International Ghanaian UK-based gospel minstrel Diana Antwi Hamilton has received nominations in 6 categories in the forthcoming 22nd Annual Vodafone Ghana Music Awards celebration.

She earned these covetable slots with her latest hit track dubbed ”ADOM’ which literally means GRACE.

The spirit-filled song is currently the biggest gospel song and one of the most popular songs in Ghana.

ADOM has received plausible reviews and has blessed many lives across the world after its release.
Diana Hamilton bagged nominations for the Best Gospel Artiste, Gospel Song of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Vodafone Most Popular Song, Songwriter of the Year including the biggest category; Artiste of the Year.

Diana Hamilton for the past two years has maintained her spot winning the Gospel Artiste of the year award twice. This year’s win will be a ”hatrick” for the gospel singer as far as the gospel category is concerned.

She is also to compete for the second time with other top artists including Adina, Medikal, Kidi, Kuami, and Sarkodie for the Artiste of the Year category.

Diana has had a colossal crossover musical opulence after she went viral with her MO NE YO hit single in 2018. The minstrel is not relenting anytime soon as she has proven to be a force to reckon with when African gospel is made the topic of confabulation.

CAIN, the sibling trio behind the multi-week No. 1 single “Rise Up (Lazarus),” announces the anticipated release of their first full-length album, Rise Up (Provident Label Group/Sony Music). Available May 7, the ten-song project is the follow-up to, and will feature songs from, their 2020 self-titled EP partnered with new tracks.

Leading up to the album’s release, CAIN – comprised of Logan Cain, Madison Cain Johnson, and Taylor Cain Matz – just dropped their latest single “Yes He Can” accompanied by a music video, which can be viewed below. Featured on both the self-titled EP and upcoming album, “Yes He Can” shares the message of how God is always working miracles in our lives.

Logan explains, “In the song we share the lyrics ‘Did He move every mountain? Did He part every sea? Yes He did, so yes He can.‘ We starting talking about how mountains come in all types of sizes, but God still cares about your mountain, no matter how big or small it is.”

The video shares many touching stories, all which show support from Logan, Madison, and Taylor and backed by a decked out choir. From learning how to shoot a basket to being on a first date, CAIN even cast their dad in one of the video’s stories to share his experience recovering from knee surgery.

“What we wanted to show in the video is how God uses the people around you to help make those miracles come to pass,” adds Taylor. Madison concludes, “We hope that when the listener hears the song, they hear us cheering them on and that we’re with them!”

CAIN will be sharing “Yes He Can,” “Rise Up (Lazarus)” and more songs live while on tour this spring with Zach Williams’ Rescue Story Drive-In Tour. Hitting 50 cities around the U.S., along with summer shows they will then again join Williams’ rescheduled Rescue Story Tour this fall. Be sure to keep up to date on their touring schedule.

The music of CAIN quickly became a mainstay at radio since their debut single “Rise Up (Lazarus)” released in early 2020. They also released additional versions of the song: a duet with labelmate Zach Williams, a version with Colony House, as well as an acoustic version recorded with Essential Worship for its Song Session Series. They also dropped an acoustic cover of “Egypt,” which was originally released by Bethel Music and Cory Asbury.

CAIN has also covered several other worship songs with Essential Worship, along with a stunning rendition of Williams’ and Dolly Parton’s duet “There Was Jesus.” Additionally, last Christmas they released the top 10 hit “Celebrate Me Home,” which became one of the highest charting singles at radio during the holiday season.

Coming on the back of his acclaimed Live At City Gates London album and ‘Only You’ single from last year, UK-based Nigerian Gospel artist, songwriter, producer and musical director TJ DAIRO is back with his first single of 2021, just in time to celebrate Easter this year. Titled ‘ALIVE FOREVER’, the pop-rock offering will be immediately familiar to fans and critics alike, as it samples a popular Nigerian worship song ‘He’s Alive’, with Tj Dairo putting an alternative rock spin to the track and turning into a modern contemporary record.

Written and produced by Tj Dairo, with Precious Obimdi on piano, Amadu Koroma on bass, Phil Short on guitars, and Tj Dairo and Morayo Orekoya on vocals, ‘Alive Forever’ sees Tj Dairo testifying about the resurrection of Christ and the significance of Jesus’ victory over death to us, from the first verse where he sings about Jesus’ death and resurrection from the grave, to the second verse, which then focuses on the victory we have through His resurrection, while staying true to the classic chorus, “He’s alive Amen, He’s alive, Jesus is alive forever, He’s alive Amen”.

Speaking about the inspiration behind his new ‘Alive Forever’ single, Tj Dairo says, “The nostalgia of the past when we would sit on plastic chairs in the church clapping and praising God in some cases with only the congas and tambourines inspired me to write additional lyrics, melody and musical instrumentation to bring a new, vibrant and deeper interpretation of the song. The song is energetic and full of life but yet strong on its core message which is the bedrock of my faith. The message is that despite the challenges we may face today or in the future, we have hope for tomorrow, because He still lives”.

