Hello World,

The highly anticipated Gospel event of the year, the 37th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, is set to air tonight at 8 pm ET / PT, on BET and BET Her. Hosted by recording artists Jekalyn Carr and Kierra Sheard-Kelly, this year’s celebration promises to inspire audiences across the globe with uplifting performances from a variety of new and emerging Gospel artists, as well as standard bearers in the industry. This year’s ceremony will also be syndicated in various local markets across the country between August 13 and September 11, 2022. A full list of stations can be found at www.thestellarawards.com.

The Stellar Awards, which taped live on July 16th at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, will feature many spirited moments that celebrate Gospel music while also spreading the good news. Among them: Marvin Sapp, Koryn Hawthorne, and Brian Courtney Wilson will come together to deliver a powerful tribute to Aaron Lindsey, who will be honored with the Aretha Franklin Icon Award presented by Aflac.

Ricky Dillard, who will receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Toyota, will also deliver renditions of “Every Knee Shall Bow,” “There Is No Way,” “More Abundantly,” “Glad To Be In The Service,” and “All Of My Help.”

Tye Tribbett will bring the energy with an electrifying offering of “Get Up,” James Fortune will minister in song with a medley of “I Am” and “Never Let Me Down,” and Wande will join forces with Jor’Dan Armstrong and Erica Campbell to perform “They Didn’t Know” and “Call.”

Additionally, Maverick City Music, Kirk Franklin, Le’Andria Johnson, Melvin Crispell III, and Zacardi Cortez will perform “Bless Me,” and will be joined by the Prairie View A&M University Drumline. Doe will perform “Brighter” and “When I Pray,” Rudy Currence and Chrisette Michele will deliver a duet of “No Greater Love,” and Jason Nelson will lift his voice to the sounds of “Residue.”

Travis Greene, Darrel Walls, and Kelontae Gavin will perform “Dependable”, and Travis introduces his new group Forward City with a performance of “Tent Revival.” AT&T Dream in Black Emerging Artists such as Aaron Cole, Erica Mason, and Lamont Sanders will also be spotlighted as up-and coming gospel talent.

The 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards is proud to be presented this year by AT&T Dream in Black. This year’s sponsors also include Procter & Gamble (P&G), Walmart, State Farm, Toyota, McDonald’s – Black & Positively Golden, and Aflac. The 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards is also proud to partner with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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. The hashtag for the show is #StellarAwards.

37th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Award Winners

CATEGORY #1

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– Pastor Mike, Jr.; I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol 1; Black Smoke Music Worldwide/ Rock City Media Group

LeAndria Johnson

CATEGORY #2

SONG OF THE YEAR

– Jireh (Featuring Chandler Moore & Naomi Raine); Naomi Raine, Chandler Moore, Steven Furtick & Chris Brown; TRIBL Records

CATEGORY #3

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– Pastor Mike, Jr.; I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol 1; Black Smoke Music Worldwide/ Rock City Media Group

CATEGORY #4

ALBERTINA WALKER FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– Tamela Mann; Overcomer; Tillymann Music Group

CATEGORY #5

DUO/CHORUS GROUP OF THE YEAR

– Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music; Jonny x Mali: Live in L.A. EP; Life Room/K Approved/RCA Inspiration/MNRK 

CATEGORY #6

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– E. Dewey Smith; God Period; Pebble Street Records

CATEGORY #7

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

– I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol 1; – Pastor Mike, Jr.; Black Smoke Music Worldwide / Rock City Media Group

Kirk and Tammy Franklin

CATEGORY #8

CHOIR OF THE YEAR

– Ricky Dillard; Breakthrough: The Exodus; Motown Gospel

CATEGORY #9

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

– CeCe Winans, Dwan Hill, Kyle Lee, Greg Ham, Derek Spirk & Chaz Corzine; Believe For It; Pure Springs Gospel / Fair Trade Services / Red Alliance Media

CATEGORY #10

CONTEMPORARY DUO/CHORUS GROUP OF THE YEAR

– Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music; Jonny x Mali: Live in L.A. EP; Life Room/K Approved/RCA Inspiration/MNRK

Travis Greene

CATEGORY #11

TRADITIONAL DUO/CHORUS GROUP OF THE YEAR

– Category Omitted

CATEGORY #12

CONTEMPORARY MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– Pastor Mike, Jr.; I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol 1; Black Smoke Music Worldwide/Rock

City Media Group

CATEGORY #13

TRADITIONAL MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– Ricky Dillard; Breakthrough: The Exodus; Motown Gospel

Tamela and David Mann

CATEGORY #14

CONTEMPORARY FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– Tamela Mann; Overcomer; Tillymann Music Group

CATEGORY #15

TRADITIONAL FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

– Martha Munizzi; Best Days; Epic Music

CATEGORY #16

CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE YEAR

– I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol 1; – Pastor Mike, Jr.; Black Smoke Music Worldwide / Rock City Media Group

Kelontae Gavin.

