Gospel
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Dante Bowe and Jonathan McReynolds tied as BMI’s Gospel Songwriter of the Year at the 2023 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards, which were held at Flourish in Atlanta on Thursday, March 30. Mike O’Neill, BMI’s president and CEO, and Catherine Brewton, vice president, creative, Atlanta, hosted the event.
Bowe and McReynolds each wrote two of the most performed gospel songs of the previous year. Bowe was honored for “Joyful” and “Promises” and McReynolds for “Brighter” and “Grace.”
BMI Gospel Song of the Year went to “Believe for It,” written by CeCe Winans and Mitch Wong (APRA). The song spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart and garnered multiple accolades including two GMA Dove Awards and a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
BMI’s Gospel Publisher of the Year went to Be Essential Songs for publishing award-winning songs “Brighter,” “Jireh,” “Promises” and “Something Has to Break.”
Gospel music superstars Tamela & David Mann and Dr. Bobby Jones received Trailblazer of Gospel Music honors.
The musical tributes to The Manns kicked off with Zacardi Cortez and Anaysha Figueroa-Cooper performing “Now Behold the Lamb,” followed by Lisa Knowles-Smith performing “Take Me to the King.” After accepting the honor, Tamela Mann surprised the audience with a performance of her hit “Change Me,” which spent 23 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Gospel Songs.
The tribute performances honoring Jones’ legacy kicked off with The Company singing “What a Friend,” followed by a rendition of “Bring it to Jesus” featuring Beverly Crawford.
During the ceremony, the late, legendary Otis Redding was honored with four BMI Million-Air Awards, a distinction that recognizes songwriters whose works have surpassed one million broadcast performances on radio. The songs were “Sweet Soul Music” (4 million performances), “Hard to Handle” (7 million performances), “Respect” (7 million performances) and BMI’s Song of the Year in 1968, the classic “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (12 million performances). Family members, including Redding’s widow Zelma and their daughter Karla Redding-Andrews, accepted the honors on behalf of her father and the Otis Redding Foundation.
The luncheon began with McReynolds, Chandler Moore and Kirk Franklin performing a medley of three of BMI’s award-winning songs, “Grace,” “Jireh” and “Kingdom.”
Additional performances included a tribute to the late singer-producer-choir director Kevin Lemons, who was known for his work with Donald Lawrence and the Company, and his own group, Kevin Lemons and Higher Calling. Members of Higher Calling hit the stage for a performance of “Perfect Peace” accompanied by Donald Lawrence and The Company.
Other award-winning songs performed throughout the evening included “Just Like God” by Evvie McKinney, “Great” by Kelontae Gavin and “Wonderful is Your Name” by Melvin Crispell.
Gospel music luminaries David and Tamela Mann, as well as Dr. Bobby Jones will be honored during the upcoming 22nd annual Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards on March 30.
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The event, to be held at Flourish Atlanta, will be hosted by BMI president/CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI vice president, Creative Catherine Brewton.
“BMI is thrilled to be back in Atlanta celebrating the best in Gospel music,” said Brewton via a statement. “We’re extremely proud to honor powerhouse couple Tamela and David Mann for their incredible contributions to the Gospel community, the enduring legacy of Dr. Bobby Jones and the songwriters and publishers behind the top Gospel songs of the previous year. Through song and praise, they deliver inspirational messages of hope, faith and goodwill to music lovers around the world. We feel truly blessed to bring these trailblazers together in fellowship and celebrate their creative works.”
In the 1990s, Tamela and David toured the world as part of the gospel group Kirk Franklin and the Family, before launching solo careers and joint ventures, creating Tillymann Entertainment in 2005 as a base for their various entertainment projects. In 2018, they released Us Against the World, their first collaborative album as a duo. A companion book to the album earned the couple a NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work, while the album launched the hit “Ups & Downs.” The Manns also launched the Overcomer Family Tour, with their son David Jr. and their daughters La’Tia and Tiffany.
Beyond music, the Manns have appeared in several Tyler Perry plays, films and movies, and starred in their own sitcom, Mann & Wife, and the docuseries It’s a Mann’s World. As a solo artist, Tamela has issued six studio albums and earned a Grammy, BET Award, Billboard Music Award and multiple NAACP, GMA Dove and Stellar Gospel Music awards.
Singer, television host and radio broadcaster Jones will be honored for his more than four decades in entertainment. For more than 35 years, he served as the host of Bobby Jones Gospel on BET, and is credited with giving artists including Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary their first national television exposure. In 1984, Jones earned a Grammy for best soul gospel performance by a duo or group for “I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today” with Barbara Mandrell. He has also received recognition from the GMA Dove Awards, and the Stellar Awards, and was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame earlier this year.
