On December 13, 2011 at 10pm ET/7pm, Janice Gaines will be appearing on a special Christmas Edition of TBN's "Praise the Lord." This special will be hosted by Donnie McClurkin. Other guests will include Beckah Shae, Trent Cory and Micah Stampley.  

You can get two of Janice Gaines' songs on December 13, 2011 on iTunes. She is releasing original vocal arrangements of "Little Drummer Boy" and and a Christmas Worship Medley of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven."

Janie Gaines is a true high quality vocalist. We live in a time where quality vocal ability has been severely taken for granted. Technology has allowed a lot of people to "get by" without really having good vocal ability. That is definitely not the case with her.

Another thing I like about Janice Gaines is that you can hear the anointing in her voice. She has this unique ability usher you into the presence of the Lord with her singing. You can tell that she really feels and believes in what she is singing about. 

You don't have to just take my word for it, you can listen to her for yourself. Do yourself a favor and listen to her song "One Word" (below).

After you listen to the song, post a comment and let me know what you think. I'm confident that Janice Gaines is an emerging artist that we should definitely be paying attention to. 

One Word (acoustic) by Janice Gaines

This 14 track project features guest appearances by Dorinda Clark Cole, Keith Staten, Jonathan Nelson and Israel Houghton. Each artist adds a nice touch to the project. 

Donald Lawrence albums usually do not disappoint and "Your Righteous Mind" is no exception. You can get your copy of YRM on iTunes and Amazon.com. You can download the complete album on Amazon.com for $3.99. You may want to act quickly. There's no telling how long this deal will last. 

Have you heard YRM? What do you think about it?

The 26th Annual Stellar took place this past Saturday and judging from many accounts it was a wonderful occasion.

If you were not able to see the show live in Nashville you will be able to catch it on TV in the upcoming months. GMC is set to air the Stellar Awards on Saturday, March 5 at 8 PM EST. Local stations will begin airing the program beginning January 22nd. You can go to www.TheStellarAwards.com for local listings. The 2011 station listings are not posted yet, but I’m sure that they will be available soon.

Marvin Sapp was the big winner of the night grabbing a total of 4 awards. That didn’t surprise me. In my opinion, the biggest surprise of awards is the fact that “Close to You” was named Song of the Year. It is a nice song, but I just can’t believe it beat out “Encore” and “The Best in Me”.

Here are the rest of the results:

James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award
Donald Lawrence

Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award
Kirk Franklin

Ambassador Bobby Jones Legend Award
Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Artist of the Year
Marvin Sapp

CD of the Year
Marvin Sapp-Here I Am

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
Forever Jones

Song of the Year
BeBe Winans- Close to You

Male Vocalist of the Year
Byron Cage

Female Vocalist of the Year
Karen Clark-Sheard

Group Duo of the Year
James Fortune & FIYA

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
The Mighty Clouds of Joy

Praise and Worship CD of the Year
Darwin Hobbs-Darwin Hobbs Live: Champion

New Artist of the Year
Kristina Halloway

Choir of the Year
Wilmington Chester Mass Choir

Producer of the Year
Aaron Lindsey-Here I Am

Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year
James Fortune

Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year
Marvin Sapp

Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year
CeCe Winans

Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year
Lucinda Moore

Contemporary CD of the Year
James Fortune and FIYA- Encore

Traditional CD of the Year
Marvin Sapp- Here I Am

Urban/ Inspirational Single / Performance of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans-Still

Music Video of the Year
BeBe and CeCe Winans-Close to You

Contemporary Choir of the Year
Myron Butler & Levi

Traditional Choir of the Year
Wilmington Chester Mass Choir

Special Event CD of the Year
Various Artists-CoCo Brother Live Presents Stand 2010

Rap/Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
Trip Lee-Between Two Worlds

Recorded Music Package of the Year
Derek Blanks and Ken Barboza-Still

Children’s Project of the Year
Kingdom Kids Worldwide, Kingdom Kids Worldwide Volume 1

Quartet of the Year
The Christian Angels

What do you think about the results? Post a comment below and let me know.

Musical Celebration
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM PST
Location: The Paramount Theater in Oakland, CA
Admission is FREE

Homegoing (Funeral) Service
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM EST
Location: The Paramount Theater in Oakland, CA

Many well know Gospel artists will gather together to pay their final respects to Bishop Walter Hawkins. The musical celebration is titled, The Man, The Music, The Ministry: A Musical Salute to Bishop Walter Hawkins.

