Central City Productions has announced the nominees for the 37^th Stellar Gospel Music Awards, the annual celebration honoring excellence in Gospel music. The Stellar Awards will return to Atlanta for the live-taped ceremony on Saturday, July 16, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, as part of an illustrious weekend of events that will include a special announcement about the upcoming launch of the Stellar TV Network. Stellar Award-winning artists Jekalyn Carr and Kierra Sheard will co-host this year’s event, which will air on BET, BET HER, and BET International in August, and will be syndicated in various local markets across the country between August 13 and September 11.

Leading this year’s nominations is Gospel music legend CeCe Winans, widely considered the best-selling female Gospel artist of all time. Winans has 9 total nominations including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Albertina Walker Female Artist of the Year, all stemming from her critically acclaimed album, “Believe For It.”

Pastor Mike, Jr., the 2021 Stellar Award winner for Artist of the Year, received 8 total nominations, including Producer of the Year, Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year, tied to “I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol 1.” 2018 James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Tamela Mann, Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music, and Todd Dulaney all received 6 nominations, with Mali Music receiving an additional nomination for a feature on a separate project. Kelontae Gavin received 5 nominations. Other artists with several nominations for this year’s Stellar Awards include Maverick City Music, Israel Houghton, Ricky Dillard, E. Dewey Smith, and Jason Clayborn, all of whom received 4 nominations each.

The 37^th Stellar Gospel Music Awards will feature performances by Tye Tribbett, Marvin Sapp, Maranda Curtis, Ricky Dillard, Kelontae Gavin, Rudy Currence, Chrisette Michele, DOE, James Fortune, Jason Nelson, Travis Greene, Darrel Walls, and Jor’Dan Armstrong.

“Gospel music has encouraged millions of people through more than two unrelenting years of the pandemic, and the Stellar Awards will, again, deliver in bringing the praise and recognizing the artists who bless us with their inspirational sounds,” said Don Jackson, Chairman and CEO of Central City Productions, which established the Stellar Awards. “Those who love Black, faith, and family-centric programs can look forward to both the Stellar Awards and to all that our Stellar TV Network has to offer when it premieres in September.”

The Stellar Gospel Music Awards also bestows special honors to industry titans who continue creating a legacy of excellence that reaches and influences the masses, both within and outside of the Gospel genre. Six-time Grammy Award-winning hitmaker and producer Aaron Lindsey will receive the Aretha Franklin Icon Award presented by Aflac, and renowned choir leader and recording artist Ricky Dillard will receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Toyota. The Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award is presented to Candi Staton, a music pioneer who, for nearly seven decades, has been a captivating Gospel music artist.

The Stellar Gospel Music Awards is proud to be presented this year by AT&T Dream in Black. This year’s sponsors also include Proctor & Gamble (P&G), Walmart, State Farm, Toyota, McDonald’s – Black & Positively Golden, and Aflac. The Stellar Gospel Music Awards are also proud to partner with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Spotify.

For a full list of nominees and for additional updates, follow The Stellar Awards on social media — @thestellars on Instagram and Twitter and Stellar Gospel Music Awards on Facebook — and check out the Stellar Awards website.

On the heels of announcing his 36-city fall tour, Awakening Events and Awakening Foundation are excited to share that multi-GRAMMY® and GMA Dove Award®  winning artist and songwriter Zach Williams will continue touring this holiday season with his “I Don’t Want Christmas To End Tour.” You will not want to miss an amazing night filled with music and fun to celebrate the true reason for the season!

Featuring special guest Ben Fuller, Williams’ holiday tour will hit eleven markets, beginning in Athens, Georgia on December 1 and wrapping on December 17 at Nashville, Tennessee’s newest venue, The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University. Tickets go on sale today* along with a Fan Appreciation sale, allowing fans to save 20% on tickets (with the exception of VIP tickets). The special discount will run through July 8. Click HERE or on the tour poster below for more information.\

The announcement of Williams’ Fall and Christmas tours follows the success of his 2022 spring tour, where 30 of the 35 shows sold more than 90% of their capacity and 23 tour stops officially sold out.
As it was touted with his fall tour, Williams’ Christmas stops will offer something even more special than ever before for VIP ticket holders. In partnership with the Salvation Army, for every VIP ticket sold a food box will be given to a family in need in the community, providing enough meals to feed a family of four for an entire week. All VIP ticket holders will be able to participate in the VIP Exclusive Eat & Greet Experience, which includes:

• One (1) entry to pre-show VIP Eat & Greet full-course gourmet dinner prepared by Napa Valley, CA-based professional Chef Paul Fields
• The opportunity to meet Zach Williams and get a photo**
• Premium concert seating
• Early access to shopping at the merch table
• A commemorative VIP tour laminate and gift bag

Enjoy an amazing meal while also making a difference in your local community. This is a very limited offer and additional specifications apply. Visit HERE for more information.

