Rance Allen is a pioneer in the gospel music community– a vocalist often studied for his before-his-time riffing style and impeccable stage performance.  The group he formed four decades ago continues to be a steady source of great music, including his latest release, The Live Experience II.

On the heels of that release, Associate Editor Troy Lilly chats with the legend himself…

*     *     *

Troy: Dr. Rance Allen! It’s a pleasure and a privilege. How are you?

Rance: Troy, I’m feeling great. And yourself?

Troy: I’m well. Excited to talk with you today. Shall we?

Rance: Certainly!

Troy: We really want to know about The Live Experience II, the latest album from The Rance Allen Group, which hit stores on January 25. Tell about a little about it.

Rance: Well, you know most of us recording artists say this, and I know I may be guilty of saying it about every new one that comes out, but this truly is the best one ever. And I say it because I believe it’s true.

Troy: Ok.

Rance: Here it is a live album. We’ve recorded twenty albums, this being only the second live one. Thus comes the name The Live Experience II. And man, there was just a free spirit moving as the Holy Ghost moved how He would, and with thousands of excited people there, they made us excited.

God anointed myself and my two brothers to sing, and the band to play, and then the great guests we had were second to none.

Troy: Certainly!  Tell me about the special guests appearing on this project.

Rance: We had Paul Porter, who’s a great singer himself, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong…I call her “the voice.”

Troy: Yes, yes.

Rance: Then the First Lady of Gospel, the Pastor Shirley Caesar, and a young group named Called to Worship out of Cincinnati.

Troy: Okay.

Rance: It’s just a beautiful piece of music. I want to tell young listeners that all you’ve got to do is put it in the player. You don’t have to search around looking for a song that you like more than the others. It’s the kind of CD that you want to play from track one through track 15.

Troy: Wow. So with that kind of project on your hands, do you have any favorites? Or at least a Top 5, since you can’t have just one.

Rance: Ok, well I hope I don’t mention all 15 to you! (Laughs)

Troy: (Laughs)

Rance: But let me start with “It’s You That I Trust,” the one where Paul Porter joins us in song. It’s an awesome song… you and the listeners will love it. But there’s one that I love even more than that.

There’s a cut called “Holy One.” You wanna talk about worship? This is a song that really reaches down into the reservoirs of a person’s heart…that’s “Holy One.”  And these are both kind of like ballads, actually.

Troy: Nice! What else have you got?

Rance: Pastor Shirley Caesar helped us sing another one called “Living for Jesus.” But there’s something I’ve got to tell you about this particular song.

Many, many years ago when I had just started my church, every Sunday one of my members would get up and just turn around and say to the audience– full of excitement– “There’s something about living for Jesus that’s the best thing for me…makes me feel real, (singing) real good.”

After a while, she had said that thing so much ‘til the Lord gave us a song! And you can hear it on this new CD– “Living for Jesus!”

Troy: Wow.

Rance: Yes, but there’s some great music on here. We did a song called “Love Train.” Now it doesn’t sound like the O’Jays! It sounds like the Rance Allen Group!

Troy: Now that’s a sound. (Laughs)

Rance: We also remade “Hear My Voice,” which we originally did way back in 1984.  Oh and number 13…that’s going to be one that you and every[one] of your listeners will love, and it’s called “United We Stand.” It goes on for about eight minutes and some change. And basically, it’s our take on “We Are the World,” sort of. Myself, my brothers, all my guests sang with a choir backing it up and it just turned out wonderfully.

I told you, if you keep letting me pick out favorites, I’ll be done picked out all 15! (Laughs)

Troy: I see. But I was actually counting while you were talking, and you only gave me five and a half! (Laughs)

Rance: (Laughs)

Troy: You’re celebrating 40 years of ministry along with your brothers. That’s almost two decades longer than I’ve been alive. Who are some of the new guys or the young cats that you admire or want to work with?

Rance: I’ve been blessed, man. I have worked with so many of these younger fellows. You know about the work I’ve done with Kirk Franklin. I’ve also worked with Joe Pace, The Williams Brothers, John P. Kee, Mary Mary. I’ve been able to share with many of the younger prominent artists of this day.

Troy: And we have enjoyed it!

Rance: They are actually the inspiration that I need for this particular time. All of the young people who come to me asking me to work with them, and praising the work that I’ve done over the last four decades…all of that now is a true inspiration to me.

Troy: Now I know I greeted you as Dr. Allen, but in addition to being a multi-instrumentalist and a singer, you’re also a pastor. How are things at your church, New Bethel Church of God in Christ in Ohio?

Rance: Man, that’s still a great part of my joy. The church is doing well. God is doing a new thing and we are anticipatorily waiting to see what our next move is going to be.

Troy: With that being said, if God were to bless you with 40 more years, what would you do?

