Mia Paylor weighs in on the Wanna Be Winans mixtape from Claude Deuce…

I really do love music. And, like many of you, several different songs and artists appear on the soundtrack of my life…reminding me of times past and affirming the lessons I’ve learned along my (almost) 30 year journey. Growing up, I attended church with strict Seventh-Day Adventist relatives who allowed very little worldly gospel music to play in their house. But, praise Jesus, The Winans were allowed! That Winans’ tape carried us through many a Sabbaths. So, I was tickled when I stumbled upon a free mixtape called, Wanna Be Winans, by Claude Deuce. It immediately brought EJ’s editorial, “I’m An Alternate Background Vocalist For Kirk Franklin”, to mind. Clearly, the GospelPundit family is not the only group of wanna be’s out there.

Unbeknownst to me, I was already familiar with Claude Deuce’s work. Born Claude Harris, Jr., this Augusta, GA native has written and produced songs for Deitrick Haddon, the artist formerly known as Tonex, Canton Jones, and other well-known artists. Claude is also a part of the PJ Morton Band and played for PJ Morton’s Walk Alone Tour (*cough* and I actually attended one of the concerts *cough*). He apparently released a slept-on debut project back in 2009, The Young Elder, which features another slept-on singer, Josiah “JoJo” Martin [to check out the album review of The Young Elder, click here]. And, to top that all off, Claude has the BEST birthday in the world, June 15th! We are exactly one year apart!

Wanna Be Winans is a collection of all The Winans’ best hits revived and refreshed for 2011. This fun journey begins as you simply look at the album cover. It’s strangely reminiscent of The Winans’ Long Time Comin’ cover, lol. Claude wisely decided against tampering with the integrity of the music or the lyrics. The feel and spirit that you’d expect to hear and tap into as you listen to each song is present and intact. In addition to that, Claude’s tenor vocals are very complimentary to the Winans’ sound.

As you listen and sing along to “Restoration”, “Uphold Me”, “Question Is”, “Wherever I Go”, “Everything You Touch (Interlude)”, “Trust In God”, “Song of Consecration”, “Millions”, “Ain’t No Need to Worry” feat. Danielle Harris (lemme go ‘head and give his sister the nickname, Anita Baker, Jr.), and “Just Don’t Wanna Know/Over It Now”, you are reminded of the impact The Winans’ ministry has had on gospel music lovers and how timeless, as well as scripturally accurate, their music is…which reminds me of another EJ editorial, “Is It Just Me: Great Theology In Winans Music”.

Based on the passion and conviction that exudes from this project, it’s safe to assume that The Winans’ music is on the soundtrack of Claude’s life. It’s on the soundtrack of my life as well. And, I’m sure we’re not alone. So, go on…grab that mouse, click the link below, and take a spirit-filled trip down memory lane with Claude Deuce and the Wanna Be Winans mixtape. Then, thank me for encouraging you to do so in the comments section below.

Check out the Wanna Be Winans mixtape from Claude Deuce right here– http://claudedeuce.bandcamp.com/album/wanna-be-winans.  And download it for FREE!

Mia Paylor puts you on to a hot new artist you absolutely can’t miss…

I MISS TONEX! The runs. The range. The arrangements. The music. The dancing. Tonex was in a league of his own. Say what you want about him, but you cannot deny the extraordinary talent and ability. I definitely feel his absence from gospel music. But, has God raised up another young man who embodies many of the same talents and abilities that The Artist Formerly Known As Tonex does? Has God raised up a male gospel soloist with serious range, an experimental sound, and dancing skills…all of which may help to fill the void that Tonex left? Let’s examine Zephaniah, a new kid on the block, and his mixtape, All For You, to see.

