BET Awards 2016: Gospel Category List

Sunday’s 2016 BET Awards honor the best in music, movies, television and sports. Here on DBliss Media we have the gospel category nominees and the winner of the awards that was held yesterday, Sunday June 26 2016 at The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Hosted for the second year in a row by “Black-ish” co-stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, the show is giving some of our favorite films, from “Creed” to “Beasts of No Nation,” “Dope” and more, a chance to add some final hardware to their awards cabinets.

In addition to those three movies, the Best Movie category is rounded out by “Concussion” and “Straight Outta Compton.” The acting races pit Kerry Washington against Viola Davis, Michael B. Jordan against Idris Elba, and more. Samuel L. Jackson and “Grey’s Anatomy” star Jesse Williams will both receive special honors, the former with the Lifetime Achievement Award and the latter with the Humanitarian Award. There’s also planned tributes to the late Muhammad Ali and Prince.

Gospel Category

Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award

Anthony Brown & Group Therapy

Erica Campbell

Kirk Franklin (WINNER)

Lecrae

Tamela Mann

Tasha Cobbs

Kirk Franklin, Gospel Category BET Awards Winner

2016 Billboard Music Awards: Christian/Gospel Artists Win At Billboard Music Awards Hillsong UNITED, Lauren Daigle and Kirk Franklin win in six categories

In the just concluded 2016 Billboard Music Awards, three artists came out on top of the six Christian and Gospel categories with Hillsong UNITED winning Top Christian Song ("Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" and Top Christian Artist, Lauren Daigle winning Top Christian Album for her debut and Kirk Franklin sweeping all three of the Gospel categories. 

Here's the full list of nominations in the Christian categories:

Top Christian Song:

​Hillsong UNITED, "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" - WINNER

​Hillsong UNITED, "Touch The Sky"

​MercyMe, "Flawless"

NEEDTOBREATHE Featuring Gavin DeGraw, "Brother"

Chris Tomlin, "Good Good Father"

Top Christian Artist:

Casting Crowns

Lauren Daigle

​Hillsong United - WINNER

MercyMe

Chris Tomlin

Top Christian Album:

Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be - WINNER

​Hillsong UNITED, Empires

Joey + Rory, Hymns That Are Important To Us

​TobyMac, This Is Not A Test

Chris Tomlin, Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship

Top Gospel Artist:

Anthony Brown and group therAPy

Tasha Cobbs

Kirk Franklin - WINNER

Travis Greene

Marvin Sapp

Top Gospel Album:

Anthony Brown & group therAPy, Everyday Jesus

Tasha Cobbs, One Place Live

Kirk Franklin, Losing My Religion - WINNER

Jonathan McReynolds, Life Music: Stage Two

Marvin Sapp, You Shall Live

Top Gospel Song:

Anthony Brown and group therAPy, "Worth"

Erica Campbell feat. Big Shizz, "I Luh God"

Kirk Franklin, "Wanna Be Happy?" - WINNER

Travis Greene, "Intentional"

Brian Courtney Wilson, "Worth Fighting For"

Kanye West expounds on how ‘gospel’ his new album will be in interview

Kanye West shed a little light in an interview on Thursday about why he thinks his upcoming, untitled LP formerly known as So Help Me God, SWISH and WAVES is a gospel album.

When radio host Big Boy asked him what listeners should expect from his album, West expounded on his surprising claim from the previous week on Twitter.

“Ultra-light beams. I’m trying to open up hearts, minds. When I was sitting in the studio with Kirk [Franklin] and we were just going through it … I said, ‘This is a gospel album — with a whole lot of cursing on it, but it’s still a gospel album,’” West laughed. “It was the gospel according to Ye. It’s not exactly what happened in the Bible, but it’s a story of this idea of Mary Magdalene becoming Mary.”

This concept alone would not classify the album as gospel. There have been hints on social media about the inclusion of a gospel song, though.

2 Chainz posted the photograph above of West and Kirk Franklin on Instagram last week. Two days later, gospel singer Crystal Lewis shared a photo of her in the studio with Franklin, Anthony Evans and several other gospel artists and wrote “#kirkandkanye” in the caption.