“Christmas traditions are one of my favorite things,” Zach Williams shares. “They give us something to look forward to when the seasons get long, when it’s hot, and when we need a little hope. My new favorite Christmas tradition is the ‘I Don’t Want Christmas to End Tour,’ and this year, my good friend Ben Fuller is coming along with me on this holiday adventure. Join us this December and make this concert a new tradition for your family. I’ll see you there!”

Love & The Outcome share the official music video for “Look What God Has Done,” which can be viewed below. The track is from their third studio LP, Only Ever Always, which dropped earlier this year (Apr 1).

The full-length project releases on the heels of the one-year anniversary of the flood that destroyed the couple’s Nashville home, which occurred only a week after they recorded their current radio single, “I’m Not Lucky, I’m Blessed.”

The recent flooding of their home inspired the 13-track collection as the couple realized rain precedes the rainbow. Produced by Seth Mosley, Mark Campbell and Colin Munroe, the album is colored by the act’s signature blend of positive pop and a retro groove. It boasts select songs from their 2020 EP, You’ve Got This, as well as future hits like “More” and “Nothing Surprises You,” featuring Maverick City Music’s Stefan Cashwell.

Look What God Has Done – Love & The Outcome Video Below

Today, RCA Inspiration released Kingdom Business: Season 1 Soundtrack. The album features music from the popular BET+ original series, Kingdom Business, which is now streaming.

Making its debut alongside the soundtrack is the album’s powerful first single, “Dear God” featuring Serayah and its accompanying video. In addition to “Dear God,” the Kingdom Business: Season 1 Soundtrack features twelve more dynamic tracks by superstar Gospel and Inspirational artists including Yolanda Adams, Serayah, Chandler Moore, Koryn Hawthorne and Ahjah Walls of The Walls Group. All of the songs on Kingdom Business: Season 1 were written by legendary, award-winning hit-makers Kirk Franklin and Warryn Campbell. Franklin also serves as one of the series’ executive producers.

Brought to the small screen by the series’ creators and showrunners, Kerry Lenhart and John J. Sakmar and executive producers, DeVon Franklin, Holly Carter, Kirk Franklin, Michael Van Dyck, Kerry Lenhart, John J. Sakmar and Keesha Brickhouse, Kingdom Business provides audiences with an in-depth look into the world of the Gospel music industry, which is as complex and riddled with conflict, money and fame as it is with faith. The series stars Yolanda Adams, Serayah, Chaundre A. Hall-Broomfield, Michael Jai White and Michael Beach.

Kingdom Business: Season 1 is available now on all major digital streaming platforms (https://KingdomMusicSoundtrack.lnk.to/AlbumPR) and all eight episodes of Kingdom Business, the series, are streaming on BET+.

 Ryan Ellis shares new music with “New Wine Flow.” The official lyric video can be viewed below. “New Wine Flow” is available now.

Micah Tyler shares new music with “I See Grace.” The official lyric video can be viewed below. “I See Grace” is available now.

Christian-Pop singer/songwriter Natalie Layne releases new music with “Love Me Back to Life.” The official audio can be heard below. Credits include Layne, Jay Speight and Phoebe Scott (songwriting); Speight (production); and Shelly Eve (photography and cover design).

Natalie Layne is a rising worship musician who has been featured by leading playlists, including Spotify’s New Music Friday Christian. Her growing fanbase has generated a sizable social media following, especially on TikTok where her songs have earned over four million streams and have been liked by almost two million viewers.

A Colorado native, Layne served with the worship ministry at Colorado Springs’ renowned New Life Church and is currently a worship leader at Ethos Church in Nashville.

On Septebmer 9, 2022, six-time GRAMMY® winner Amy Grant will revisit her critically acclaimed 1997 album, Behind The Eyes, exactly 25 years to the day of its original release, with a very special project: Behind The Eyes (25^th Anniversary Expanded Edition). Featuring the twelve tracks from the original album completely remastered, plus 18 bonus tracks, b-sides, demos and two brand new reimagined tracks by producer Keith Thomas, the album will be available digitally as well as a triple-vinyl package with expansive narratives from Amy and producers Keith Thomas and Wayne Kirkpatrick (track listing below).  For a limited time, the vinyl package will also be signed and numbered by Amy.  Digital Pre-Add or Pre-Save available HERE and the Vinyl pre-order available exclusively at AmyGrant.com, and fans can look forward to multiple digital singles that will be released ahead of street date.

“Snapshots of life…that’s what these songs are,” Grant recalls.  “Rediscovering so many unreleased tracks was like finding an old roll of undeveloped film 25 years after taking the pictures!”