According to his bio, Zephaniah survived a serious bout with Meningitis at age of three. After a two-week coma and a long rehabilitation process, God completely restored his health! The talent that Zephaniah has displayed since that experience is nothing short of a miracle. He’d opt to skip playtime so he could write songs and record them using a karaoke machine. Dissatisfied with a cappella, Zephaniah would use anything he could get his hands on to produce the music. He then recorded the music, lead, and background vocals using multiple tape decks! (Why didn’t I think of that?!) Zephaniah perfected his performing skills by singing, dancing, and acting in church, talent shows, musicals, youth events, and college tours.

All For You is Zephaniah’s first official project. Released in October 2010, All For You is more of a debut release than a mixtape…and that’s really good! Eight out of Ten tracks are originals. If I hadn’t read the credits, I would have assumed that most of the tracks were borrowed from mainstream secular projects! Zephaniah and his collaborators (Marz Beats, Jamaal “Elhae” Jones, Kalib White, and Andre Atherley) did a nice job making the original tracks sound current and relevant. Hip-Hop lovers will correctly assume that “Hello Good Morning” was borrowed from the Diddy Dirty Money hit with the same title. The track for Trey Songz’s “Can’t Be Friends” provides the musical accompaniment for “The Prodigal Son” (featuring L9). But, Zephaniah COMPLETELY reworked the melody and lyrical flow! It’s one of my favorites on the mixtape. On All For You, Zephaniah gives vocal highs (“Back Up”) and lows (“The Prodigal Son”), Hip-Hop party songs (“Hello, Good Morning”), R&B songs (“All For You”), and hints of 80’s pop (“I Got Love”) and electronica (“Robot Transform”).

Zephaniah has experienced a serious battle over his destiny, displayed a passion for music at an early age, can write and produce his own songs, tackles different styles of music, and can sing up and down the music scale.  In addition to all that, he is a well-rounded performer. Zephaniah definitely has the goods to make The Artist Formerly Known As Tonex’s absence less noticeable. If his live performances are as strong as All For You, Zephaniah might be the man for the job!

*  *  *  *  *

You can listen to the full album (and get it) at Zephaniah’s BandCamp page– http://zephaniah.bandcamp.com/.  And check out his music video for “Hello Good Morning”:

About time!

After a nearly one-year hiatus, The Lexi Show is returning to The Word Network.

News that the show had been cancelled came suddenly last year, following an incredible season of Lexi’s hard-hitting interviews with some of the most highly-discussed people in Christianity and gospel music, including Tonex, Bishop Thomas Weeks, Pastor Tony Smith, Debra Winans and Carlton Pearson.

The new season will premiere in September of this year. In addition to her hit show, Lexi is putting the finishing touches on her new album, Phenomenal.

***BREAKING NEWS***

The 52nd annual GRAMMY Awards are being held tonight, but the winners in the gospel categories were JUST ANNOUNCED at the pre-show.

My predictions were pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.  I was 5 for 7 in the gospel categories!!!

The winners in the gospel-related categories are highlighted in GREEN below (if I was wrong in my prediction, my earlier predictions are still there in yellow).

The winners are…

 Best Gospel Performance

“Free To Be Me” by Francesca Battistelli
Track from: Free To Be Me

“Jesus Is Love” by Heather Headley feat. Smokie Norful
Track from: Audience Of One

“I Believe” by Jonny Lang w/ Fisk Jubilee Singers
Track from: Oh Happy Day

“Wait On The Lord” by Donnie McClurkin feat. Karen Clark Sheard
Track from: We All Are One

“Born Again” by Third Day
Track from: Revelation

 Best Gospel Song

“Born Again” - Tai Anderson, David Carr, Mark Lee & Mac Powell, songwriters (Third Day)

“City On Our Knees” – Cary Barlowe, Toby McKeehan & Jaime Moore, songwriters (TobyMac)

“Every Prayer” – Dayna Caddell, Israel Houghton, Aaron Lindsey & Ricardo Sanchez, songwriters (Israel Houghton & Mary Mary)

“God In Me” – Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters (Mary Mary)

“The Motions” – Jason Houser, Sam Mizell & Matthew West, songwriters (Matthew West)

Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album

The Big Picture - Da’ T.R.U.T.H.

