GRAMMY-winning vocal powerhouse Naomi Raine shared the first episode of her new personal video series ‘Journey: The Docuseries’ earlier this week. The new series explores the day-to-day of the GRAMMY, Billboard Music, Dove and Stellar Award-winning artist and her process of self-discovery while creating her incredible solo album ‘Journey,’ which was released in July.

Part one focuses on her emotionally moving track “Okay,” highlighting Naomi’s mindset while writing the track and giving a behind-the-scenes look at the song’s conception with producer Taylor Hill (Justin Bieber, Drake, Lecrae). Raine discusses her childhood, trying to manage the expectations of being labeled “the good one,” her definition of being real and more.

Naomi also shared the video for “Okay (Acoustic)” last week in tandem with the release of her ‘Journey: Acoustic Sessions’ LP. Watch here: youtu.be/Gu7ebNXUj9w

Naomi recently joined Fox & Friends to discuss the new acoustic album and perform her R&B-infused track “Not Ready” and Maverick City Music’s “Promises.” The dynamic vocalist is set to make her Grand Ole Opry debut on October 29th. Her song “Jireh,” written for Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music, is up for Song of the Year at this year’s GMA Dove Awards. For more information, visit naomirainemusic.com.

Centricity Music’s break-out artist Katy Nichole receives her first American Music Award nomination less that 10-months after releasing her debut, record-breaking Billboard No. 1 single, “In Jesus Name (God of Possible).” Nominated for Favorite Inspirational Artist, the 2022 American Music Awards are set to air live Sunday, November 20 at 8:00 pm EST / 7:00 pm CST on ABC and will take place from the Microsoft Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. A fan-voted award show, voting is now open via https://www.theamas.com/how-to-vote/.

“This is unreal. What an honor to be nominated for the AMAs,” Nichole writes on her Instagram. “I am so incredibly grateful and never could’ve imagined this in my wildest dreams.”

In addition to the American Music Award nomination, Nichole is this month’s Billboard Chartbreaker and has seen her second radio single, “God Is In This Story” featuring Big Daddy Weave, follow the trajectory of her first single, launching all the way to No. 1 this week on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart.

Both of Nichole’s radio hits are found on her self-titled debut EP and are being heard live by tens-of-thousands of concert-goers in cities across the nation. Currently on tour with Jeremy Camp before joining Matthew West next month for a series of events, the 2022 Dove Award-nominated artist then wraps up her year on the K-LOVE Christmas Tour.

dick clark productions and ABC today announced nominees for the “2022 American Music Awards” (AMAs), the world’s largest fan-voted awards show, which will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. EST/PST on ABC.

The nominations announcement kicked off ABC’s “Good Morning America” with a reveal of the 2022 New Artist of the Year nominees, featuring a video of two-time AMA winner Becky G surprising this year’s nominees with the news. Additional nominees were announced via the AMAs Twitter account, and the full list of 2022 AMA nominees is below. Fan voting for all awards is now open via VoteAMAs.com and Twitter, except for Favorite K-Pop Artist which will open Tuesday, Nov. 1.

FAVORITE INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST
Anne Wilson
for KING & COUNTRY
Katy Nichole
Matthew West
Phil Wickham

FAVORITE GOSPEL ARTIST
CeCe Winans
DOE
E. Dewey Smith
Maverick City Music
Tamela Mann

Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas December 10 at 8/7c on Lifetime

Caught in a blizzard on Christmas Eve, estranged mother and daughter Journee (Naturi Naughton) and Nia (Lorea Turner) are forced to take refuge inside a church where a handful of also-trapped parishioners are reeling from the cancellation of their annual holiday concert.

The spirit of the season takes hold as Journee and Nia weather the wintry storm together with the other churchgoers, including handsome youth pastor Adam (Luke James) and a heavenly music teacher (Kirk Franklin), who motivate the mother and daughter to reconcile their differences through music, faith, and love. With the help of this unlikely yet spirited group of strangers, Journee and Nia band together to help the church salvage their holiday traditions and show-stopping Christmas day performance, despite the raging storm outside.

Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas is produced by Swirl Films and Big Dreams Entertainment. Kirk Franklin, Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd, Leslie Greif and Naturi Naughton serve as executive producers. Alex Kerr, Keith Neil, Eric Tomosunas and Angela Plasschaert also produce. Tailiah Breon directs from a script by Tara Knight.

