A new Bishop Paul Morton compilation album, Memorable Moments, debuted at #8 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart this week.  The project features some of his greatest hits, including “Cry Your Last Tear” and “Let It Rain”.

I love to hear Bishop Morton sing– even more, I love to WATCH him sing.  Great man of God with lots of gifts…  Did anyone pick up the compilation project? Check it out by clicking here.

In related news, WOW Gospel 2010 still sits at #1 on the chart, followed by BeBe & CeCe Winans and James Fortune & FIYA at #2 and #3, respectively.

Tamela Mann’s The Master Plan is at #4 and Fred Hammond’s Love Unstoppable rounds out the top 5.

And that’s about it.

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?

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…

WOW Gospel 2010 is still at the top of Billboard’s gospel album chart, while James Fortune & FIYA’s Encore drops from #2 to #3, switching places with the reunion project from gospel duo BeBe & CeCe Winans.

Tamela Mann’s The Master Plan and Fred Hammond’s Love Unstoppable remain at the #4 and #5 spots, respectively.

What’s weird to me– remember how I’ve been rooting for James Fortune to have two albums in the top 10, but he just missed the mark because, though Encore debuted at #2, The Transformation fell to #11?  Well, now I dunno WHEN it’ll happen, cuz The Transformation just dropped from #11 to #24.  What’s up with that?!

In related news, Byron Cage’s Faithful To Believe jumps from #12 to #10 this week, which reminds me to ask you folks why his project hasn’t been doing better in sales.  In my estimation, it’s time for another single because the title track has been at radio since around July or August.  I think he could use a boost in exposure (though, I think the Stellar Awards probably helped a bit)… another track from the project might be just what the doctor ordered.

Whatd’ya think???

No movement whatsoever in Billboard’s Top 5.  AT ALL.

WOW Gospel stays at #1, James Fortune & FIYA’s Encore is #2, BeBe & CeCe are #3, Tamela Mann’s The Master Plan is at #4 and Fred Hammond rounds it out again at #5.

In fact, #6 and #7 stay the same, too, with Mary Mary and Hezekiah Walker holding fast, respectively.

Props to Brian Courtney Wilson for jumping from #12 to #8.

The charts may look the same for a while, at least until Marvin Sapp’s Here I Am comes out next month.  Then, it’s all over. LOL

Whatd’ya think??

We could be on the brink of a fun little industry moment… and, since I’m an industry nerd, that excites me!

James Fortune & FIYA’s last project, The Transformation, still rests at #10 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart.  With the release of their newest album, Encore, this past Tuesday, James Fortune & FIYA stand a really good chance of having TWO projects in Billboard’s Top 10.  That will be quite cool for him.  Rootin’ for ya, James! LOL

Other than that, same ol’ deal… little movement in the top 5 spots– BeBe & CeCe Winans, Fred Hammond, Tamela Mann rest at #1, #2 and #3, respectively.  This past week, Mary Mary and Hezekiah Walker switched spots, with Bishop Hez landing at #4 and the Marys at #5.

In addition to James Fortune’s record, we can expect WOW Gospel 2010 make some significant sales… we’ll probably see that high on the charts next week, too.

Whatd’ya think???

I’m still waiting for the releases on the 26th to make some waves in the top 5… or at least the top 10.  Until then, not too much to report.

BeBe & CeCe Winans reign atop the charts, with Fred Hammond holding fast at #2.  This week, Tamela Mann jumps to #3 from her #5 position last week.  As a result, Mary Mary and Hezekiah Walker (who were at #3 and #4, respectively) get bumped a bit to the #4 and #5 spots.

A couple of spots down, James Fortune & FIYA leap from the #22 position to the #10 spot with their last project, The Transformation.  I’m assuming that the sales jump is from their performance on BET’s Celebration Of Gospel, but I’m not sure…

In any case, it would be kinda tight for him if he can keep The Transformation in the top 10 AND debut in the top 10 with his upcoming project, Encore.  Two projects at the top of the charts ain’t bad at all!

Immediately following the taping of the 25th Annual Stellar Awards, social networking sites were flooded with praises, lauding THIS show as the best Stellar Awards EVER.  And I agree.