Crash - Decyfer Down

Innocence & Instinct - Red

Live Revelations - Third Day

The Dash – John Wells-The Tonic

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

Speaking Louder Than Before - Jeremy Camp

The Power Of One - Israel Houghton

The Long Fall Back To Earth - Jars Of Clay

Love Is On The Move - Leeland

Freedom - Mandisa

Best Southern, Country, Or Bluegrass Gospel Album

Jason Crabb - Jason Crabb

Dream On - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

The Rock - Tracy Lawrence

In God’s Time - Barry Scott & Second Wind

Everyday - Triumphant Quest

Best Traditional Gospel Album

God Don’t Never Change - Ashley Cleveland

The Law Of Confession, Pt. 1 - Donald Lawrence & Co.

Oh Happy Day - Various Artists

The Journey Continues - The Williams Brothers

How I Got Over - Vickie Winans

Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album

Audience Of One - Heather Headley

Renewed - Sheri Jones-Moffett

Just James - J Moss

Smokie Norful LIVE - Smokie Norful

Bold Right Life - Kierra Sheard

Congrats to all of ya!

Aaaaand, just FYI– in a poll asking who YOU wanted to win for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album, you guys picked Kierra Sheard.  The full break-down:

Kierra Sheard – 41% (90 votes)
J Moss – 23% (51 votes)
Smokie Norful – 20% (44 votes)
Sheri Jones-Moffett – 10% (21 votes)
Heather Headley – 7% (15 votes)

Gospel Artists Nominated In Non-Gospel Categories:

I was 3 for 3 in these predictions!!!

Tonex was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for his single “Blend” (Unspoken), but as I predicted, it went to India.Arie.

Ann Nesby’s “Sow Love” (The Lula Lee Project) was nominated in Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.  As I predicted, it went to Beyonce for “At Last.”

Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters were nominated in the Best R&B Performance By Group/Duo with Vocals category for their performance of “Higher Ground” (Oh Happy Day), as were Ann Nesby & Calvin Richardson, but as I predicted, it went to Jamie Foxx and T-Pain for “Blame It.”

That’s the full deal, folks!  What do you think of the winners list???

Okay, buddies, it’s that time of year again.  The GRAMMY Awards telecast is this Sunday, January 31st at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.

With that, it’s time for my predictions.  These were REALLY tough and I changed ‘em numerous times over the course of the past two weeks.  I’m finally at peace about them (for today), so I’m posting them before I change my mind again. LOL

Before I give ‘em, I wanna make two disclaimers–

(1) My predictions do NOT necessarily reflect my preferences, nor do they reflect who I ACTUALLY voted for on the GRAMMY ballot this year.  They’re predictions… and nothing more.

(2) The winner is often based on popularity.  Plain and simple.  Now, NARAS (the voting body) has gotten much better about this, even making all of the nominated music available for online listening so that we can make educated votes, but it’s still an uphill climb.  My predictions are based on how I believe the majority voted and that requires consideration of who’s most popular within the entire music biz.

Without further delay, here goes…

 Best Gospel Performance

“Free To Be Me” by Francesca Battistelli
Track from: Free To Be Me

“Jesus Is Love” by Heather Headley feat. Smokie Norful
Track from: Audience Of One

“I Believe” by Jonny Lang w/ Fisk Jubilee Singers
Track from: Oh Happy Day

“Wait On The Lord” by Donnie McClurkin feat. Karen Clark Sheard
Track from: We All Are One

“Born Again” by Third Day
Track from: Revelation

This is a tough one, fresh out of the gate.  I’m thinking it’s gonna go to Heather Headley and Smokie Norful for a couple of reasons– folks adore “Jesus Is Love” and the song has carried mainstream significance for decades.  Similarly, Heather Headley carries mainstream voting power with her, despite the fact that it was a gospel project.  And, all that aside, their duet was quite good.