The artist that are confirmed to sing at the musical celebration consists of Yolanda Adams, Mary Mary, and Donnie McClurkin. Additional artists that will sing also include Lynette Hawkins, Ledisi, Karen Clark Sheard, Daryl Coley and Doug Williams of the Williams Brothers.

Bishop Hawkins’ former wife, Tramaine Hawkins, will make a special appearance. His brother Edwin Hawkins will be one of the music directors for the evening. Edwin Hawkins will be joined by Donald Lawrence, Kurt Carr and Richard Smallwood.

Instead of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Walter Hawkins Memorial Foundation. Cards, letters and donations may be mailed to: Love Center Ministries, 10440 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94603.

It is clear that Bishop Hawkins will be laid to rest in grand fashion. I hope they record the musical celebration and make it available to those who couldn’t attend sometime in the future. Bishop Hawkins was a blessing to millions of people. I’m sure many will be blessed by celebration of his homegoing.

What are your thoughts about Bishop Hawkins’ homegoing service? Do you plan to attend?

BET.com

Tonight was the season finale of season 3 of BET’s Sunday Best. Congratulations to LeAndria Johnson for winning the competition and the new car!

Here is a recap of the finale:

Hezekiah Walker opened the show singing Souled Out. It was a very good performance. It was consistent with that choir sound that we have come to know and love.

Each of the final two contestants performed a medley from songs that they have sang throughout the competition.

LeAndria’s medley consisted of:
-I Love the Lord
-He Was There All the Time
-In the Midst of It All

This performance was a great ending to a spectacular season of high quality singing. Week after week her singing was consistently amazing.

Elder Goldwire McLendon’s medley consisted of:
-Yes, Jesus Loves Me
-The Battle is Not Yours
-All Over Me, Keeping Me Alive

His performance was passionate and spirit filled. I’m paraphrasing here, but Yolanda Adams basically said that if he doesn’t win, then she would put her support behind Elder McLendon getting a CD released.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, Kirk Franklin introduced Donald Lawrence. We received a great treat when the top three finalists from last year took the stage and each sang one of Donald Lawrence’s songs.

Jessica Reedy -Seasons
Latice Crawford-Encourage Yourself
Y’Anna Crawley- The Blessings of Abraham

All three ladies joined together in the end and sang Let the Word Do the Work. When most people reflect on last season, Latice Crawford often gets overlooked. In case anyone forgot, Latice reminded us that she has some serious chops.

Kim Burrell has done a great job mentoring the contestants all season. During the finale, she sang a tribute to the contestants that were eliminated. It was special! She called out many of the contestants by name and you could see that they were deeply touched by her singing.

In the end, LeAndria Johnson was announced the winner. She closed the show with her new single I Shall Leap Into My Destiny. I enjoyed the song, but I can’t wait to hear what it sounds like a couple of months from now after she has had the opportunity to practice it more.

Even though he didn’t win, Elder McLendon doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of. He did an outstanding job. I’m sure there is definitely a place in the Gospel industry for him.

Once again, congratulations to LeAndria Johnson. I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses her in the upcoming months and years.

What do you think about the outcome? Post a comment and let me know what you think.

“Chicago’s Hope for Haiti” benefit concert will take place on February 8, 2010  @ 7:00 PM at the 10,000 seat House of Hope, 752 E. 114th Street in Chicago.

Other confirmed artists also include Maurette Brown Clark, Mark Hubbard & the Voices, The Sweet Holy Spirit Choir , Percy & Gerald Gray featuring (New Direction, Chicago Mass Choir and Joshua’s Troop), DeAndre Patterson and Dr. Bobby Jones. The program will be emceed by WGRB 1390 AM on-air personalities Pastor John Hannah and Angela Martin.

The proceeds of the concert will go directly to Samaritan’s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org) and Hospitals for Humanity (www.hospitalsforhumanity.org). Both organizations are currently on the ground in Haiti providing immediate relief (ranging from food and water to medical care) to the survivors of this horrific earthquake.

After 911 and Hurricane Katrina, I was looking for the Gospel community to come together to record a song, but it never happened. I’m not saying that Gospel artists were obligated to create a song for these events. I know that many artist made numerous contributions to many of the parties affected by these incidents. I must admit, songs like “We Are the World” and “We’re All in The Same Gang” set a certain level of expectation in my mind.

The Gospel Music Channel is reporting that a number of Gospel artists have come together to record a song in response to the earthquake in Haiti. During this past weekend, while in town for the Stellar Awards, Kirk Franklin spearheaded the efforts to record a song entitled “A Song For Pain”. Joining Kirk on this project are many other well-know Gospel artists like Mary Mary, Yolanda Adams, Donald Lawrence, BeBe & CeCe Winans, David & Tamela Mann, Natalie Grant, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Bishop Paul Morton and many more.