I’ve attended numerous times and I’ve watched the show since I was kid growing up in Chicago– the performances on this show were innovative and you’ll be hard-pressed to find more memorable and captivating performances right now.

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

During the taping, I sent tweets via Twitter about who was on stage, but intentionally left off the songs that were being performed.  Here, I’m recapping the ENTIRE taping, so if you wanna leave anything to your imagination, don’t read any further.

If you wanna know the juicy details, do proceed…

As you probably know, the show was hosted by Donnie McClurkin, Vickie Winans and Kirk Franklin.  They did a great job, especially Vickie, who served as comic relief for much of the night.  There was no hype man between set changes this year, so we could’ve gotten really restless but for Vickie’s jokes about herself.

For the first time, the Stellar Awards featured a live house band, which was led by producer Percy Bady.  This made a WORLD of difference because the sound was tighter than ever, the performances came to life, and we weren’t bound by the restrictions of each artist’s performance track.  EXCELLENT decision.

If you follow my tweets, you know that I said that the theme for this year’s show would be COLLABORATIONS.  Almost all of the performances on the show are medleys between artists that have made significant contributions to gospel music over the past 25 years.  The others were performances from artists that left a great impression on the industry in the past year.

The show opened with a collabo between Ricky Dillard & New G and Hezekiah Walker & LFC.  If you love choirs, you’ll get a glimpse of Heaven within the first coupla minutes of the program!

Ricky Dillard & New G performed “Search Me” before transitioning into the classic vamp of “More Abundantly”… you know, the part where the sopranos, altos and tenors break down into parts, singing “JOYYYYY!”  During this time, the Love Fellowship Choir had joined them on stage, just in time for Bishop Hezekiah Walker to lead them in their hits “I Need You To Survive” and “Souled Out.”  It was electrifying.

The next performances came from the legendary Vanessa Bell Armstrong, performing her hit single “Good News.”  She looked incredible and sounded even better.

In a traditional female vocalist collaboration, we were super blessed to witness Lady Tramaine Hawkins sing “Changed” (it doesn’t matter how many years have passed– her voice DOES NOT CHANGE) before Dottie Peoples came on stage to sing “On Time God” like you wouldn’t believe.  As if that wasn’t enough, Pastor Shirley Caesar came to the stage to tell us about ol’ Shoutin’ John in “Hold My Mule”  Y’all remember that song?!  It was a classic performance.

The next collabo came from Richard Smallwood and Smokie Norful.  This was absolutely one of the best performances.  Fortunately, I had seen it during some rehearsals, because I could’ve missed the whole thing.  An usher at the Grand Ole Opry House used this time to SCREAM in my area, talkin’ about “are there any SEAT FILLERS over here?!”  Fortunately, my wife told her to “shhhhh!!!” and we still caught some of it.  Don’t mess with Janice Gaines, y’hear?

Picture it– Smallwood and Norful, both in tuxedos (with tails), each at a black grand piano, tickling the ivories like nobody’s business.  Richard Smallwood started by playing Smokie’s “I Need You Now,” then Smokie followed by playing Richard’s “Center Of My Joy.”  Smokie then played and sang “Dear God” (from his latest project) and Richard Smallwood capped the performance off with his classic anthem, “Total Praise.”

New Artist Of The Year Crystal Aikin came to the stage next with her hit single “I Desire More,” and left the entire room desiring more… I could’ve heard her on that vamp all day.  Her voice soars, effortlessly, and she’s got such control and sincerity… a true treasure.

Another stand-out performance came from our favorite bro & sis– BeBe & CeCe Winans, singing their latest single “Grace.”  They looked like a million bucks and they sounded like they never took a 15-year break.  They’re just pros who don’t miss a beat.

Up next was another classic performance– Kirk Franklin performed with his singers– new and old– a medley of his greatest hits, including “Silver & Gold,” “Why We Sing,” and a bunch of others I’m forgetting.  The best part of the performance was probably when Tamela Mann and Dalon Collins joined them to sing “Now Behold The Lamb.”  That auditorium went UP and IN.  CLASSIC!