Sang with these SINGERS last night! Ahhhh! It was a bit like being in class... Like, as in, they took me to task. Boy you better focus and be quick working with @kirkfranklin! Been a long time! #heysopranos #kirkandkanye

Lending support to this idea is the tracklist that West tweeted last month, which included a song titled “Father Stretch My Hands.” This song samples Pastor T.L. Barrett’s 2012 gospel song “Father Stretch My Hands,” according to Genius. Rapper A$AP Bari recently shared a clip on his Snapchat of West listening to the track.

Editors Note: The news of this collaboration is a plus to the music industry as two great artist come together for an album. The presence of Kirk Franklin in this Kanye West  will make this in my opinion Kanye West's best album.  Looking forward to it.

Where Kirk Franklin thinks Christian hip hop can improve

Rapzilla recently asked legendary gospel artist Kirk Franklin how he thinks Christian hip hop can improve. 

"More production, less safety," he said.

Franklin expounded on both, touching on the latter first.

"There's a real conversation after church that happens that I think Christian hip hop needs to be inclusive of," he said. "Does that makes sense? There's a church parking lot conversation, but Christian hip hop still at times sounds like the 11 o'clock service conversation ...

"And I think that the production just still needs to be more fearless. Because that's what hip hop is, you know. The heartbeat of hip hop is being fearless and being a rebel, but still staying true to the authenticity of scripture, and the inerrancy of scripture, and I believe that they both can coexist."

What do you think of Franklin's thoughts?

Source: Rapzilla

Watch KB, Derek Minor, Tedashii, Kirk Franklin, NF, Crowder, Matt Maher, Israel & New Breed and Kari Jobe's performances at 2015 Dove Awards

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) has released footage of performances at the 2015 Dove Awards, including those by artists  KB, Derek Minor, Tedashii, Kirk Franklin, NF, Crowder, Matt Maher, Israel & New Breed and Kari Jobe.

Watch all of the performances below.

Source: DBM Staff

‘Losing My Religion’ Marks Kirk Franklin’s 11th Consecutive #1 Debut

Album Debuts No. 1 at Billboard’s Current Gospel Chart, Billboard’s Top Christian/Gospel Albums Chart and No. 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart

Single “Wanna Be Happy?” Also Lands No. 1 Spot on Mediabase Gospel Radio Chart, Billboard.com’s Hot Gospel Songs and Digital Gospel Songs Charts

Dallas, TX – Multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning artist, songwriter, producer and music icon Kirk Franklin, has crafted another #1 hit with his eleventh studio album, LOSING MY RELIGION (Fo Yo Soul Recordings / RCA Records).

Released on November 13th, LOSING MY RELIGION debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Current Gospel Chart and Billboard’s Top Christian/Gospel Albums Chart. The album also entered No.10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart, according to Nielsen Soundscan. LOSING MY RELIGION marks Franklin’s eleventh consecutive No.1 debut.

Continuing with a week of No. 1 wins, lead single “Wanna Be Happy?” tops the Mediabase Gospel radio chart, Billboard.com’s Hot Gospel Songs and Digital Gospel Songs Charts. “Wanna Be Happy?” debuted in late August and broke the record previously set by Franklin with “I Smile (2011)” to become the best first-week digital single in gospel sales history.

With other songs such as “Pray For Me,” “When” (feat. Kim Burrell and Lalah Hathaway), “My World Needs You” (feat. Sarah Reeves, Tasha Cobbs and Tamela Mann), “Miracles,” and the title track “Losing My Religion,” LOSING MY RELIGION is Franklin’s most comprehensive album yet, garnering accolades from fans, peers and critics, with the Associated Press declaring it “a very well-crafted album from the first song to the 13th.”

Franklin has been on the road for the release of LOSING MY RELIGION, including a sold-out album release concert at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral of New York on November 13th, and recent television appearances around the country including HLN, NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, PIX11 Morning News, Good Day Atlanta, Good Day DC and more.

LOSING MY RELIGION is available everywhere.