CATEGORY #17

TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

The N.O.W. Experience; Kelontae Gavin; RCA Inspiration

CATEGORY #18

URBAN/INSPIRATIONAL SINGLE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

  – Amazing; Pastor Mike, Jr.; Black Smoke Music Worldwide / Rock City Media Group

CATEGORY #19

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

– Help Me; David Mann Jr.; Tillymann Music Group

CATEGORY #20

TRADITIONAL CHOIR OF THE YEAR

– Ricky Dillard; Breakthrough: The Exodus; Motown Gospel

CATEGORY #21

CONTEMPORARY CHOIR OF THE YEAR

– Category Omitted

CATEGORY #22

INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

– The Good News (Instrumental); Charles Butler & Trinity; Impact One Music / Red Alliance Media / Fair Trade Services

CATEGORY #23

SPECIAL EVENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR

– Jonny x Mali: Live in L.A. EP; Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music; Life Room/K Approved/RCA Inspiration/MNRK 

CATEGORY #24

RAP HIP HOP GOSPEL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

– No Church In A While; 1K Phew & Lecrae; Reach Records

CATEGORY #25

YOUTH PROJECT OF THE YEAR

– Janessa Smith; Finish This Race; Inspired Recording

CATEGORY #26

QUARTET OF THE YEAR

– The Brown Boyz; The Reintroduction; SIX19 Music

CATEGORY #27

RECORDED MUSIC PACKAGING OF THE YEAR

– Jonny x Mali: Live in L.A. EP; Tyler Simien; Life Room/K Approved/RCA Inspiration/MNRK

CATEGORY #28

PRAISE AND WORSHIP ALBUM OF THE YEAR

– Believe For It; CeCe Winans; Pure Springs Gospel / Fair Trade Services / Red Alliance Media

CATEGORY #29

PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONG OF THE YEAR

– Believe For It; CeCe Winans; Pure Springs Gospel / Fair Trade Services / Red Alliance Media

CATEGORY #30

RAP/HIP HOP SONG OF THE YEAR

– Redeemed ft. Mali Music; Amethyst; Independent

JAMES CLEVELAND LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

– Ricky Dillard

ARETHA FRANKLIN ICON AWARD

– Aaron Lindsey

AMBASSADOR DR. BOBBY JONES LEGENDS AWARD

– Candi Staton

STELLAR HONORS HALL OF FAME

– Conference of National Black Churches

• Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman
• Senior Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson, African Methodist Episcopal Church o Senior Bishop Kenneth Monroe, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church o Senior Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick, III, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church o Presiding Bishop & Chief Apostle John Drew Sheard, Church of God in Christ o Dr. Jerry Young, President, National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.
•  Dr. David Peoples, President, Progressive National Baptist Convention – Rev. Anthony Evans, President, National Black Church Initiative

GOSPEL RADIO OF THE YEAR WINNERS

MAJOR MARKET OF THE YEAR

– WPZE Praise 102.5, Atlanta

LARGE MARKET OF THE YEAR

– WJYD JOY 107.1, Columbus

MEDIUM MARKET OF THE YEAR

– WNZN 89.1, Lorain

SMALL MARKET OF THE YEAR

– WYPZ – FM 99.5, Macon

INTERNET STATION OF THE YEAR

– WVTC Gospel Radio Network, http://www.wvtcradio.com

GOSPEL ANNOUNCER OF THE YEAR

– Melissa Wade, WNNL – The Light 103.9, Raleigh, NC

Will you be watching tonight?

Any thoughts?

The post Watch the 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards TONIGHT on BET at 8PM ET! appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World,

I had planned to post my review of the film “Surrendered – The Story of Jay Harding” today, but as any journalist knows, breaking news happens! I was given the opportunity to interview actor, director and producer Kim Fields (aka Tootie from “Facts of Life” for my ’70s babies or Regine from “Living Single” for my ’80s babies) about her television Christmas special “Holiday Love.” She, along with her husband, Christopher Morgan, executive produced and directed the Christmas special.