Up next was the popular single “I Trust You” from James Fortune & FIYA.  They gave a great performance and reminded everyone why he had such great success at radio– it’s a singable anthem that encourages souls… great stuff.

The next performance is one that you’d BETTER watch for on the broadcast.  Don’t take bathroom breaks even remotely close to this segment.  I’m talking about the all-male vocalist collaboration between Donnie McClurkin, Byron Cage and Marvin Sapp.  There are hardly words to describe it.  The song list was great–  ”Never Would Have Made It,” “The Presence Of The Lord Is Here,” “Faithful To Believe,” “Marvelous” (by Walter Hawkins), and “Stand.”

Each of the three guys took turns singing on “Never Would Have Made It” and “Stand.”  By the end of their set, the ENTIRE room was on its feet worshipping.  They came back in on “Stand” and the taping had to take a break.  I’ve NEVER heard Byron Cage sing the way he did, Donnie’s range was limitless and powerful (as always) and Marvin Sapp was simply incredible.

At this point, Kirk came out and shared some of what’s been on his heart.  One thing that stood out was a quick phrase he gave– “IN ADVANCE.”  He shared that, as we sleep, as we doubt, while we’re not knowing what is going to happen, GOD has thoughtfully already worked everything out for us, in advance.  Our response to THAT should be that we praise Him, in advance.  It was a very powerful moment– I know I’m not typing it well enough to convey that, but… you’re gonna have to trust me.

The fire was kept burning by the next performance, which came from Israel Houghton and Mary Mary.  Israel performed via satellite from London, while Erica & Tina Campbell looked and sounded great on stage as they sang the Grammy-nominated “Every Prayer.”  I loved the concept of it and the execution.  Great job.

The finale of the show came sooner than I had prepared for– I guess I wanted to go until midnight or something– but when it came, it was great.

Donald Lawrence & The Co. (and you guys KNOW I love me some Co.!) sang “Back II Eden” with the Atlanta West Pentecostal Church Choir, winners of How Sweet The Sound (HSTS), behind them.  It was a great concept to include the choir because HSTS was such a great and popular part of the gospel industry this year.  And when Floyd Wilkinson came up to do his vamp… I’m sayin’… I could listen to that vamp 10 times in a row and never got tired of it.

What I think you WON’T see on camera is Vickie Winans clownin’… she won Female Vocalist Of The Year and the award was presented by Shirley Caesar, Dorothy Norwood and Albertina Walker.  When she won, she was so overwhelmed and blown away that she went to the podium and said to Albertina (who sat with an oxygen tank next to her), “girl, gimme some of this [oxygen].”  I NEED them to not edit that out! LOL

Also, you probably won’t see Tina Campbell with her gorgeous new lil’ baby, TJ.  She walked to her seat with him at one point, and the whole audience awww’ed and oooo’ed cuz it was just priceless.

Even without those moments, you’re gonna get all the rest… and that’ll be one of the best set of televised gospel performances you’ve ever witnessed.

I commend Don Jackson, Central City Productions, Barbara Wilson, and the entire Stellar Awards production crew for an incredible show– definitely my favorite over the past decade, and probably EVER.  Elegant, professional, classic… it was more than just a celebration of 25 years of the Stellars… it was a celebration of gospel music.  Perfect!

Soooooooooooo… sound good to anyone else?  Anyone attend and wanna chime in?  Did I miss anything???

The latest video from Tamela Mann, for her single “The Master Plan,” premiered on BET’s Video Gospel yesterday.  I was probably still asleep when it aired, recovering from Stellar weekend, but thank God for YouTube!

Check it out:

For me, the video wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.  When it opened, it felt more like a stage play than a music video (shout-out to Kim Fields in the hospital scene!).  There was a bit of over-acting all around, which sort of made things a bit corny.

THAT SAID, Tamela looked like a gazillion dollars (as always)– she was dressed well and they used some great shots of her.  I loved the scenes that she was in (the street she stood on, with the piano, seems to be the same street from Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” movie– y’know, with Marvin Winans’ church in the background).

All in all, it’s a good effort and definitely serves its purpose– she conveys the message using two storylines and multiple shots of heartfelt performances.

Whatd’ya think of the video???