Links:

Amazon 

Google Play

iTunes

Apple Music 

Spotify

For more information and the latest news on Kirk Franklin, click the links below:

Official Website
Facebook
Twitter 
Youtube

Source: DBM Staff

NEWS: Kirk Franklin Makes Headlines With Apology to Gay Community

The legendary gospel singer shares his apology In an interview with TheGrio.com
 

Kirk Franklin apologized for the way the church, specifically the black church, has responded to the gay community in an interview with TheGrio.com this week.

In the interview, Franklin said "I want to apologize for all of the hurtful and painful things that have been said about people in the church that have been talented and gifted and musical, that we've used and we've embarrassed... and all this other horrible crap that we've done. We have not treated them like people. We're talking about human beings, men and women that God has created."

His words quickly reached viral status, becoming a trending headline on facebook. The statements follow the release of Kirk Franklin's latest album, Losing My Religion, which focuses on the theme of looking beyond legalism in faith. When talking about the Bible, Franklin said "It is horrible that we have made it where the Bible is a homophobic manual. That's not what the Bible is. I mean you want to talk about things that God gets at... pride and jealousy and envy and arrogance. But what we also see is God sending his son to save us all, because we were all... straight, gay or whatever, lost and in need of a savior, and there's room at the cross for all of us."

You can watch the full interview here.

Source: NRT




 

VIDEO: Music Legend Kirk Franklin Debuts New Music Video For "Wanna Be Happy"

Here is the official video of ”Wanna Be Happy?” by Kirk Franklin. ”Wanna Be Happy?” is off the maestro’s forthcoming LP, ""Losing My Religion". The video was directed by Rock Jacobs. See the video below and tell us what you think.

Source: DBM Staff

VIDEO: Gospel Music Legend Kirk Franklin Releases "Losing My Religion Teaser" Video

Watch the video teaser of Kirk Franklin’s upcoming album ”Losing My Religion. You can also Pre-order “Losing My Religion” now! Album in stores 11/13!


 












Watch Video Below: 

ADs


iTunes (instantly receive 123 Victory and Road Trip before street date)-
http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-I

Kirk Franklin Official Store (includes autographed booklet + Losing My Religion poster)-
http://myplay.me/1f1m

Amazon-
http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-A

Google Play-
http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-G

Spotify-
http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-S

Apple Music-
http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-Ap

Source: DBM Staff

NEWS: Kirk Franklin New Album Losing My Religion Available Now For Pre Order

Nine-time GRAMMY® Award winning artist, songwriter and producer, Kirk Franklin’s new album LOSING MY RELIGION is available for pre-order everywhere music is digitally sold. Described as his “most intentional body of work,” LOSING MY RELIGION features 13 powerful tracks including the chart topping single “Wanna Be Happy?” Pre-order LOSING MY RELIGION today and instantly receive two tracks, “Wanna Be Happy?” and “123 Victory” from the new album. LOSING MY RELIGION, the eleventh album from Kirk Franklin, will be available everywhere on November 13, 2015.

The first single from LOSING MY RELIGION, “Wanna Be Happy?,” debuted at #1 on the charts upon its release in August and also became the best first-week, digital single in gospel sales history, selling 11,882 units in its premiere week. “Wanna Be Happy?” is currently #6 on the MediaBase Gospel Singles Chart and #11 on the Urban Adult Contemporary Singles Chart. Be sure to catch Kirk Franklin performing his latest hit during The 46th Annual GMA Dove Awards, premiering Sunday, October 18 at 8pm ET/9pm CT on TBN.

Kirk Franklin – Losing My Religion Pre-Order Links: 
 
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-I

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-A

Google Play: http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-G

Spotify: http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-S

Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/LosingMyReligion-Ap


Kirk Franklin’s: LOSING MY RELIGION Track Listing
 

• Losing My Religion

• Miracles

• 123 Victory

• Road Trip

• Pray For Me

• Wanna be Happy?

• It’s Time feat. Tasha Page-Lockhart and Zacardi Cortez

• True Story

• Over

• When feat. Kim Burrell and Lalah Hathaway

• My World Needs You feat. Sarah Reeves, Tasha Cobbs and Tamela Mann

• Intercession

• No Sleep Tonight 

Source: DBM Staff

NEW RELEASE: Kirk Franklin Announces New Album " Losing My Religion".