I personally love collaborations. I hope this ends up being one of the highest grossing songs of all time! I don’t know when the release date is, but I will definitely keep you posted.

I am fully aware that one song will not magically change what is going on in Haiti. However, the money that is raised will help. I commend each of these artists for utilizing their gifts and talents to benefit those in need.

What do you think? Do you think this is a good way for these artists to make a contribution?

Grammy Award winning artist/producer Donald Lawrence will be a special guest on the Trinity Broadcasting Network’s (TBN)  “Praise the Lord” Martin Luther King Jr. Day special.  The show will be hosted by charismatic pastor Dr. Zachary Tims of the New Destiny Christian Center outside of Orlando, FL.

Lawrence will be interviewed about his career, his latest CD “The Law of Confession Pt. 1”  and on what King Day means to him. Lawrence will also perform his new radio single “There Is A King In You.” Other guests include Pastor Gregory Dicklow, LeToya Luckett (from the upcoming movie Preacher’s Kid), John Gray and Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr.

The psalmist for the evening will be Stellar Award winner Ted Winn and his vocal team who will perform three songs from his best-selling new CD “Balance” (Shanachie Entertainment). The new CD features cameos by Vanessa Bell Armstrong, DeWayne Woods, Jonathan Nelson and Myron Butler. Erica Campbell of the platinum-selling Mary Mary gospel duo says, “Ted’s music and his voice are awesome and necessary in today’s music culture. He brings a style and quality that is sure to be a favorite for many people.”

“Praise the Lord” airs at 10:00 PM EST and 7:00 PM PST.

The Music
Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that there was a time when Celebration of Gospel was used as a showcase to display artists that have released recorded music at least within the last two years. It didn’t seem like that was the case this year. I think the BET producers got together and said “who do we want on the show this year”.

They have every right to include whomever they want on the show. I wonder if they attempted to book artists like Israel Houghton, J. Moss and Smokie Norful. All of these artists released albums within the last year. Instead, they decided to go with Rance Allen, Yolanda Adams and Fantasia who all sung older songs.

The Best Moment of the Night
Generally BET does tributes very well. They honored Steve Harvey since he has been the only host is the history of the show. This was an extremely touching moment. What was really great was how Steve seemed to be really blessed by the words and music from Donnie McClurkin and Marvin Sapp. Seeing Steve get blessed in that way made the whole night worth if for me.

A Few Surprises  
We really didn’t hear a lot from Steve Harvey throughout the night. I’m sure some of that was due to the tribute. Editing could also be a factor. Overall, it seemed that his role as the host was slightly diminished compared to previous years. 

I was a little surprised to see Tye Tribbett there. Usually when an artist experiences challenges in their personal life they stay away from public appearances for a while. I understand that we all handle things differently. Let’s continue to keep him and his family in our prayers.

On another note…by all accounts, Celebration of Gospel 10 was the last time we will ever see Greater Annointing minister. It has been widely reported that Tye has decided to break the group up. 

Where Was God
A lot of people that I am connected to on Twitter and Facebook were disappointed about the editing job that BET did. By many accounts, there were many time where you could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the theatre. However, we never saw those moments. This caused one of my friends to make the following statement, “Where was God? Did I miss Him? I think He showed up for a few minutes then left, came back, left and then left for good!”

The Bottom Line
Over the last couple of years BET has been getting a lot of criticism for their programming, but Celebration of Gospel is one of the shows that the network does very well for the most part. Donald Lawrence, Fred Hammond and Tye Tribbett all gave very good performances. I walked away from the broadcast feeling encouraged and uplifted.

Did you see Celebration of Gospel? What did you think about it? What was your favorite performance?

I know that there are many female directors who do great work serving in their local churches. Why haven’t we seen more female directors moving to the professional side of the industry and releasing albums?

Is there some type of double standard? Are record labels afraid to sign female directors?

I think we expect female artists to be outstanding singers. When they are not we tend to de-value their overall talents and gifts. We do not have these same standards for men. I love their ministries, but if Kirk Franklin, Donald Lawrence, Hezekiah Walker and Ricky Dillard were women, I don’t think industry professionals and consumers would openly accept them, like they do now. 

Am I completely off base on this? What do you think is the reason why we don’t see more women leading choirs and ensembles?

In case you forgot what the “Girl Director” looked like, he is a clip of Natalie Wilson and S.O.P.