Born into one of the most revered musical dynasties in Nigeria, the legendary Dairo family, music has always played an important role in Tj Dairo’s life. He draws his influences from Gospel greats like CeCe Winans, Panam Percy Paul, Fred Hammond, Graham Kendrick, Israel Houghton, Ron Kenoly and Michael W Smith, with his songs creating musical and lyrical layers to convey his message in a way that doesn’t alienate listeners but lifts their spirits and provides them with a sense of hope that all will be well in the end.

His unique gift and creativity have seen Tj Dairo work and perform with the likes of Blue, II Divo, Simon Webb, Steve Mac, Michelle Williams, Graham Kendrick and Paul Dairo among others, while his passionate commitment to Christian music has paved the way for him to serve as music director and consultant for churches across the UK and Europe, with Tj Dairo also serving as the music director for the Festival Of Life in London, one of the biggest Christian festivals in the UK and Europe.

Connect With Tj Dairo
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

GRAMMY nominated, multiple American Music Award, Billboard Music Award and Dove Award-winning band MercyMe has announced their upcoming Live and Outside Tour.  Following two sold out Show’tel Amelia Island performances earlier this month where fans escaped to the beachfront luxury of The Ritz-Carlton to see the band, MercyMe is excited to hit the road for their first tour since March 2020.

With the first few shows on sale Friday, April 2nd (see dates below), MercyMe will take over minor league baseball stadiums across the U.S.  All events will be outside and follow local/state COVID guidelines.  For ticket information visit www.mercyme.org.

MercyMe also recently announced the release of their next studio album, inhale (exhale) which will hit April 30, and it is available across all DSPs for preorder now. The project’s fast-rising current radio single “Say I Won’t,”  is currently #5 on the Billboard National Christian Airplay chart and #6 on the Mediabase Christian Audience chart, is spinning on a vast majority of Christian radio stations across the country.

The track is a potent declaration of faith and perseverance colored by tragedy. Gary Miracle, a longtime friend that worked with MercyMe for many years, contracted an infection that resulted in having both his arms and legs amputated. His indomitable spirit in the face of such challenges was inspiring.  Good Morning America’s third hour, GMA3, will be featuring MercyMe and Miracle in a special segment on April 15th. FoxNews.com originally premiered the song’s powerful music video last December, and the band also performed on FOX Nation’s special episode of Ainslie’s Bible Study, A Concert for Christ.

MercyMe’s Live and Outside Tour (more dates to be added soon):
May 21 – Chattanooga, TN | AT&T Field
May 22 – Myrtle Beach, SC | Ticketreturn.com Field at Pelicans Park
May 23 – Waldorf, MD | Regency Furniture Stadium
May 28 – Bowling Green, KY | Bowling Green Ballpark

Award-winning Gospel artist, known as the Prince of Praise, Byron Cage, scores #1 on Mediabase and Billboard Gospel radio charts for hit single “I Can’t Give Up”. Most notably known for penning the timeless hit, “The Pres-ence of The Lord Is Here” that introduced the world to contemporary worship music, Cage is credited as one of the artists who helped introduce and popularize Praise & Worship music in the African American Church. Cage’s last number one record was “I Will Bless The Lord” in 2005. With the success of “I Can’t Give Up,” this record also makes it his first song to ever hit number one as a songwriter.

When asked about his thoughts on the album and current single’s success, Cage says, “To God be the Glory and all my incredible team that helped me bring this song to num-ber one. I’m honored to have written a song and created a body of work that resonates with so many people.” The album, Isolation, was 7 years in the making and debuted on Friday, September 27, 2019.

“I Can’t Give Up” and Cage’s entire album, Isolation, is currently available on all major streaming platforms.

The new video from Make Jesus Known focuses specifically on Good Friday re-telling history in under 200 seconds with the raw realities that are sometimes glossed over. Reiterating the sacrifice that was made to make sure that there is an understanding that this was done for everyone to be free.

This spoken word speaks of the graphic details of what happened to show the fickleness of humans and the pain, suffering, shame and humiliation of what Jesus went through that day. The video was inspired by challenging conversations about what is so good about Good Friday. The MJK team hopes that by sharing this video it will inspire and encourage people to embrace this Easter period and to take steps to find out more about Jesus and what it is to have a real and honest relationship with him.

Through the content, they want to spread an authentic message and display what it means to be this precious and loved. MJK consistently seeks to share this through their social platforms, free iTruth app and YouTube channel.

Tim Cooke, CEO of MJK said, “This spoken word holds nothing back. The idea was to tell it straight and just share exactly what happened on that day. As a team we’d recently been discussing and had our eyes opened through an author stating that the picturesque vision of three crosses on a green hill is shared like a vision and beautiful scene but in reality Jesus was probably hung on a main road for people to mock, abuse and laugh. We wanted to share some of what that would have entailed, the truth and feeling the uncomfortable – it is in those moments and this emotion that we begin to truly understand the sacrifice that was made.”

Lots of people understand the crucifixion but aren’t living in its full grace and freedom.

Do you realise? It was for you he did this.

Watch video below

About MJK

Founded in 2006 by Tim Cooke and his wife Charissa, the charity was created to deliver their vision of reaching out to everyone with the great news of Jesus and the amazing life-change found in him. Giving people the choice to join the movement and let God use them to transform the world.