Veteran Gospel artiste Kirk Franklin, has unveiled details of his soon to be released album "Losing My Religion". The Gospel hit maker who had recently released the first single "Wanna Be Happy’?", off the album, made the announcement few days ago. He also went further to unveil the official album cover. The album is due for release on November 13th, and will be available for pre-order beginning October 16th!

Source: DBM Staff

Gospel Music Legend Kirk Franklin Releases Brand New Single - “Wanna Be Happy?”

It’s been five years since the legendary multi award winning recording artiste and producer Kirk Franklin released his last project ‘Hello Fear’. But the wait for his return is over, as he releases a new single titled ‘Wanna Be Happy?’ off the forthcoming full project due out this November.

Kirk’s “Hello Fear” from 2011 sold over 570,000 units and spent 19 weeks atop Billboard’s Top Gospel and it’s single “I Smile” spent 20+ weeks on top of the Hot Gospel Songs Charts.

When asked by Billboard what inspired the new single, Kirk replied,

First and foremost, every human being wants to be happy. And we will try different things all in the pursuit of that feeling. With this song I’m saying if you really want to be happy, you have to start with the originator. It’s like wanting to lose weight. Do you really want to lose weight? Because if you do, there’s a price to pay: You have to work at it.

And this song is saying if you really want to be happy, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of what that is. We’re not the architects of our lives. We’ve got to go to the manufacturer. And it’s my goal to try to lead people to the manufacturer of their souls.

Listen to the Audio:

Watch Kirk Performing live @ Finale of Sunday Best All Stars

Source: DBM Staff

# 2: 5 BOLD CHRISTIANS WHO ARE NOT SCARED OF WORKING WITH SECULAR CELEBRITIES - 2016 LIST

#2.  KIRK FRANKLIN AND KANYE WEST

Image: Instagram

Gospel pioneer Kirk Franklin has been getting a lot of flack for his involvement in Kanye West's latest album The Life of Pablo. In a recent interview, Franklin confessed that working with the rapper is really a mission that has a bigger purpose. In an Instagram post put up shortly after West featured Franklin on his SNL performance, Franklin addressed those who were judging him for working with the Grammy Award winning rapper. 

Also Read:  Kanye West expounds on how ‘gospel’ his new album will be in interview

Kanye is not me. I am not him. He is my brother I am proud to do life with. No sprints, but Marathons; like most of us are on. Before one song was released, I was crucified because my brother asked me to take a picture. Again "no Kanye, you're not good enough"? No. That is a dangerous message I believe we send to the world when our posture is they have to meet certain requirements before they are worthy to kiss the ring. 

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It says people are not redeemable, forgivable or candidates for grace. That my friend is religious. I will not turn my back on my brother. I will love him, prayerfully grow with him. However long he'll have me, and however long the race takes. To a lot of my Christian family, I'm sorry he's not good enough, Christian enough, or running at your pace...and as I read some of your comments, neither am I. That won't stop me from running. Pray we win.

Gospel singer Crystal Lewis shared a photo:Sang with these SINGERS last night! Ahhhh! It was a bit like being in class... Like, as in, they took me to task. Boy you better focus and be quick working with @kirkfranklin! Been a long time! #heysopranos #kirkandkanye

West's new single, "Ultralight Beams," features Franklin, Crystal Lewis, Anthony Evans, and other gospel artists. In a recent interview Franklin talked about why he believes it was important for him to be involved in the mainstream album.

Also Read: Kanye West Says God Wrote His Gospel Album That Has a 'Whole Lot of Cursing'

Bottom of Form 

"Music for me should be more like a mission. I don't work with an artist to try to blow up, but to see if the music can be medicine, if it can be therapeutic and serve a bigger purpose," Franklin said. "Christian music, gospel music, sometimes you'll fall asleep at church but music wakes you up, the song can speak to you in a way that's puts a fire in you. So if I'm working with a mainstream artist I'm trying to find a bigger purpose. 

As a Christian I'm trying to shine the brighter light." "Whether it's Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole or Common there are a lot of artists, especially rappers, who come from a background with a faith-based substance, and it's time for that substance to be celebrated and appreciated," Franklin continued.

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