 Best Gospel Song

“Born Again” - Tai Anderson, David Carr, Mark Lee & Mac Powell, songwriters (Third Day)

“City On Our Knees” – Cary Barlowe, Toby McKeehan & Jaime Moore, songwriters (TobyMac)

“Every Prayer” – Dayna Caddell, Israel Houghton, Aaron Lindsey & Ricardo Sanchez, songwriters (Israel Houghton & Mary Mary)

“God In Me” – Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters (Mary Mary)

“The Motions” – Jason Houser, Sam Mizell & Matthew West, songwriters (Matthew West)

I’m betting on The Marys for this one.  The success and popularity of “God In Me” was like a runaway train– it was played everywhere, performed everywhere, talked about everywhere… and with good reason.  I expect this GRAMMY to be the culmination of over a year’s worth of rather deserved acclaim.

Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album

The Big Picture - Da’ T.R.U.T.H.

Crash - Decyfer Down

Innocence & Instinct - Red

Live Revelations - Third Day

The Dash – John Wells-The Tonic

As much as I enjoy Da’ T.R.U.T.H.’s project, I don’t think he’ll nab this one.  I’m actually torn on this, between Third Day and Decyfer Down… ultimately, I chose Third Day cuz they’re more of a household name.

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

Speaking Louder Than Before - Jeremy Camp

The Power Of One - Israel Houghton

The Long Fall Back To Earth - Jars Of Clay

Love Is On The Move - Leeland

Freedom - Mandisa

Another REALLY hard one for me… Jars Of Clay, Jeremy Camp and Israel are established artists with great music and big followings.  Mandisa and Leeland are newer, but just as popular in many circles, and also making some great music.  I have NO PEACE about this, but I’m predicting Mandisa.  She has a good project and her widespread exposure (added to her lingering American Idol popularity) may tip the scales in her favor here.

Best Southern, Country, Or Bluegrass Gospel Album

Jason Crabb - Jason Crabb

Dream On - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

The Rock - Tracy Lawrence

In God’s Time - Barry Scott & Second Wind

Everyday - Triumphant Quest

I never have ANY clue when it comes to this category, cuz it’s just not my thing.  That said, I do know that Jason Crabb is one to watch right now, and I believe it’s because of this project.  That said, my money’s on Jason Crabb.

Best Traditional Gospel Album

God Don’t Never Change - Ashley Cleveland

The Law Of Confession, Pt. 1 - Donald Lawrence & Co.

Oh Happy Day - Various Artists

The Journey Continues - The Williams Brothers

How I Got Over - Vickie Winans

This is another tough call.  Donald Lawrence is simply incredible and he definitely deserves an award, in my opinion, but I fear that voters may not have agreed with his placement in the “traditional gospel” category… on that grounds, is it the best traditional project?  Maybe not… I predict the Oh Happy Day compilation.  It successfully brought together heavyweights in gospel and mainstream music to commemorate one of the most popular gospel songs in history.  It’s hard to ignore that.

Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album

Audience Of One - Heather Headley

Renewed - Sheri Jones-Moffett

Just James - J Moss

Smokie Norful LIVE - Smokie Norful

Bold Right Life - Kierra Sheard

First of all, shout-out to EMI Gospel for having 4 of 5 the artists in this category.  That said, I’m QUITE unsettled about this one.  Ultimately, I predict that Heather Headley will grab it– she has a nice voice, an album that lots of folks enjoyed, and popularity in the mainstream.  In my opinion, her album was not the best out of this group and I didn’t know that so many people would vote for it.  But I’m inclined to believe that if she got enough votes to get a nomination, she just may have gotten enough to get the win.

Gospel Artists Nominated In Non-Gospel Categories:

Tonex was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for his single “Blend” (Unspoken), and he might win that, but I also see an India.Arie nod in the same category and she will probably nab the award.

Ann Nesby’s “Sow Love” (The Lula Lee Project) is nominated in Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (dunno why), but I’m fairly certain that Beyonce’s rendition of “At Last” will win in that category.

Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters are nominated in the Best R&B Performance By Group/Duo with Vocals category for their performance of “Higher Ground” (Oh Happy Day), as is Ann Nesby for a Bobby Womack collabo, but I kinda expect the win to go to Jamie Foxx and T-Pain for “Blame It”.

OKAY.  Those are my predictions for the 2010 GRAMMY Awards.  For the full list of nominees in all categories, visit the GRAMMY website here.

What do you think???

Over the past week, three great women of God have transitioned to Heaven.  I apologize for grouping them into one post, as I’m certain that each deserves much more space, but I want to get the info to you guys as soon as possible so that you can pray for their families…

On Sunday, December 27, 2009, Marie “Ma” Draper, mother of the late choirmaster O’landa Draper, passed in Memphis, TN.

On Monday, December 28, 2009, E.B. Williams, mother of gospel artist Tonex, passed in San Diego, CA.

On Saturday, January 2, 2010, the mother of producer Kevin Bond passed.

Let’s keep our Christian fam in prayer in their time of mourning.  Cool?

The industry was blessed with some really great new music in 2009– we saw some highly-anticipated debut projects, a looooong-awaited reunion project, and fresh music from some of our favorite artists.

I think I’ve heard all of it and here are my 10 favorite albums of 2009, in order:

10.  Coko | The Winner In Me
Coko’s got one of those voices that just screamed CHURCH, even when her R&B group, SWV, was at the height of its popularity.  The Winner In Me is her sophomore gospel project and it demonstrated a firm commitment to gospel.  Even more, it demonstrated a firm commitment to Christ, lest there be any doubters.  She crafted a diverse, yet cohesive, body of work that has received significant rotation from me since its release in July.

9.  Tonex | Unspoken
Despite the talk and controversy that seems to follow him, Tonex’s musical gifts are 100% undeniable.  He provides one of the freshest musical perspectives in gospel music, always pushing the envelope to remind us that God, as Creator, gifted His children with the same mindblowing ability to CREATE.  I’m like a kid in a candy store when I listen to Unspoken.  There’s more musical goodness going on than I have the auditory capacity to take in at once, which is why the project has gotten so many spins from me.  And I’m far from being finished with it.

8.  Melinda Watts | People Get Ready
The winner of Gospel Music Channel’s 2008 season of Gospel Dream gathered an award-winning team of producers and songwriters to assist her in crafting a fresh and exciting debut project that represented her diverse influences and musical preferences.  There’s a little something for everyone on her album, so she’s been able to get major love from CCM and gospel audiences alike.  She’s an up and coming gap-bridger and, with her debut project, Melinda’s carving a nice lil’ spot in the industry for herself.

7.  Ted Winn | Balance
With his debut solo album, Ted Winn demonstrated his ability to handle every form of artistry in the gospel biz– he’s gone from choir, to ensemble, to duo, and has landed firmly as a solo artist.  What’s more– he’s one of a few artists that I trust, musically, to respect the gospel genre while remaining relevant to the marketplace.  The project is bursting with simply good music– from catchy songwriting (primarily his own) to great production and arrangements, Balance provides just that for listeners.

6.  Sheri Jones-Moffett | Renewed
On her debut solo album, Sheri Jones-Moffett “renewed” the industry’s concept of her as a vocalist.  We knew that she could dominate a churchy lead vocal, but we were blessed to see her jump effortlessly from soaring ballads to pop-infused tracks, even a 70′s-themed single and a New Orleans-styled praise chant.  With an inspirational and encouraging message to share, Sheri knocked her debut offering out of the ballpark… and nabbed a much-deserved GRAMMY nod in the process.

5.  Fred Hammond | Love Unstoppable
The pioneer of contemporary praise  & worship in gospel added yet another hit album to his discography with Love Unstoppable.  Perhaps most refreshing about this project is that he successfully tested the waters of other styles– even calypso and jazz– while remaining at all times “classic Fred.”  This album demonstrated why we continue to look to him for musical guidance for the coming years… great things keep coming from his lab.  He’s kinda unstoppable, too.