The two-hour program originally aired on TV One last December but will be broadcast again on Sunday (Christmas) at 7 a.m. EST. (Please check your local listings for encore presentations.) Invited celebrity guests are: gospel sensation Marvin Sapp, comedian Ricky Smiley, chart-topping gospel artist Brian Courtney Wilson, Dove and Stellar winner Tye Tribbett, Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Yolanda Adams, jazz saxophonist Gerald Albright, nationally-known spoken word artist Karen Briggs, R&B sensation Kenny Lattimore, gospel workout guru Donna Richardson Joyner, Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Smokie Norful and others!

Set in a cozy, luxurious traditional home, the special will feature visits from today’s hottest stars in hilarious vignettes, heart-warming songs and glorious holiday fun. Kim Fields, an entertainment industry veteran who is a now a producer and lead director of Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne,” has an impressive roster of celebrity friends who can’t wait to stop by the Holiday House to spread a little holiday cheer – singing songs, cooking, playing games, laughing and of course loving the way only family can. The show is reminiscent of “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Flip Wilson,” and “Laugh-In!” And she is hoping “Holiday Love” becomes a Christmas classic!

See my Q&A with Kim Fields below!!!

1. How did you get the idea for “Holiday Love?”

Well, last year, I had wanted to do a Christmas special, and I think it just kind of was literally dropped in my spirit. I was working with such wonderful crew out here in Atlanta, and being out here where you have 24-hour gospel, you have access to great music, and we just have so many friends in the industry. And it just started snowballing from there. The people that said yes immediately. Not wanting to do just a concert or a string of performances, but something that the artists would have fun doing and that audiences would enjoy seeing their favorite artists not in their regular light. Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, I remember all the great Christmas specials – like Carol Burnett or Bob Hope, Sonny& Cher and wanting to do something like that.

2. What is your favorite segment in “Holiday Love” and why?

Oh my goodness. There are so many quite honestly. I think, from a worship standpoint, I really love the Christmas carol segment between Yolanda Adams, Wess Morgan, Bryan Courtney Wilson and Kenny Lattimore. Every time I’ve seen the special, hundreds of times in editing and then just watching the special, that brings me to tears in absolute worship. And that’s something, while it’s great to have all of these other elements, the laughter, great music and even messages of love and all sorts of things, you have to worship in this season and heighten that worship in this season. I believe you should worship all of the time, but in this season for us, it is heightened. I was thrilled and grateful that God allowed us to have those moments as well. And by the time Kenny gets to the end of “O Come Let Us Adore Him,” I’m always in tears.

My other favorite moment was working with my sister (Alexis Fields) via Skype in the piano store as she and I are stalking Smokie Norful. I’m in the piano store to rent a piano for the Christmas party. I see him in there, and I recognize him, and I call my sister who is in California. She doesn’t believe me so I get my computer, and I Skype her so that we can look for Smokie Norful in the piano store. And He ends up sneaking up on me. It’s really my tribute to all of the great Lucy and Ethel moments of “I Love Lucy” and all of the great “Laverne & Shirley” moments.

There is something for every one – for every kind of music lover from jazz to ballads, to R&B, to gospel. There is certainly lots of funny stuff with Ricky Smiley and myself. There is a wonderful tap number from a Broadway star. Tye Tribbett does a great rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” with my son Sebastian and two other little boys that’s a lot of fun. The idea of families being together on Christmas morning watching this, it makes my spirit leap!

3. Obviously, “Holiday Love” demonstrates your faith in Jesus Christ. How, when & why did you become a Christian? And was it hard to be a Christian in Hollywood? What keeps you a Christian today?

I was 14, and I was visiting a church with my mother. My mother had written a play, and this church was supporting the show. We went to certain churches to tell people about the show. I was always brought up to be a very good kid. I didn’t grow up in the church, but I had home training. And when I was in the service, I felt, I guess the best way to explain it is that I felt this wave of love. I had always felt loved, but it was such a new level and that led me to God.

It was not hard for me to be a Christian in Hollywood because I was a child. And at 14, I hadn’t yet had to deal with some of the things that young people or young adults deal with that would come later. And because I had God, I was able, I think, to not do battle with those things that young people and teenagers have to deal with. But again, I had home training and a strong mother who never forgot that she was a parent even in the face of having a celebrity or a working actor for a child. So there were some things that just would not be tolerated in my house.

