3x GRAMMY Award-winning group, Israel & New Breed, joined the latest installment of The Recording Academy’s “Positive Vibes Only” series for a riveting performance of “Wrong About You” featuring Joe L. Barnes.

The moving track is just one of 14 spirited songs on the group’s latest live album, ‘Worship Anywhere,’ which released on October 7 and features collaborations with artists including Adrienne Bailon Houghton, DOE, Nate Diaz and more, all led by 6x GRAMMY-winning artist, songwriter and producer Israel Houghton.

Renowned singer, songwriter and worship leader Phil Wickham received his first GRAMMY nominations yesterday when it was announced that his top-selling single “Hymn of Heaven” was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.  Additionally, Wickham is nominated in the same category as a co-writer for Chris Tomlin’s track “Holy Forever,” along with Tomlin, Jason Ingram, Brian Johnson and Jenn Johnson.  

The nominations follow his recent collection of three Dove Awards for the Worship Song of the Year with his No. 1 single “Hymn of Heaven,” Worship Album of the Year (HYMN OF HEAVEN) and Songwriter of the Year (Artist).

“This is my first GRAMMY nomination ever, and I am floored and shaken,” shares Wickham. “God’s grace is just too much. Thanks to the Recording Academy for this nomination, and a HUGE shout out and thanks to the co-writers of this song Chris Davenport, Bill Johnson and Brian Johnson. Also a huge thanks to the producer of this song and my good friend Jonathan Smith. Lastly, thanks to everyone who has listened and worshiped along with us as we’ve sung about our great hope in Jesus.”

Wickham will cap the year on tour with select “BEHOLD CHRISTMAS NIGHTS,” alongside special guest Anne Wilson, with whom he just debuted the music video for his Christmas single “BEHOLD,” also featuring Wilson.  The video can be seen here.  Wickham is slated to reprise his popular “Singalong Tour” in 2023.

Stream HYMN OF HEAVEN across all platforms: https://t.e2ma.net/click/snjbyg/wubd9b/wyixgsb.

‘Tis the holiday season! The Country Music Association has revealed this year’s host and performers for its 13th annual holiday television special, “CMA Country Christmas.” Hosted by country music star Carly Pearce, “CMA Country Christmas” features performances by Steven Curtis Chapman, Dan + Shay, Scotty McCreery, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Pearce, Molly Tuttle, and The War And Treaty. “CMA Country Christmas” airs THURSDAY, DEC. 8 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC and next day on Hulu and Disney+.

“CMA Country Christmas” brings the holidays home again, inviting viewers to sit back and enjoy the season in a warm and intimate setting reminiscent of classic Christmas television specials of the past.

“CMA Country Christmas” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer; Milton Sneed is the director, and Jon Macks is the writer.

CMA partnered with Balsam Hill, who provided their beautifully realistic artificial Christmas trees and holiday décor, to decorate the “CMA Country Christmas” stage again this year. Product information about onstage décor can be found at www.balsamhill.com/c/CMA.

Appalachian Christmas, the latest release and first holiday recording by celebrated bluegrass Gospel group Chosen Road, debuts this week at #1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart. Released on the newly-relaunched historic label Thoroughbred Records, Appalachian Christmas leads recordings by such iconic artists as Dolly Parton and Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, along with bluegrass sensations Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, in the chart’s Top 10.

In addition, Chosen Road’s 2021 release, Appalachian Hymns, re-enters Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart at #4. Since its release last fall, Appalachian Hymns has appeared 10 weeks in the chart’s Top 10.

“As a band, we are extremely thankful for the outpouring of love and support for Appalachian Christmas,” said Jonathan Buckner, founding member, Chosen Road. “Having this album debut at #1 is an honor. This is our first album to reach the top of any chart, and when we started this journey 13 years ago, it’s something we could have never imagined. We wouldn’t be here today without our fans—thank you for allowing us to continue to make the music we love, and point people to true Hope this Christmas season.”