4.  BeBe & CeCe Winans | Still
The world waited 15 years for gospel’s favorite sibling duo to reunite and make music together again.  The wait proved worth it when BeBe & CeCe finally released a collection of music that was a great reminder of why we loved them in the first place, while remaining relevant to today’s musical climate.  How many duos can, at their height, take a break, experience chart-topping and award-winning solo careers, come back together, and prove that they’ve “still” got it?  Just one, I think…

3.  Israel Houghton | The Power Of One
Israel ventured out on his own, sans New Breed, for his latest project.  The result was a cohesive project from a musician who remained loyal to his gap-bridging musical technique while demonstrating his ability to master other styles within the gospel and Christian genres.  This album affirmed Israel’s ability to make music for the universal Body of Believers, a feat that not all ministers of music are able to perform.

2.  J Moss | Just James
After a year marked by a test, a shortcoming and, ultimately, a triumph, J Moss returned to the marketplace this year with a new perspective on his third major solo release, stripping away all pretense in an attempt to present himself as “just James.”  The result was a collection of work that seems to have been born straight from his time with the Lord– times in which he saw his need for grace and experienced, in a fresh way, God’s redeeming power and love.  We were merely blessed enough to have those experiences translated to music that could encourage us in our own journeys.

1.  Donald Lawrence & Co. | The Law Of Confession, Vol. 1
In recent years, Donald Lawrence has focused a lot of his musical energy on encouraging the Body of Christ by teaching us who God is, who we are in relation to Him, and what we might expect as a result of that relationship.  With his latest release, Donald challenged believers by demonstrating the power of our words, especially in view of God’s words.  As if the message, alone, wasn’t enough to make a great album, he set it to music that is as diverse as it is beautiful.  From instrumentation to his in-demand group of singers, Donald Lawrence is unparalleled in his ability to produce and arrange music that pays homage to the heritage of gospel music while progressing the genre for the glory of God.  The musical manifestation of that ability is, hands-down, what makes The Law Of Confession, Vol. 1 my favorite album of 2009.

If I can do an honorable mention category, I’d have to point out that the following albums got a tremendous amount of play time in my car and on iTunes, too:

JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise | Resting On His Promise

Da’ T.R.U.T.H. | The Big Picture

The Anointed Pace Sisters | Access Granted

Vanessa Bell Armstrong | The Experience

For your musical enjoyment, you can click an album image below to listen to snippets and/or make a purchase.  You’re never too late!

What do you think of my faves?

Tonex has created a bunch of tracks for you to lease or own exclusively.  And they’re AFFORDABLE– $50 will allow you to use the track, $1,000 will get you the exclusive use of it.

Visit his page on SoundClick.com to listen to snippets of ‘em and to make a purchase.

Interesting to consider what this means for the gospel industry, too.  I can just see it now– I’ll be getting press releases from aspiring artists claiming to have a full album “produced by Tonex,” when in actuality, they’ve never met him and have merely sent $50 to a PayPal account that he owns.

I’m not mad at Tonex for that, but I’m already annoyed by the legions of fronting artists with over-hyped products that are about to email me. :-\

What do you think, folks?  Do you think it’s a good trend for the industry?

The nominees for the 52nd annual GRAMMY Awards were announced last night during the GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live on CBS.  The awards telecast takes place on January 31, 2010 at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.

Like last year, I’m going to wait to give my predictions until a bit closer to the actual awards telecast.  Last time, I got 4 out of 7 of ‘em right, which wasn’t too bad.  I’m gunning to get ‘em all right this time.