Twenty-five years ago, Amy Grant released one of her most critically acclaimed albums, Behind The Eyes.  The album was a landmark release showcasing the singer-songwriter side of Amy and was one of the most honest and vulnerable grouping of songs in her award-winning catalog. Behind The Eyes was Grant’s twelfth studio album and upon release, debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Christian albums chart and No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two top 10 hits with “Takes A Little Time” and “Like I Love You”.  2022 marks the first time the original album and the 18 bonus tracks will be available on vinyl.

In support of the anniversary of the Behind The Eyes, Amy will launch a 25 city tour in September/October and each night will include several songs from the project.  Dates will be announced soon with all details available at amygrant.com.

…what limits? Exuding the brave confidence it takes to defy all impossibilities, Christian-Rock Artist Jodi Essex’s upcoming six-track EP, “Fearless,” is a call to build the Kingdom with the strength of a warrior. Having survived cancer at 25, Essex’s courageous perspective on life is powered by an innate sense of mission and belief all people have immeasurable worth.

In the face of turbulence and adversity, especially when it comes to sharing the Gospel, “Fearless” is about learning to fear less, conquering fear with unshakable faith; “Fearless” lyrics implore listeners to be “steadfast in [their] fight” in the title track and music video out June 24, 2022, and the “Fearless” EP out July 8, 2022. “Fearless” is available now.

“We are encouragers called to serve,” Essex declares, “regardless of what that looks like in our respective lives. We must be bold and fearless in our leadership, proclaiming the unrelenting and powerful sway of our Almighty.” She goes on to ask, “When did Jesus shy away from doing what must be done?!?!”

Through an inspired collaboration with Artist/Producer Josiah Prince of Disciple, Jodi Essex’s EP was co-written at Prince’s renowned studio, “The Ranch,” in Nashville, TN. With a process Essex describes as having “an easy ebb and flow,” Prince has raised the bar with respect to her rock-infused sound; the EP also features creative collaborations with Mix Engineer Matthew Arcaini, Sam Moses of Moses Mastering, PR with The Marketing Mixtape and Endeavor for Content Creation. As Essex went into the studio for this music project, there was a desire for transparency to answer age-old questions about how to stave off fear. Woven throughout all six songs are themes of fearlessness from previously-released singles “Offend,” about speaking one’s beliefs boldly, to “Unravel,” peeling back layers of vulnerability in God’s presence. In addition to the title track, “Fearless” includes “Lean,” encouraging listeners to boundlessly lean into God during struggles while also resisting the chaotic flow of culture, “Bandaid” about embracing instantaneous tenacity and “Shine,” a reggae-rock track about exuding the inextinguishable light from within.

Jodi Essex’s music has caught the attention of industry gatekeepers and listening audiences alike. In “Fearless,” the relentless six-track series continues Essex’s unapologetic proclamation of the Gospel. Her debut album released Summer 2020, “Irreverent,” instantly resonated with listeners as featured tracks rose into top-20 ranking. Essex’s music has been celebrated by outlets including NewReleaseToday, CCM Magazine, JesusFreakHideout and Worship Leader Magazine who gave it rave reviews. In addition, Essex’s debut album quickly racked up over 70k streams on Spotify, where its songs landed on several prominent playlists, including “New Music Friday Christian.” With the album release for “Irreverent,” Essex took to the [cyber] stage with a livestream performance, proving her ability to bring ground-breaking messages to life in person. 

No matter what walls may exist in her listeners’ lives, “Fearless” was created to help them tear it down with the profound might of a living, breathing relationship with Jesus Christ. “In turn,” Essex offers, “the same can afford us the opportunity to build ourselves back up stronger and more fearless than we could ever imagine.” 

Don’t miss the single and video release for “Fearless” on June 24th, 2022 and full EP July 8th, 2022 as you await what’s up next for Jodi Essex, including a CCM Magazine Cafe performance early July. From there, the future is both fearless and bright as she is building her repertoire with another EP, hoping to produce a multi-artist concert to benefit Ukraine Refugees and moving forward with plans for an exclusive tour experience led by female artists.

Arizona worship team 29:11 Worship releases their new song “May It Be Jesus” (DREAM Worship).  Featuring worship leader Zion Rempel, this beautiful track is both hopeful and powerful. 

It is now available to all digital and streaming outlets everywhere.  “May It Be Jesus” was written and produced by Zion Rempel.  The team shares the heart on what this song means to them.

“‘May it be Jesus’ is honest, raw, and real. In a time where there is so much pressure to succeed, and so many of us fall into the pit of comparison, I pray that this song takes people back to what matters most…that Jesus is everything we need.”  – Zion Rempel, 29:11 Worship

“May It Be Jesus (feat. Zion Rempel)” is available now.