Rance: Well, hmmm. I think I probably would just do like some products read on the side of the box and…wait for further instruction! (laughs)

Troy: That is a GOOD answer, sir. Good answer!

Rance: (Laughs) Yeah, because if he lets me live that long, or even half that time…or even a third of that time, I know He has not brought me this far to leave me.  I could never tell what God is gonna do because He’s so amazing that he would take the thing that seems foolish to me and just blow my mind. So I’m waiting for further instruction.

Troy: That’s wisdom.

Rance: And as the other box says: for best results, read instructions! Wait on the Lord!

Troy: (Laughs) Absolutely. Well, there’s one more thing I want to ask about as we wrap up. There’s a Live Experience II DVD coming out as well…

Rance: Troy, listen! The only thing that could be any better than the CD is the DVD, because you get to see what you’re hearing on the album. Oh my goodness, I’m telling you the Lord met us there.  And I’m trying my best not to sound like I’m bragging. But I am so grateful to God for how He met us there until the only thing I can say is you’re gonna miss out on something if you don’t get the DVD.

Troy: I’m excited about the projects, especially the commemorative nature and all that it symbolizes. It’s good to have an original pioneer who introduced new sounds still around. And not just because I was raised Church of God in Christ, either. But it doesn’t hurt!

Rance: Yes, you’re one of my little baby brothers. And God is using you to perpetuate the best music in the world, and that’s gospel!

Troy: Thank you for your time, man!

Rance: You’re certainly welcome. And I’ll tell you like the old folks told us: come by and see us and we’ll do you good.

*     *     *

And there you have it folks.  To listen to and purchase The Live Experience II by the Rance Allen Group, click here.

What did you think of the interview???

I took a minute before writing my thoughts about this year’s Stellar Awards, held in Nashville, TN this past Saturday.  Aside from being utterly exhausted by Monday morning, I also wanted to reflect a bit before I penned my thoughts. Having so reflected, here we go…

The 26th Annual Stellar Awards program was hosted by Donnie McClurkin– the first time that only one person has had hosting duties.  It had to be a bit exhausting for him, but he’s a great host who keeps the energy high both on and off-camera.

For me, one major highlight of the show was that newer artists (or those that we don’t see often on national TV) were given performance slots– the Soul Seekers, forever Jones, the Nevels Sisters, Joshua’s Troop… I think the overwhelming consensus has been that the “same people” get booked for the Stellars, the Celebration of Gospel, etc.  This year, I feel like the mold was broken a bit.  And that’s good.

Similarly, some non-”regulars” won in a few categories– Lucinda Moore for Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year, Darwin Hobbs for Praise & Worship CD of the Year… it seemed like, for a lot of categories, one could not predict the winner. That’s fine, until one also cannot explain the winner, and there were quite a few head-scratching moments as it relates to the winner’s list.

I’m not going to dig too deeply into how I feel about who won an award and who didn’t– what’s done is done.  But I will say that the Just James from J Moss was career-defining and one of the only albums in the past decade that I have allowed to play without skipping a track.  That he didn’t win one of the many awards for which he was nominated is more than unfortunate.  I also think that forever Jones had the greatest eligible song of last year with “He Wants It All,” but the family band wasn’t even nominated in the “Best Song” category.

You’ll see the edited show in various markets beginning this weekend (check your local listings) and on gmc on March 5th at 8pm.  But I’ll tell you my fave moments now–

Key performances for me came from JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise, who opened the show with “Lord, You’re Mighty,” as well as Beverly Crawford who simply does not disappoint on stage, and VaShawn Mitchell with his unstoppable hit “Nobody Greater.”  I also loved the Nevels Sisters (they whipped their “hair back and forth”) and the quartet moment, which featured INCREDIBLE vocals from The Rance Allen Group, the Soul Seekers and the Williams Brothers. Deitrick Haddon commanded the stage like few can on his set.  But at the end, it was Marvin Sapp, in a moving tribute to his wife MaLinda, who had the entire audience on their feet (and nearly in tears) before Donnie McClurkin had us all pray for Pastor Sapp– hope they show that on TV.

Fairly or unfairly, the Stellar Awards really needed to meet or exceed the performance success of last year’s 25th Anniversary Stellar Awards.  While this year’s show was not bad, it’s hard not to knock it down a few pegs in comparison to the incredible show from last year, with its once-in-a-lifetime collaborative performances.

But then the question becomes “should they be considered ‘once-in-a-lifetime’?”  As the show did this year with the quartet collabo, is there not a way to creatively combine performances each year in such a way that the Stellar Awards consistently features unique performances that you cannot see elsewhere?