 Until then, however, the nominees in the gospel-related categories are:

 Best Gospel Performance

“Free To Be Me” by Francesca Battistelli
Track from: Free To Be Me

“Jesus Is Love” by Heather Headley feat. Smokie Norful
Track from: Audience Of One

“I Believe” by Jonny Lang w/ Fisk Jubilee Singers
Track from: Oh Happy Day

“Wait On The Lord” by Donnie McClurkin feat. Karen Clark Sheard
Track from: We All Are One

“Born Again” by Third Day
Track from: Revelation

 Best Gospel Song

“Born Again” - Tai Anderson, David Carr, Mark Lee & Mac Powell, songwriters (Third Day)

“City On Our Knees” – Cary Barlowe, Toby McKeehan & Jaime Moore, songwriters (TobyMac)

“Every Prayer” – Dayna Caddell, Israel Houghton, Aaron Lindsey & Ricardo Sanchez, songwriters (Israel Houghton & Mary Mary)

“God In Me” – Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters (Mary Mary)

“The Motions” – Jason Houser, Sam Mizell & Matthew West, songwriters (Matthew West)

Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album

The Big Picture - Da’ T.R.U.T.H.

Crash - Decyfer Down

Innocence & Instinct - Red

Live Revelations - Third Day

The Dash – John Wells-The Tonic

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

Speaking Louder Than Before - Jeremy Camp

The Power Of One - Israel Houghton

The Long Fall Back To Earth - Jars Of Clay

Love Is On The Move - Leeland

Freedom - Mandisa

Best Southern, Country, Or Bluegrass Gospel Album

Jason Crabb - Jason Crabb

Dream On - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

The Rock - Tracy Lawrence

In God’s Time - Barry Scott & Second Wind

Everyday - Triumphant Quest

Best Traditional Gospel Album

God Don’t Never Change - Ashley Cleveland

The Law Of Confession, Pt. 1 - Donald Lawrence & Co.

Oh Happy Day - Various Artists

The Journey Continues - The Williams Brothers

How I Got Over - Vickie Winans

Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album

Audience Of One - Heather Headley

Renewed - Sheri Jones-Moffett

Just James - J Moss

Smokie Norful LIVE - Smokie Norful

Bold Right Life - Kierra Sheard

Gospel Artists Nominated In Non-Gospel Categories:

Best Urban/Alternative Performance – Tonex – “Blend” (Unspoken)

Best R&B Performance By Group/Duo w/ Vocals —  Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters – “Higher Ground” (Oh Happy Day)

*     *     *

Like I said, predictions coming later.  But in general, I’m SUPER DUPER pleased with these nominations.  I think they’re a fair and accurate representation of the songs, performances, albums and artists that did well in 2009.

I’m proud of all the nominees, but I’m particularly thrilled that Donnie McClurkin & Karen Clark Sheard were acknowledged for “Wait On The Lord,” and that “Every Prayer” (recorded by Israel Houghton & Mary Mary) got a nod.  Glad about J Moss and Da’ T.R.U.T.H. cuz they put out some really great music this year, and I LOVE that Sheri Jones-Moffett got her much-deserved nomination.

As an aside, I got a bunch of Twitter responses last night from people ready to boycott something cuz Mary Mary wasn’t nominated for best gospel album– it’s cuz they were nominated in that category last year. It’s all good!

For a complete list of nominees in all categories, click here.

Okay, folks… do you think of the nominees?

Are you guys still watching Lexi’s show on The Word Network?

I know some folks have been boycotting the program since her chat with Tonex, but I think that what she’s doing is rather important– we get to hear directly from people about topics that would otherwise run rampant in the rumor mills.  Her interviews remove the speculation and conjecture from much of what we merely hear in the media.

ANYWAY, her team wanted me to let you guys know about an upcoming interview that will, hopefully, clear some of the air about an issue that got a lot of media attention, in both gospel and mainstream… she’s interviewing Debra Winans, ex-wife of singer/songwriter BeBe Winans.

Check out the video trailer below to see what you might expect:

Airdate is Saturday, December 5th. Check your local listings for times.

Whatd’ya think?