“I knew the first time I heard Chosen Road’s Appalachian Christmas it was a very special project,” said Jerry Salley, A&R/Creative Director, Thoroughbred Records. “The album marks the relaunch of our historic Thoroughbred Records imprint, and now it also holds the distinction of being the label’s first #1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass chart. We couldn’t be more honored to represent Chosen Road’s exceptional brand of bluegrass Gospel music.”

Appalachian Christmas, produced by Chosen Road’s Jonathan Buckner, Zachary Alvis and Tyler Robertson, features guest appearances by such Christian, Gospel and country music luminaries as Point of Grace, Guy Penrod, Jimmy Fortune and Allan Hall of Selah. The 13-song set includes classic carols and Christmas standards, hallmarked by Chosen Road’s signature harmonies and unparalleled musicianship.

Gaither Vocal Band has earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Roots Gospel Album for Let’s Just Praise the Lord (Gaither Music Group), produced by Bill Gaither and Gordon Mote. Bill and Gloria Gaither and GVB have collectively received eight GRAMMY Awards and more than two dozen nominations, including this second consecutive Best Roots Gospel Album nomination, following last year’s That’s Gospel, Brother project nod.

Stream/download/purchase Let’s Just Praise The Lord HERE.

“I am so proud of the young men in the Vocal Band,” stated three-time Gospel Music Association (GMA) Hall of Fame member and group founder Bill Gaither.  “It’s always an honor to be nominated, especially with the caliber of folks in our category this year. I have the utmost respect for all of the nominees and wish them all the best!”

The Recording Academy will present the The 65th GRAMMY Awards live on CBS Sunday, Feb. 5, from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

The GRAMMY news follows an October GMA Dove Award win for Gaither Vocal Band, who took home the Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year award at the Nashville ceremony for “My Feet Are on the Rock” from the GRAMMY-nominated album That’s Gospel, Brother. The song, produced by Bill Gaither and ACM Award winner Gordon Mote, was a Top 5 radio hit. The Gospel Music Hall of Famers have garnered more than two dozen Dove Awards.

The legendary group has just recorded a new single “Shine (The Darker the Night the Brighter the Light)” scheduled for digital release on November 25.

“This is a very important song with a powerful idea that I believe with all my heart,” says Bill Gaither. “The world has never been stable, and according to God’s Word it is not going to be stable. We are called to be God’s light — to shine — in an unstable culture. Do we really believe and live out the power of love and grace? Every now and then we say about a song ,‘this is a special idea that can make a difference in the way we live.’ I think this is one of those songs.”

The quintet has released four new Christmas singles on digital streaming platforms including “Jesus, What a Lovely Name,” “My Heart Would Be Your Bethlehem,” “Tennessee Christmas” and “Mary Was the First One to Carry the Gospel” with three more on the way between now and Christmas. Videos of each of the songs can be found on the Gaither Music TV YouTube channel (over 2.7M followers) and on the Gaither FB page (over 1.7M followers). The group is seen weekly on numerous TV networks including PBS, DIRECTV, Dish TV, RFD-TV, Trinity Broadcasting Network and many others throughout the United States and Canada.

Gaither Vocal Band is completing its fall tour at present and will kick off its seven-stop Christmas tour on December 1 in Hershey, PA. They will be performing songs from their 2021 Christmas album All Heaven And Nature Sing, in addition to other Christmas classics.

All recordings by Gaither Vocal Band are distributed by Capitol Christian Music Group and Universal Music.

Motown Gospel celebrates six GRAMMY nominations across its diverse roster of artists, as announced yesterday by the Recording Academy.

Multiple GRAMMY-winner Tye Tribbett picked up two nominations—one for Best Gospel Performance/Song (“Get Up”) and the other for Best Gospel Album (All Things New). Acclaimed jazz duo The Baylor Project earned a nod for The Evening : Live At APPARATUS, with Marcus Baylor also receiving a Best Improvised Jazz Solo nomination for “Call of the Drum” from the same album.

