The BMI Trailblazers Awards take place during Stellar Awards weekend and they are always the hottest ticket in town (perhaps moreso than the Stellars!).  This year, I spoke to soooooooo many industry folks who said it featured some of the greatest performances they had ever seen in their LIVES.  EVER!

I was so excited for last night, when Gospel Music Channel aired the awards show, full of tributes for and from gospel’s finests.  But ummm… somewhat lackluster for me.  And it wasn’t cuz the performances weren’t brilliant– it was cuz they kept cutting off the people!

I get that we have to do commercial breaks and the editors had to contend with the dragging on of gospel vamps (some folks NEVER end a song).  But still… that’s the genre.  And many lovers of the genre appreciate, no… LOOK FORWARD TO the vamps!

Case in point: Kierra Sheard.  She sang “Jesus Is A Love Song” like it was her own song and, right when she was about to demolish the vamp “Je-sus is… a love song… love… song…,” they went to commercial and that was it.  So, we’ll never know how that ended.  And they kept doing it!

I get that there’s a limited amount of air time for the show, and that they have to capture as much as possible… but can’t y’all make it a three-hour program? LOL  I’m being unfair and unrealistic, and I realize that, but I’m just sayin’…

In spite of my frustration with that, the show was PHENOMENAL.  Karen Clark-Sheard sang “Couldn’t Tell It If I Tried” like it was the original recording from Finally Karen, Kim Burrell gave new life to “Prayer of Jabez (Bless Me)” and reminded everyone why she’s oft-imitated, but never matched.  And Lalah Hathaway… God gives gifts and favor as He sees fit, but I’m just a little jealous.  Like… we’re creating human beings with voices like THAT?!  Maaaaaan!!!

Other great performances came from Israel Houghton & Tommy Sims, BeBe Winans, Donnie McClurkin (with an impromptu mic-pass to Darwin Hobbs, who I believe to be severely underrated by consumers), and Twinkie Clark, who plaaaayed that B3 organ!

If you missed it, it’s airing again TONIGHT on Gospel Music Channel at 10pm EST.

Anyone else catch it?  WHAT DID YOU THINK?

The 2009 BMI Trailblazers Awards are FINALLY airing on Gospel Music Channel THIS SUNDAY, February 22nd at 8pm EST.

If you recall, I’ve talked about this awesome event for months.  It honored Twinkie Clark, Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans, featuring tribute performances by Karen Clark-Sheard, Kierra Sheard, Lalah Hathaway, Tommy Sims, Kim Burrell, and several others.  The awards ceremony also honored Marvin Sapp, with a tribute performance by Donnie McClurkin.

For those of you who miss it (DON’T), Gospel Music Channel will be airing encore performances at 11pm EST that night (Sunday), and on Monday, the 23rd, at 10:30pm EST.

We WILL be discussing it in great detail on Monday, so play yourselves if you wanna. Watch it!

In honor of Black History Month, Gospel Music Channel has a truckload of programming lined up for the month of February.  I wanna highlight:

Say Amen Somebody – February 8th

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this incredible documentary before.  It’s one of the greatest.  Good music, good stories… don’t miss it.

I used to own it on VHS before my VCR ate the tape.  But then, God blessed me with the DVD! It features Thomas A. Dorsey, Willie Mae Ford Smith, the Barrett Sisters…  Learn this gospel music HISTORY.

BMI Trailblazers Awards – February 22nd at 8pm ET

It went down a couple of weeks ago at the Stellar Awards weekend, honoring Twinkie Clark, Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans, featuring performances from Karen Clark Sheard, Kim Burrell, Lalah Hathaway… a BUNCH of other folks…  remember?  I KEEP talking to industry people who are saying it featured some of the best performances they have EVER seen.  You don’t wanna miss it.  They’re also gonna show the shows from 2007 (on February 1st) and 2008 (on February 8th), so set your DVRs now.

They’re also gonna re-air a bunch of Front Row Live performances and more episodes of Bobby Jones Next Generation.

Just go to their website, http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com/blackhistorymonth, for details!

Yeah, I didn’t make it, but I heard it was off the CHAIN.  Industry veterans I spoke to said it had some of the best performances they had EVER seen!

The honorees were Donald Lawrence,  Twinkie Clark, and CeCe Winans.

Among those singing tributes were Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Karen Clark-Sheard, Kim Burrell, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Tommy Sims, Kierra Sheard… on and on and on!

Mad you missed it???  Don’t be.  I hear Gospel Music Channel will begin airing the event in the next couple of months!

BMI has announced the names of the gospel greats it will honor at its 10th Annual Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards Luncheon on Friday, January 16, 2009 in Nashville, TN (during the Stellar Awards weekend): Twinkie Clark, Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans.

The event is an invitation-only luncheon and awards ceremony at which various recording artists perform musical tributes to the honorees.  And it’s kinda THE place to be during the weekend.  I had merely heard of how phenomenal the luncheons are… then, this year, they finally began taping and airing the luncheon for laypeople on the Gospel Music Channel (and it was AMAZING).  They haven’t announced who is doing the tributes yet, but with these honorees, I’m CERTAIN that the music is gonna be jaw-dropping.

I know at least one faithful GospelPundit visitor (*fashioning the straightest finger I can possibly point and throwing it in Byron’s direction*) is going to be thrilled with the honorees. 

What does everyone else think???