Christian rock veterans in Kutless have announced the launch of a new podcast titled Rock In a Hard Place. Hosted by Jon Micah Sumrall (vocals) and James Mead (guitar), the podcast will revisit crucial moments in Kutless history, sharing insight and humor along the way. You can subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at https://lnk.to/kutlesspodcast.

“We’ve been through a lot of stuff over the last 20 years, and we’re planning on talking about that more in depth through the podcast,” Sumrall explains.

Rock In a Hard Place is a natural expansion of Kutless’ reintroduction over the past few months. The band recently released “Words of Fire,” their first new material in five years. Before that, they released an EP featuring reimagined versions of three songs from their 2002 debut album.

“We’ve grown, we’ve learned, there have been hard times, there have been fun times. Every step of the way as we revisited these songs, it brought back a lot of memories,” Sumrall says. “It was actually a really neat thing to come back and just reflect on 20 years of music and all that we’ve experienced.”

The first episode is available now, offering fans their first glimpse of Kutless’s origins. You can find it at https://lnk.to/kutlesspodcast.

Curb | Word Entertainment’s Sidewalk Prophets is excited to announce their upcoming 4^th annual “Great Big Family Christmas Tour,” bringing their Great Big Family together for a time of carols, fellowship, and celebration. Fans can purchase tickets HERE now.

“We absolutely love Christmas, and this tour is our favorite,” shares front man Dave Frey. “There is something special about coming together, singing carols, and celebrating the birth of Christ. If you need a kickstart getting into the Christmas spirit, this is the event for you. Come one, come all, let’s make some Christmas memories together.”

Fans can look forward to creating special memories with their families as well as fun surprises and giveaways throughout the show. Like past years, each show will be in support of a local individual or organization in need, with an offering collected after the show. To date, the “Great Big Family Christmas Tour” has raised over $150K for local individuals and organizations around the country, with a goal to raise over $1M dollars in the coming years.

Tickets for the “Great Big Family Christmas Tour” are on sale now, with options ranging from general admission, to an early entry meeting with Dave Frey, to a VIP pre-show party. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.greatbigfamilychristmas.com. Listen to Merry Christmas To You (Great Big Family Edition), the band’s latest Christmas album release in 2019, HERE and pre-order a vinyl copy HERE.

“Great Big Family Christmas Tour” Dates

• 12/1 – Terre Haute, IN
• 12/2 – Columbus, OH
• 12/3 – Midland, MI
• 12/4 – Cleves, OH
• 12/5 – Wheatfield, IN
• 12/7 – Edwardsville, IL
• 12/8 – Edwardsville, IL
• 12/9 – Joplin, MO
• 12/10 – Wabash, IN
• 12/11 – Ashland, OH
• 12/15 – Jackson, MI
• 12/16 – Brunswick, OH
• 12/17 – Forest City, NC
• 12/18 – Lenoir City, TN

*Tour date information subject to change

Centricity Music’s Katy Nichole and Curb | Word Entertainment’s Big Daddy Weave land on top of the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart this week with “God Is In This Story.” The single is featured on Nichole’s self-titled debut EP and marks her second consecutive, and Big Daddy Weave’s eleventh, No. 1 song.

Created following Nichole’s story of physical suffering from scoliosis, resulting depression, hope and eventual healing, and after the passing of Big Daddy Weave founding member Jay Weaver earlier this year, “God Is In This Story” and its compelling concept video became a resounding declaration for both artists.

Cowriting the song with Grammy®-nominated songwriters Ethan Hulse and Jeff Pardo, Nichole affirms, “There’s no story that doesn’t matter to God. Every story was written by Him, and He’s the greatest author of all time. If you truly believe with your whole heart that God is good, even in the hard times of life, then you’ll see how He was in your story the entire time. People can see God through us when we tell our stories, and that’s how they’ll know how faithful Jesus truly is. It’s really amazing how something I once thought of as my story has become our story.”

Big Daddy Weave’s Mike Weaver shares, “We are so grateful for how this song has been received, and equally grateful for how it has spoken to us during one of the hardest times of our lives. God has used it to remind us that He is with us through the hurt, and how valuable that is.”