If I’ve seen an artist perform his or her song at the Gospel Heritage Conference, then GMWA, then COGIC Convocation and, finally, Celebration of Gospel over the past year, what’s so special about seeing them do it again on the Stellar Awards?  The suits and dresses?  The lights and house band? The audience?  It’s not enough.  We need more than a performance of the song– we need a moment.  Last year, the Stellars gave us hours of moments. This year, we also got a couple. But we need more. I get that last year’s show was special– but I do believe that the gospel community wants it to be the norm.

In any case, kudos to Central City Productions and the Stellar Awards– it’s not an easy task and, for all the commentary I’m giving, I still wouldn’t miss a taping for the world. Here’s to a good 26th, and a great 27th.

A list of performers and presenters for the 26th Annual Stellar Awards has been released!

Among the performers are Marvin Sapp, Beverly Crawford, Deitrick Haddon, the Nevels Sisters, VaShawn Mitchell, the Soul Seekers, the Williams Brothers, the Rance Allen Group, forever Jones, JJ Hairston and Joshua’s Troop.  Also performing will be an all-star choir in tribute to Kirk Franklin, and the winners of the 2010 How Sweet the Sound competition in tribute to Donald Lawrence.

Award presenters and other participants will include J Moss, Dorinda Clark Cole, Hezekiah Walker, Andrae Crouch, Vickie Winans, Lisa Page Brooks, DeWayne Woods, Wess Morgan, Myron Butler, Yvette Nicole Brown, Dr. Bobby Jones and more.

The show will be taped this Saturday in Nashville, TN, at the Grand Ole Opry House, and will air on gmc on March 5 at 8pm ET.  The program will also air in various national markets from January 22nd through March 13th.  Check your local listings!

Some good new projects hit stores TODAY and I wanna make sure you guys are aware, so you can grab ‘em if you wanna–

1.  Soul Seekers II, from Soul Seekers
This highly-anticipated sophomore album from today’s modern-day quartet group features some of the greatest musicians in the music biz. That, alone, could make you wanna buy it. The fact that their lead single, “It’s All God,” features Pastor Marvin L. Winans is icing on the cake.

2. Bishop Morton Celebrates 25 Years of Music: A Live Celebration, from Various Artists (Light Records)
This CD/DVD project features musical tributes to Bishop Paul Morton from some of the greatest vocalists in the gospel community, including CeCe Winans, Shirley Caesar, Mary Mary, Sheri Jones-Moffett, PJ Morton, The Williams Brothers and more. It’s a must-have for your gospel music collection.

3. The Master Plan (Special Edition), from David & Tamela Mann
This jumbo pack of Mann family goodness includes Tamela’s latest CD, The Master Plan, David’s Mr. Brown’s Good Ol’ Time Church CD, footage from a “Cooking with The Manns” television special, as well as interviews and music videos.  The couple is so gifted– great power couple, plenty of products.  Grab it!

4.  Release Me, from Micah Stampley
This 7-song EP is Micah’s first release on the recently reformed Music World Gospel label headed by Matthew Knowles.  It features a dope song, “Heaven on Earth” (originally by David & Nicole Binion) that you simply have to hear.

What are y’all gettin’???

I loooove this song by The Williams Brothers and Stevie Wonder… always have, always will.  This particular performance is not the absolute best I’ve seen of it– Stevie gets a little easy and breezy on his riffs, plus there’s a little just-for-the-mainstream-churchin’ going on (you’ll see what I mean).

Still, it’s Stevie and The Williams Brothers.  C’mon…

Whatcha think???

***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???

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?

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???

I have this little rule: no Christmas music before Thanksgiving. So, when Turkey Day is over, I’m never too devastated– some of the greatest, most nostalgic music in my collection can finally be played for the next month.

I cannot possibly share it all with you, but over the next four weeks, I’m gonna try my absolute best. All of the folks won’t be gospel artists, but they’re singing about the birth of the King, so… yeah.

Up first is Kelly Price. She released her Christmas album One Family: A Christmas Album in 2001.  She’s got some great arrangements of classic songs, plus some good original ones.

She also enlists the help of Mary Mary, Kirk Whalum, Donnie McClurkin, BeBe Winans, Shirley Murdock, the Williams Brothers and Wynonna Judd, among others.  One of my favorite tracks is “Silent Night,” arranged by Donald Lawrence (which, incidentally, I first fell in love with back in 1991, when Stephanie Mills recorded the same version on her Christmas album).  Also worthy of mention is “In Love at Christmas,” the churchy “O Come All Ye Faithful” and her rock/gospel version of “Go Tell It,” especially the vamp.

For those of you who haven’t been impressed with the lackluster holiday offerings of most current artists, do yourself a favor and add a new favorite to your collection.  It’s an instant classic.

Listen to (and prolly fall in love with) “Silent Night”:

Well???