Tag: Stellar Awards

(CHICAGO) July 19, 2022 — The Stellar Gospel Music Awards celebrated its 37th year honoring excellence in Gospel music during an uplifting weekend of events, concluding with the live-taped ceremony on Saturday, July 16, at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted by Stellar Award-winning artists Jekalyn Carr and Kierra Sheard, this year’s celebration will premiere Sunday, August 7, at 8 PM ET/PT on BET, BET Her, and BET International and will be syndicated in various local markets across the country between August 13 and September 11, 2022.

Pastor Mike, Jr. leads the list of winners with a total of six Stellar Awards, including Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Contemporary Male Artist of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year, and Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year, as well as Album of the Year for I Got It: Single’s Ministry Vol. 1. CeCe Winans won three Stellar Awards, including Producer of the Year, Praise and Worship Album of the Year, and Praise and Worship Song of the Year, all tied to the album Believe For It. Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music received three awards for their collaboration, Jonny x Mali: Live in L.A. EP, including Duo/Chorus Group of the Year, Contemporary Duo/Chorus Group of the Year, and Special Event Album of the Year.

Other notable winners during the 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards include Tamela Mann and Ricky Dillard, both of whom received two Stellar Awards, with Dillard also receiving the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by Toyota in recognition of his contributions to Gospel music as a renowned choir leader and recording artist. In addition, four-time nominee E. Dewey Smith was named Best New Artist for his 2021 album, God Period.

The 37th Stellar Gospel Music Awards features showstopping performances by Kirk Franklin, Erica Campbell, Maverick City Music, Marvin Sapp, Tye Tribbett, Le’Andria Johnson, Koryn Hawthorne, Brian Courtney Wilson, Jor’Dan Armstrong, Doe, Rudy Currence, Chrisette Michele, Darrel Walls, James Fortune and more.

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 received the Aretha Franklin Icon Award Presented by Aflac. Candi Staton also received the Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award, an honor that reflects her career of nearly seven decades as a music pioneer and a captivating Gospel music artist.

Top nominees for this year’s ceremony included CeCe Winans, who led the field with nine nominations, followed by Pastor Mike, Jr., who received eight nominations. Tamela Mann, Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music, and Todd Dulaney all received six nominations. Kelontae Gavin received five nominations. Maverick City Music, Israel Houghton, Ricky Dillard, E. Dewey Smith, and Jason Clayborn received four nominations each.

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.

GMF congratulates all winners and honorees, including the Triangle’s own Melissa Wade of The Light 103.9 FM, who won the Stellar Award for Gospel Announcer of the Year. You can see the entire list of this year’s winners here.

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

Congratulations to the nominees and winners of the 36th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards. The gospel awards show, with this year’s hosts Jekalyn Carr and Tye Tribbett, was taped live on July 10, 2021, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN, and aired Sunday, August 1, on BET.

Pastor Mike Jr. had a fantastic night with wins for Artist of the Year, Rap/Hip-Hop Gospel Album of the Year, and Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year. Other artists with multiple wins included Kierra Sheard (Song of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year), Maverick City Music (New Artist of the Year and Album of the Year), Jonathan McReynolds (Male Vocalist of the Year, Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year, and Producer of the Year along with Darryl Howell and Rogest Carstarphen, Jr.), and Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year, Praise and Worship Album of the Year, and Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year).

The Clark Sisters, Lady Tramaine Hawkins, and Pastor Shirley Caesar were among the evening’s honorees, receiving the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award, the Aretha Franklin Icon Award, and the Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award, respectively.

You can view the complete list of winners and honorees at thestellarwards.com.

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

CHICAGO, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Central City Productions revealed the nominees in 28 categories for the 36^th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, which will be taped on Saturday, July 10, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN. The Stellar Awards recognizes the year’s best performances in the genre, honors gospel music icons, and acknowledges the accomplishments of individuals instrumental in advocating for the industry.

“We’re extremely pleased and proud to present our 36^th annual Stellar Awards, appropriately themed ‘Lighting the Way with Our Faith, Music and Family,” remarked Don Jackson, Founder of the Stellar Awards and Chairman of Central City Productions, Inc. “Over the past year, gospel music has taken on an even more pronounced role in the lives of people around the world – dealing with a double, global pandemic of COVID-19 and social injustice – who have relied on gospel music as a source of comfort, strength, and encouragement until we can get to better days ahead.”