Throughout the ceremony, BMI will also recognize the songwriters, producers and music publishers of the past year’s 25 most performed gospel songs in the United States. The BMI gospel song, songwriter and publisher of the year will also be named during the event.
What happens when two beloved legends meet for the first time?
“Well, it was more laughter than anything else,” Dionne Warwick says of meeting Dolly Parton. “We had a wonderful, wonderful meeting. It was as if we’d known each other for years.”
Though both women have been fans of each other’s work for many years, the occasion that finally brought them together was a video shoot for their new gospel duet “Peace Like a River.” Written by Parton and produced by Warwick’s son/manager Damon Elliott, the song is the first taste of Warwick’s forthcoming inspirational album, coming via Warwick and Elliott’s Kind Music Group.
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Parton and Warwick recorded their vocals for the single separately then met at Parton’s production facility outside Nashville to film the video. Sitting in a downtown Nashville hotel room for this interview, Warwick is both elegant and energetic — the excitement she feels over the collaboration with Parton is palpable.
“We were there to take care of our business, but along with that, we found time to not only smile but outright laugh,” Warwick says of the filming the clip, which was directed by Elliott and Nick Pres. “Dolly is very, very grounded — which I was thrilled about — but she’s also very business, which I happen to be about as well. So, it felt like two peas in a pod. It wasn’t like we were working at all. It was more like two friends meeting for lunch.”
“I was honored to get to sing with one of my idols, Dionne Warwick,” Parton said in a statement. “I have loved her since we were younger and getting to sing with her was one of the highlights of my career. I loved that she loved my song, and I loved singing it with her.”
Parton sent the song to Elliott in hopes that Warwick would be interested in recording it. When she heard it, she was immediately impressed by the lyrics and Parton’s vocals. “She asked if I’d like to do it as a duet. She’s testifying on this song, which she knows how to do,” Warwick tells Billboard of Parton’s fiery gospel delivery. “She felt that I was her voice of choice to do this with. She feels that the world needs it, as I do, and she said, ‘We’ve got a hit song.’ It’s so beautifully written. [These are] beautiful words to sing and I’m truly honored that she asked me to record it.”
Warwick plans to title her upcoming album Songs of Inspiration and is hoping to recruit Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin and some of her other favorite gospel singers to participate in the project. The new album will be Warwick’s first inspirational collection since Why We Sing was released in 2008 on Rhino Records. “It’s so important for this time and so much needed,” Warwick says of releasing the inspirational set. “I don’t know what’s going on with our country.”
Though “Peace Like a River” marks Warwick’s first collaboration with Parton, Elliott recently produced another project involving the country icon when he recruited Dolly for “Gonna Be You,” a Diane Warren song performed by Parton, Cyndi Lauper and Belinda Carlisle featuring Gloria Estefan and Deborah Harry (which comes from the 80 for Brady movie starring Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Lily Tomlin). “Diane had this great song that she wrote, and she came to me and said, ‘I’m working on this song for this movie, and I want you to produce it,’” says Elliott, who produced Warren’s Oscar-nominated “Applause” from the film Tell It Like A Woman.
“It was a lot of fun,” Elliott says of working on “Gonna Be You.” “It took me back to when I produced ‘Lady Marmalade’ [with P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim and Mya for Moulin Rouge!] many moons ago. Working with extraordinary talented artists — in this case living legends — is just something… I can’t put words to it.”
In addition to working on her upcoming inspirational album, Warwick and Elliott are co-executive producers for Hits! The Musical, a 50-city national tour featuring 29 young artists, ages 10 to 22, delivering 80 of America’s most iconic songs. Elliott is currently planning a Las Vegas residency for the show after the tour concludes.
When Elliott first became involved in the musical, he knew it would appeal to Warwick. “I called mom and said, ‘This is probably going to resonate with you,’ because she does stuff to help propel future artists,” he explains.
“Anything that has to do with kids, you’ve got me. Especially if it’s dealing with music, which I think I know a little bit about,” Warwick says with a smile. “It is absolutely phenomenal. The talent is enormous. They take five decades of music. Every time I think about it, I get tongue-tied. It’s something I think everybody should see.”
At 82, Warwick — whose Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over documentary recently hit HBO Max — shows no signs of slowing down. In addition to the new duet with Parton, touring the country, working on her inspirational album and co-executive producing Hits! The Musical, the five-time Grammy winner (who was honored with the lifetime achievement Grammy in 2019) is considered the “Queen of Twitter.” “After seeing some of the things that were being said on Twitter when I first got involved, [I thought] it’s time for a grownup to be present and let these kids know that there is another way to do all this,” Warwick quips.