On the heels of a whirlwind year of career achievements, famed choirmaster Ricky Dillard received a Best Gospel Album nomination for his most recent album, the acclaimed Breakthrough: The Exodus (Live). Finally, the soulful Gene Moore landed a nod—a career second—for his feature on PJ Morton’s “The Better Benediction,” along with vocalists Zacardi Cortez, Tim Rogers, Samoht, and Darrel Walls, in the Best Gospel Performance/Song category

“It is so gratifying when our artists are acknowledged by the Recording Academy for their hard work and creativity,” says Monica Coates, Co-Executive Director, Motown Gospel. “I am excited for even more fans to discover this great music.”

Adds EJ Gaines, Motown Gospel Co-Executive Director: “We are fortunate to partner with some of the greatest artists in the world, and I am thrilled to see them celebrated for the incredible music they have created over the past year.”

The 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards will broadcast live on CBS from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 5, 2023, and will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

Seven-time GRAMMY Award winner TOBYMAC’s seventh studio recording, LIFE AFTER DEATH has been nominated as Best Contemporary Christian Album for the 2023 GRAMMY Awards, marking his 17th nomination. LIFE AFTER DEATH debuted as Billboard’s No. 1 Christian record, with “The Goodness (featuring Blessing Offor),” topping Christian Radio Charts for 4 consecutive weeks. The 65th GRAMMY Awards will air live on CBS Sunday, Feb. 5, from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

“The GRAMMY award is one of the most recognized awards around the world – from every city to small villages,” said TobyMac.  “To think that a record made out of my grief, my journey from devastating loss, to leaning into the promise that God would never leave me, is striking beyond words. It is an honor that moves my heart to its core for the purest of reasons.”

LIFE AFTER DEATH features 15 tracks, also including previously released songs “21 Years” and “Help Is On the Way (Maybe Midnight),” which went #1 on five charts including the Billboard Christian Audience chart, and held on to #1 at Hot AC for 13 consecutive weeks.  Also featured is “Promised Land,” the 3rd most added song at Christian radio in 2021, which peaked at #2 on the AC Indicator and AC Monitored Charts, and Top 5 on Christian Airplay.

TOBYMAC will launch his Hits Deep tour on January 26, 2023 in Pensacola, FL., hitting 31 markets before wrapping in San Antonio, TX on March 31st. For tickets and all tour info, visit https://tobymac.com/tour.

RCA Inspiration celebrates six nominations for the 65th GRAMMY Awards, with nominations for releases spanning both Gospel and the Contemporary Christian Music categories. Garnering nominations are the acclaimed songs and albums by GRAMMY-winning chart toppers Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin (Fo Yo Soul/RCA) for their musical collaboration, and GRAMMY-nominated chart topper DOE (Life Room Label/RCA Inspiration) for her full-length debut album.

With three nominations, 16-time GRAMMY-winner Kirk Franklin and GRAMMY-winning group Maverick City Music are nominated in the category of Best Gospel Album, for their poignant live album collaboration Kingdom Book One Deluxe (Tribl Records/Fo Yo Soul/RCA Inspiration). Two songs featured from their album are their #1 Billboard Gospel Airplay hit “Kingdom,” which is nominated for Best Gospel Performance/Song, and “Fear Is Not My Future,” which is nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

With three nominations, DOE makes a smashing debut rising further into the spotlight as a solo artist with Clarity, which is nominated for Best Gospel Album. Marking her full-length debut solo album, two songs featured from Clarity are her #1 Billboard Gospel Airplay hit “When I Pray,” which is nominated for Best Gospel Performance/Song, and “So Good,” which is nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. Her new nominations make a total of six career nominations, following DOE’s three prior GRAMMY nominations as a featured artist and in her family group Forever Jones.

Released in July 2022, check out the 22-track album by Kirk Franklin and Maverick City Music below, and catch them performing together live as they wrap up their Kingdom Tour this month. Playing to packed arenas on their nationwide tour since the summer, Kirk Franklin also has a slate of solo projects including performing on the famed “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (airing on Thanksgiving, Thursday 11/24 at 9 AM on NBC), hosts Kirk Franklin’s Praise channel on SiriusXM, has new episodes out now from the second season of his podcast “Good Words with Kirk Franklin,” and is executive producing/starring in another holiday movie, “Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas” (airing on Saturday 12/10 at 8 PM on Lifetime).

Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin: Kingdom Book One Deluxe (Tribl Records/Fo Yo Soul/RCA Inspiration)

https://MaverickCityXKirkFranklin.lnk.to/KingdomPR

Released in February 2022 by Jonathan McReynolds’ Life Room Label in partnership with RCA Inspiration, check out the 11-track album by DOE below, and catch DOE live on her headlining solo tour, “A Night of Clarity” Tour during the month of December at City Winery in multiple cities. DOE has continued releasing new solo work with the Spanish tracks out now, “When I Pray (Mi Oración)” feat. Blanca, “En Ti Yo Esperaré (What I’m Waiting For)” feat. TWICE, along with the holiday song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” feat. IAMSON. She is nominated for Favorite Gospel Artist at the upcoming American Music Awards, and performs on the upcoming “Gospel Superfest Holiday 22” special (airing in national syndication from 11/28 to 12/25, check local listings).

DOE: Clarity (Life Room Label/RCA Inspiration)

https://doe.lnk.to/ClarityPR!WW

The 65th GRAMMY Awards will air live from Los Angeles, Sunday, February 5, 2023 on CBS and stream on Paramount+ at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.

GRAMMY Award-winning group Elevation Worship has received a GRAMMY nomination for their album, LION, for the “Best Contemporary Christian Music Album” category, which they won last year for their live collaboration album, Old Church Basement, with Maverick City Music.

The nominations for the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced via a live stream on Grammy.com. The awards will return to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, and will be broadcast live on CBS. The Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be held at the Microsoft Theater at 12:30 pm PT and will be streamed live on Grammy.com, where Elevation Worship’s category will be announced.

Elevation Worship released their nominated album, LION, earlier this year marking their 14th career release. The 15-track collection blends high-energy power anthems with stripped-down quieter moments, unconventionally mixing studio selections and live recordings. The project takes listeners on an inspiring journey, offering songs primed for church, daily worship, and personal reflection.

LION was nominated earlier this year for “Worship Album of the Year” and “Musical Packaging of the Year” for the 53rd Annual GMA Dove Awards. The album has also produced their current radio single, “Same God,” which is currently No. 3 on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart.

Elevation Worship has completed its fall arena tour, “Elevation Nights,” featuring Elevation Worship and Pastor Steven Furtick on the West Coast. The Spring 2023 dates for “Elevation Nights” have recently been announced and can be found here.

The Provident Entertainment family of artists, labels,  songwriters, and publishers is pleased to announce multiple nominations for the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which were announced today. The 2023 GRAMMYs will air live on Sunday, Feb. 5, from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, and broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8pm – 11:30pm ET / 5pm – 8:30pm PT.

The nominations are across several Provident Entertainment entities – Provident Label Group, RCA Inspiration, Distribution, and Essential Music Publishing. The most nominated is RCA Inspiration artist DOE with six nominations (as artist, songwriter, and producer), along with multiple nominations for Kirk Franklin, Bryan Fowler, Chandler Moore, and Maverick City Music.

Below is a complete list of all Provident Entertainment nominees:

Best Gospel Performance/Song – This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s)

• “When I Pray” – DOE; co-writer: Dominique Jones
• “Kingdom” – Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin; co-writers: Chandler Moore, Jonathan Jay

__________

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song – This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s)

• “So Good” – DOE; writers: Chuck Butler, Dominique Jones, and Ethan Hulse
• “Fear Is Not My Future” – Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin; writers: Brandon Lake, Jonathan Jay, Hannah Shackelford, and Nicole Hannel
• “Holy Forever” – Chris Tomlin; co-writer: Jason Ingram

__________

Best Gospel Album – For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional, or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings

• Clarity – DOE; producers: Dominique Jones, Matt Maher, Bryan Fowler, Chuck Butler
• Kingdom Book One – Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin; producers: Kirk Franklin, Brandon Lake, Chandler Moore, Jonathan Jay, and Tony Brown

__________

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album- For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip hop, Latin, or rock recordings.

Lion – Elevation Worship

Always – Chris Tomlin; producers: Jonathan Smith, Bryan Fowler