Each year, the preeminent industry event recognizes the year’s best album releases and pays special tribute to those gospel trailblazers who continually set the bar higher. This year’s recipient of the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement is The Clark Sisters, who saw a resurgent appreciation of their musical longevity after the release of their biopic. Lady Tramaine Hawkins will be honored with the Aretha Franklin Icon Award as a testament to her 50+ years in the industry. Pastor Shirley Caesar will receive the Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award for her 70+ years of longevity in the industry. Bishop Dr. Leonard Scott is tapped to receive the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award as the founder of Tyscot Music + Entertainment, the oldest operating Black-owned gospel record label. Black Smoke Music founder Kerry Douglas, label executive and A&R guru Skip Barrett, and Gospel Today magazine founder Teresa Hairston will be inducted into the Stellar Honors Hall of Fame.

Millennial gospel superstar Jonathan McReynolds (pictured), co-host of the 35th Annual Stellar Awards, tops the list of nominees this year with eight nominations. Embarking upon a career in gospel music less than a decade ago, McReynolds continues to bless audiences and is nominated for his work on People (eOne Music), receiving nominations in the categories of Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Producer of the Year, Contemporary Male Artist of the Year, and Contemporary Album of the Year. He also is nominated for Song of the Year and in the category of Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year for his work on “Movin’ On ft. Mali Music” (eOne Music).  

Anthony Brown & group therAPy, Kierra Sheard, Maverick City Music, and Pastor Mike, Jr. are among a four-way tie of gospel artists this year, each receiving seven nominations, including a nod each for Artist of the Year. Brown’s contemporary music genre ignites roof-raising praise, which resulted in nominations for 2econd Wind: Ready (Key of A/Tyscot/Fair Trade) in six additional categories of Male Artist of the Year, Duo/Chorus Group of the Year, Producer of the Year, Contemporary Duo/Chorus Group of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year, and Special Event Album of the Year.

Sheard’s inspirational project Kierra (Karew/RCA Inspiration) was recognized in the categories of Albertina Walker Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Contemporary Female Artist of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year, and Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year. She also received a nomination for Song of the Year for her work on the project “Something Has to Break (Live) ft. Tasha Cobbs Leonard” (Karew/RCA Inspiration).  

Maverick City Music stirs up spirit-filled worship with the contemporary album Maverick City Music Vol. 3 Part 1 (Tribl Records) which received additional nominations in the key categories of Duo/Chorus Group of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Contemporary Duo/Chorus Group of the Year, Special Event Album of the Year, and Praise and Worship Album of the Year. Rounding out the four artists tied with seven nominations is Pastor Mike, Jr. whose hip hop gospel sounds in Big: Freedom Sessions (Black Smoke Music Worldwide) garnered nominations in the categories of Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Contemporary Male Artist of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year, Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year, and Rap Hip Hop Gospel Album of the Year.

Other celebrated artists receiving multiple Stellar nominations include: Jekalyn Carr, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, The Clark Sisters, Rev. Luther Barnes and the Restoration Worship Center Choir, and the Chicago Mass Choir.

The Stellar Awards live show taping is returning to Nashville, debuting at the glamorous Schermerhorn Symphony Center in the heart of the city’s booming downtown area on Saturday, July 10, 2021. Although great strides are being made to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is not yet back to normal. Given this, tickets will not be sold to the public; but nominees, show talent and special invited guests will make up the audience for the taping of the 36^th Annual Stellar Awards. Viewers around the country will be able to watch the show in national broadcast syndication starting July 30^th through September 5^th.

To view the complete list of nominees: https://www.thestellarawards.com/2021nominees.html

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.

GMF congratulates all of the winners and honorees at the 33rd Annual Stellar Awards. The complete list of this year’s winners is available here.  


In addition to this year’s winners, honorees were Tamela Mann, who accepted the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award; the late Bishop Kenneth Moales, Sr., who was honored with a posthumous Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award; and Rev. Milton Biggham, who received the Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award.  The life and legacy of the late Rev. Edwin Hawkins (d. January 15, 2018) was celebrated with a posthumous Edwin Hawkins Icon Award, accepted by his sister, Lynette Hawkins Stephens. 


Also lauded were this year’s Stellar Honors Hall of Fame inductees: Ben Tankard, Dr. Marabeth Gentry, and Kurt Carr.

The 33rd Stellar Awards broadcast will premiere Friday, March 30, at 9 PM EST on TVOne, and will air in broadcast syndication around the country from March 31 through May 6, 2018.  Check your local listings for air dates and times. 

Libra Boyd

Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.