She says she has no plans to retire anytime soon. “I’ve got a long, long time just to sit and be doing nothing,” she says. “I’m not ready for that yet.”
A new documentary and posthumous album will explore Whitney Houston‘s lifelong connection to gospel music. Good Morning America reported on Thursday (Feb. 9) that the album, I Go to the Rock, will feature six previously unreleased tracks, including the upcoming, upbeat first taste, “Testimony.”
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GMA said the full album is slated to drop later this year, with host Lara Spencer describing the collection as an example of the late R&B pop superstar “singing her first love: gospel songs.” A short preview snippet of “Testimony” finds Houston singing over a driving, spare beat, her voice as clear and strong as ever, but stripped of the lush pop production that marked her secular hits.
There will also reportedly be an accompanying documentary that will chronicle Houston’s longtime dedication to gospel, from her first performance at a local church through the release of the soundtrack to 1996’s The Preacher’s Wife, which topped the Billboard top gospel albums chart and remains the best-selling gospel album of all time.
Houston, who died in 2012 at age 48, released seven albums and two soundtracks over the course of her career, including 1992’s multi-platinum soundtrack to her starring vehicle The Bodyguard. Since her death the singer’s label has issued the 2012 greatest hits collection I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston, as well as 2014 live collection, Her Greatest Performances, as well as a reissue of the Bodyguard soundtrack with remixes and live takes on the album’s songs.
In December of last year RCA issued the soundtrack to the Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, with remixes of some of the singer’s biggest hits and a previously unheard cover of CeCe Winans’ “Don’t Cry” (titled “Don’t Cry For Me.”) In 2019, Kygo scored a global smash with his dance-ready remix of “Higher Love,” which laid remixed Houston vocals on a cover of the 1986 Steve Winwood hit over pounding EDM beats.
Listen to the preview of “Testimony” below.
EXCLUSIVE: Get a sneak peek of never-before-released Whitney Houston music! 🎶The gospel album, “I Go to the Rock,” will be released March 24. pic.twitter.com/DcdvYrJA6o— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 9, 2023
The 16th annual Jazz in the Gardens Festival will continue its “sweeter level” celebration of Black music and culture this spring in Miami Gardens, Fla. Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Jodeci, Charlie Wilson, Keyshia Cole, Ari Lennox, El DeBarge, Sean Paul, Mike Phillips and the Adam Blackstone Experience lead the stacked lineup of R&B, neo-soul, reggae and gospel artists, which also includes a special soulful Sunday performance by Chandler Moore, Kierra “Kiki” Sheard and Pastor Mike Jr.
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The two-day festival will return to the Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12.
“Over the years, Jazz in the Gardens has evolved on many levels. Now, in our 16th year, the festival continues to showcase some amazing talent and different genres of music for all those who attend to enjoy,” said Miami Gardens Mayor Rodney Harris in a statement. “People come from all over for this unique experience. Jazz is the means by which we celebrate grandly music, food, and culture, together.”
On top of live performances, the 2023 Jazz in the Gardens Festival will feature exotic cuisine and offer exquisite retail buys in the Merchandise Village.
Last year, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige and Miami Gardens native Rick Ross performed at the Jazz in the Gardens stage following the festival’s two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Mayor Harris declared March 13 as “Rick Ross Day” during the festival in honor of his global success as an entertainer, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Tickets are currently on sale at Jazz in the Gardens’ official website.
Jonathan McReynolds‘ “Your World” ascends to the top of Billboard‘s Gospel Airplay chart (dated Dec. 10), marking his record-tying fifth No. 1 in a row, encompassing all his leaders.
In the tracking week ending Dec. 4, “Your World” increased by 22% in plays, according to Luminate.
McReynolds co-authored the song with Dee Wilson.
“The past year has been filled with great milestones,” McReynolds tells Billboard. “I’m thankful that we have been able to offer life-changing music that points people straight to the source of it all.”
McReynolds ties Todd Dulaney, who also boasts an active run of five straight Gospel Airplay No. 1s. In September, Dulaney notched his fifth in succession with “Satisfied,” featuring Smokie Norful (marking Dulaney’s sixth leader overall, and Norful’s third).
For the 33-year-old McReynolds, who hails from Chicago, “Your World” follows “Grace,” which dominated for a week in August 2021. “Movin’ On,” a collaboration with Mali Music, topped the tally for one frame in October 2020; “Make Room” became a one-week leader in December 2019; and “Not Lucky, I’m Loved” paced the chart for a week in September 2018.
McReynolds has notched one additional top 10, “Gotta Have You” (No. 5, August 2015).
Plus, “Your World” completes McReynolds’ quickest trip to the Gospel Airplay summit: 15 weeks. The ascent passes “Grace,” which reached the penthouse in its 21stweek.