Nichole is currently on tour with Jeremy Camp before joining Matthew West next month for a series of events. The 2022 Dove Award-nominated artist then wraps up her year on the K-LOVE Christmas Tour.

Big Daddy Weave is headlining their Only The Beginning tour this fall with guest artists Austin French and Hannah Kerr and are in preparations for their Spring 2023 tour.

GRAMMY Award-winning Gospel artist Tamela Mann and NAACP Image Award-winning Comedian David Mann will appear on the Tamron Hall Show on Wednesday, October 12^th. Tamela will give a breathtaking performance of her current single “Finished” followed by an intimate interview with the powerhouse couple.

They will speak to a variety of topics including: Tamela’s casting in the new The Color Purple and her experience filming, performing together with their kids on the Overcomer Mann Family Tour, Tamela’s new Overcomer: Deluxe Edition album, working on Tyler Perry productions over the years, their relationship and marriage of 34 years and more. David will also speak to his personal struggles with mental health, a topic he has never discussed on TV before.

Additionally, Tamela and David can also be seen in the highly anticipated midseason premiere of Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living, airing Wednesday at 8:30pm ET/PT on BET and BET Her.

Episode #311 “Don’t Chi Away”– With the Assisted Living facility not proving very profitable and Sandra preparing to go off to college, Jeremy is re-assessing the family’s financial future.

Marking her sixth studio offering, Overcomer: Deluxe Edition is heralded as some of the Tamela’s best work. Propelling upon the original version’s themes of resilience, strength, purpose and the beauty of faith, the deluxe edition features both reimagined renditions of fan favorites and all-new music, including single, “Superheroes Prayer” featuring Yolanda Adams and the new live version of “Finished.” The album features additional special guests including industry heavy-hitters Wyclef Jean, Kirk Franklin, Tim Rogers & The Fellas, and Todd Dulaney. Overcomer: Deluxe Edition is distributed by The Orchard and is available to stream here. The album is also available as a physical CD wherever gospel music is sold.

Todd Galberth releases new music with his project titled Encounter. One of the tracks, “You Remain,” features Maverick City Music’s Chandler Moore.

“You Remain” was written by Israel Houghton & Aaron Lindsay. The live video recorded in Columbia, SC can be viewed below. Encounter is available now.

Summer has officially come to an end, but IVAV recording artist Ty Brasel’s year is still heating up with “SHINING (feat. Aha Gazelle),” the hip-hop innovator’s newest single available today, bringing with it a sunny message of perseverance and purpose and making way for Brasel’s upcoming TRANSCENDENT, available for pre-order/pre-add/pre-save today, 10/14.

Listen to “SHINING (feat. Aha Gazelle)” and pre-order/pre-add/pre-save TRANSCENDENT, available 11/11, HERE.

“‘SHINING’ is a piano-driven, hard-hitting, motivational anthem that calls for the listener to follow along with us in overcoming and persevering through any tribulations that life brings your way,” shares Brasel, pointing to the song’s inspirational lyrics. Featuring a guest appearance by fellow rapper Aha Gazelle, “SHINING” is the third release from Brasel’s forthcoming TRANSCENDENT, the long-awaited follow-up to last year’s Destiny Vol. 1 mixtape.

Raised on the outskirts of Memphis, Brasel struggled with criminal behavior before rediscovering God and renewing his purpose as a faith-driven hip-hop star. Since then, he’s used music as a means of encouraging others to move past their own obstacles. Produced by Dirty Rice, Joseph Prielozny, and JuiceBangers, TRANSCENDENT will mark his fourth release for Curb Records’ hip-hop imprint, IVAV, joining an acclaimed catalog that also includes 2020’s The Divine Storm and 2018’s Destined For Greatness.

“TRANSCENDENT is about rising above all types of emotions and challenges that can lead you down a dangerous path,” Brasel says of the upcoming record, which also includes collabs with The WRLDFMS Tony Williams, Aaron Cole, Foggieraw, Jay-Way, and Parris Chariz. “Those challenges can be anything from ego to depression to pride to fear. We can tap into our divine resources to overcome those obstacles, and that story is reflective of my own life — my personal story of transcending.”

Listen to “SHINING (feat. Aha Gazelle)” and pre-order/pre-add/pre-save TRANSCENDENT HERE.