For more information, images or video content, please get in touch with Alex at MJK- [email protected]

The hit autobiographical series UNCENSORED explores the lives of your favorite personalities as they provide first-hand accounts of their success and the obstacles they faced throughout their careers. Season three continues with Gospel music trailblazer Donnie McClurkin. Donnie McClurkin has made his mark on the world as a multiple award-winning gospel singer, minister and actor. After overcoming extreme adversity as a child, sharing his testimony and ministry with the world has helped him find peace within himself.

This season of UNCENSORED profiles KEM, Remy Ma, Marsha Ambrosius, Lisa Leslie and Jaleel White.

UNCENSORED is produced for TV One by Eric Tomosunas, Keith Neal, James Seppelfrick and Paul Hall (Executive Producers), Jay Allen (Co-Executive Producer), and Nikki Byles (Producer) of Swirl Films. For TV One, Jason Ryan is Executive in Charge of Production; Donyell Kennedy-McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting; and Robyn Greene Arrington is Vice President of Original Programming and Production.

VIDEO: Donnie McClurkin Speaks on the Devastating Loss of His Brother

VIDEO: How Oprah Increased Album Sales from 30,000 to 300,000

VIDEO: “I’ll Probably Be Alone for The Rest of My Life”

UK worship group, Elim Sound, has announced the upcoming May 7, 2021 release of its latest album, God is Still Moving. Recorded in homes and studios all across the UK, the album was produced by Ian Yates and mixed by Trevor Michael. 

God is Still Moving contains a number of new voices, including a song that the team are really excited about; “Still Moving.” This song was birthed at our School of Worship songwriting residential in 2019 by four students, Laura Rook, Anesu Mbanini, Laura Ham and Oluseyi Esan. Our heart has always been to see the songs from our movement develop and grow organically and it’s so great to see a song that was started off at our School of Worship now included on this project.

“What a season we’ve been in. This last year has seen us all facing new challenges and uncertainties. We’ve all been affected by Covid19 in so many ways, yet amongst the tensions and struggles we are facing we are firmly convinced that God is still moving. The Church may have had to close its buildings and adapt in this season, but God is at work through His Church. He’s still faithful, He is still with us and He is worthy of all our praise. God has reminded us that He is not confined by our buildings and our programmes, He is at work all across the world.

We feel this new collection of songs brings a new depth and honesty to our writing. While the project contains songs of praise and worship, it also contains songs of lament and songs that bring big questions to the table yet remind us of the eternal hope we have in Christ. Once again the team have been intentional drawing from the breadth of worship leaders and songwriters in the movement inviting over 40 Elim songwriters into the process.

Many of us have struggled over the last year, many of us have lost friends and loved ones. We pray these songs provide a soundtrack for us all as we navigate this season of tension, trusting the One who holds it all, Christ Jesus.” —Elim Sound

Composer, keyboardist and former Christian radio broadcaster Michael Canaan releases his solo debut project, Caught Up In The Clouds. A trailblazer in the Smooth Christian Jazz genre, Canaan’s seven-song EP is hallmarked by easy-listening grooves and peaceful melodies inspired by Scripture.

Caught Up In The Clouds showcases four instrumental selections and two vocal tracks—each solely penned, arranged and produced by Canaan—as well as a reimagined rendition of the beloved hymn “For The Beauty Of The Earth.” With Canaan’s keyboard-driven melodies at the heart of the project, the EP also boasts multiple guest appearances.

The ethereal “Spirit Rain” features Los Angeles-based saxophonist Donald Hayes (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan), while the upbeat “Secret Place” displays the talents of guitarist Tristan Auman of South Carolina rockers The Unapologetic Kind. In addition, vocalist Jennifer Robbins is featured on the Psalm 23-inspired “Surely,” and “Like A Thief In The Night” showcases vocals from Southern California Christian music recording artist Athena.

“For a long time, I felt that my gift for music was intended only to please God in my quiet place, but I have lately begun to realize I was burying a talent He gave me,” Canaan explains of the EP’s genesis. “I believe worship music can take on any musical form imaginable, and since I’ve always been drawn to the chord progressions and lyrical stylings of jazz, it’s become my desire to use that for the Lord’s glory. Ultimately I hope my music can be a blessing to those with similar stylistic inclinations.”

“Not only do I hope listeners will perceive the motivation behind this music—to draw people closer to God—but I pray this project speaks directly to spirits by the Holy Spirit, and that the lyrics serve as devotion and reflection upon the goodness of God,” he adds.

Michael Canaan (pronounced Kuh-nahn) has been instrumental in the advancement of the Smooth Christian Jazz genre over the past two decades. In 2000, he founded and hosted “The Dove,” a Charlotte, North Carolina, radio program giving voice to the burgeoning Smooth Christian Jazz scene. He also launched one of the genre’s leading websites, which featured the latest faith-based Smooth Jazz releases, reviews and exclusive artist interviews. Stepping aside from these media pursuits, Canaan married and began a family while continuing to hone his skills as a composer and arranger. Caught Up In The Clouds marks his return to the spotlight, fulfilling a dream to write, record and release original music.