on Twitter for my live recap every Sunday night: http://www.twitter.com/gospelpundit.

I think last night’s show was a bit more mellow than previous shows.  Everyone kinda had slower, building arrangements of songs made famous by gospel FAMILIES, which was a nice lil’ concept.  Don’t get me wrong– they still brought it, but it wasn’t as flashy and high-energy as previous episodes have been.

The show opened with The Williams Brothers singing “Living Testimony.”  These gentlemen have some of the sweetest voices in the game– I loved it.  Wished they had done a little bit of “Cooling Water,” but I can’t have it all.  Or can I?

Up next came the contestants, one-by-one, and I was kinda shocked to see that they didn’t do a joint performance this go ’round– the show featured songs from families that were gospel groups (i.e., Clark Sisters, Pace Sisters, Williams Brothers, Winans, Mary Mary)… seemed like this was THE WEEK to do a group song together.  But whateva…

Each contestant sang two songs, throughout the night, but I’ma recap both songs as I chat about each contestant.  Got it?

Jessica Reedy opened the show with “The Question Is” by The Winans.  It’s a classic song which she, of course, put her own little smooth and jazzified spin on it.  She was clearly a bit hoarse, as was evident by a couple of cracks in her vocal performance, but (as was noted by Tina Campbell), she was SUCH a pro, turning those cracks into intricate riffs that just WORKED.  Great job.

Her second song was “Still Here” by The Williams Brothers.  Before she performed, we got a chance to see footage of her prep time with Donald Lawrence and the singers.  THAT YOUNG WOMAN was arranging the background vocalists, changing stuff up, and did a DERN good job, you hear me?!  The performance was SOOO in the pocket– she’s just got it.  She’s my fave, no doubt.

Latice Crawford started with “Is My Living In Vain” and did a great job, also, putting her own spin on it.  She revved up like a pro towards the end of it and definitely left me wanting a bit more.  Her second song was “I’ll Take You There” and she really sang on that thing, as always, but it just didn’t quite CLICK for me.

I enjoy her, always, but I have to admit that I zoned out a little for some portions of her performances.  Tina Campbell said it best– there was a disconnect that made us uncomfortable cuz SHE didn’t seem as confident.

Y’Anna Crawley (another fave of mine) started with “Heaven” by Mary Mary.  I thought she did it well, though a lot of the ad libs sounded just like the stuff that the Marys did at first.  Toward the second part of the song, she flipped it sho’ nuff, though, and I was like “THAT’S what Y’Anna brings!”

Her second song was the classic “Ain’t No Need To Worry” by The Winans and Anita Baker.  I immediately thought “noo… y’all shoulda given this to Jessica” because her voice is so right for the Anita Baker deal.  BUT LEMME TELL YA, this was a perfect song for Y’Anna and here’s why:  it finally gave us the opportunity to see that she can also do the smooth, jazzy thing.  We’ve always seen her CLOBBER a song, but we’ve not really had the opportunity to see her work it from a quiet place.  She delivered in a BIG way for me.  Great job, ma’am!!!

At the end, NONE OF ‘EM got sent home.  We’ll see ‘em all next week for some “Sing Off” they’re gonna have.  I feel some kinda way about that cuz I don’t think the “sing off” should be the criteria for whether someone should be a gospel artist or not.  We already have too much of that in the industry (but that’s for ANOTHER post… showboatin’ and what not).

Folks, at the end of the day, EACH of these three women are phenomenal vocalists who just HAVE it.  They are all artists.  Any one of them will be on my iPod for a good month and, if given the right songs/producers, could have award-winning albums.

The Anointed Pace Sisters wrapped up the performances by rippin’ into “Already Done.”  I was already jammin’ (“already done done… already done done done done done”), but when Lashun Pace came onto stage… Loved it!!!!  She looks great (they all did, really) and they killed.  Glad that they got some BET exposure, too… long overdue.

Soooooooooooooo??? What did y’all think???