What keeps me a Christian today? Oh His goodness, His mercy. His power that helped me keep my mind when I should have lost my mind a long time ago just based on life. Of course, people know how child actors fall by the wayside or former child stars. I mean actors today, just people in the industry, and even if you’re not in the industry, life can be, you know, very difficult. And if you don’t have that rock and that grace over you…uh uh, I couldn’t even, I wouldn’t even know how to act without God. That is what keeps me a Christian. And you when you try to strike out on your own and do stuff on your own and make decisions on your own and you’re like, ummm, okay, yeah, I see why I need God.

4. I loved you as “Tootie” in “Facts of Life” and as Regine as “Living Single.” When you played “Tootie,” were you aware that you inspired little black girls across the nation because they were so few little black girls on television? And what did you like the most about playing Regine?

Not at all. I was aware of the love that I felt from the black community, but I was so young that you don’t equate it to oh, I’m the only one. You just say oh they like the show, thank you. And because I never set out to be famous or be a celebrity or rich or anything like that, I was just doing what I liked doing. So to me, that is was it was about.

And about Regine? That she was so absolutely different from me. It was a challenge.  To me, any actor worth their salt, the desire or the goal is to keep stretching out. You as a reporter or as a journalist, if you kept writing the same stories over and over again and the same types of things, after a while, you would want to be challenged and feel like you were stretching out or covering new ground. And so for me, Regine was definitely that. And she was just so much fun to play!

5. Do you prefer acting, director or producing and why? And what is it like to work with Tyler Perry?

I love it all very much. I’m still as passionate, if not more passionate, about acting and being a contributor to the entertainment industry. I’m more excited and more passionate as I was the day that I started. You certainly grow older and wiser, hopefully, prayerfully, and with wisdom, not letting any experiences turn you bitter but make you better. And so for me, I love it all.

Sometimes, my choices are made based on my schedule. For example, there are days when it’s nice just to be worried about what I’m doing as an actor because I don’t have to worry about the big picture. I don’t have to worry about the budget. I don’t have to worry about other departments. I can just go in, do my lines and go home. And then you have times where it’s great to contribute to the entire project and really have a voice on all fronts – the writing, the vision, the costumes, the music, the location, the casting, all of that. It’s all great.

First of all, it’s a blessing to work with Tyler Perry, but I don’t really work with him. Because when I’m directing, he’s not. He’s doing other things which is why they brought my mother (Chip Fields) and me in to direct to free up Tyler to be able to do other things and know that somebody was minding the store and taking care of his babies, so to speak, the way that he would because those projects, the characters that he created are a part of his heart and soul. So it’s more so working for him I guess. And with that, it’s a blessing. He’s incredibly creative, extremely generous and very funny, and very, very smart. I mean extremely smart about the team that he puts around him, the fact that he knows his audience so incredibly well. It’s inspiring as well.

6. What is your favorite Bible scripture and why?

Girl, it depends on what’s going on in my life. I think for where I am in my life right now, I’m almost at a bit of a crossroads in terms of expanding what I’m doing as a director and as a producer, reinventing myself as an actor, reinventing myself as a wife, growing as a mother, making stronger commitments to myself as a woman and as a human being, I think with all of that, right now, the scripture that is most applicable would be in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths, lean not to your own understanding. There’s also a proverb that says in all of your understanding, get wisdom. The whole idea of wisdom and understanding. I’m desperate for wisdom. I’m desperate for knowledge.

And learning from my, as my pastor calls it, my “missed takes.” You know, we can be so down on ourselves when we make mistakes, and Pastor Marlon said once look at it as a missed take, and when you have a missed take, you take it again, you take it from the top or you pick up from where you left off. Take 2, Take 3, Take 4. That helps me not be so hard on myself because I can get really hard on myself when I have to go back and examine mistakes and missteps. I think those scriptures pertaining to not leaning on my own understanding or not following all of just my own instincts and praying and diligently seeking wisdom.

 7. Tell me something about you that most people, particularly since you grew up and still are in the public eye, would be surprised to know?

I think people would be surprised to know that I have great discretion (laughing). I’m very discrete. But people would be surprised to know that I’m very shy, and I’m also very sensitive.

And Kim has many other projects in the works as well! She will be back in front of the camera in a new GMC (formerly Gospel Music Channel) TV special, “A Cross to Bear,” due out for release in February 2012 and the Jennifer Lopez film, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” based on the best-selling book. The film is scheduled to be released in Spring 2012!

Any thoughts?

The post Check out Kim Fields in her TV Christmas Special “Holiday Love” Airing on Christmas Day!!! appeared first on After the Altar Call.