“He Shall Reign” Bridgett Kern Platinum Image Music Group (2014) www.BridgettKern.com A worship leader, songwriter, and pastor, Bridgett Kern delivers this vertical praiser that combines the feel-good melodicism of CCM with the bracing, energetic punch of rock, and vocals from the modern gospel tradition. The CCM feel is not coincidental: the song was written by Israel Houghton collaborators BJ Putnam and Doug Engquist, and produced by Putnam. Kern leads worship at Radiant Life Church in Phoenix, Arizona. She and her husband, Dr. Joseph Kern, founded the church. The single is from her forthcoming album, No One Greater, scheduled for release in ...

JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise I See Victory Light Records (October 28, 2014) www.lightrecords.com By Bob Marovich Recorded at the First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Connecticut, I See Victory is the seventh live CD for JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise and, with seventeen tracks, the group’s most ambitious release to date. The choir, perhaps best known for the gospel hit, “Incredible God, Incredible Praise,” can claim musical roots in the ministry of Bishop J. C. White and the Institutional Church of God in Christ Choir. Institutional’s “Stretch Out (When Jesus Comes)” was a major gospel hit in 1967 (read more about the influence ...

Bob Marovich of the Journal of Gospel Music interviews gospel artist and fellow Hoosier Lamar Campbell (Lamar Campbell & Spirit of Praise). Listen to the interview and hear the group’s new single, “Power of Love.”

“Take It to the Lord in Prayer” Patrick Lundy & the Ministers of Music (2014) From the CD Majesty: A Recording of Anthems, Hymns, and Spirituals www.plundymom.com Incorporating the semi-classical flourishes of Richard Smallwood and Donald Lawrence, Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music give Rev. Nolan Williams’ “Take It to the Lord In Prayer” a lush, restorative reading.  The voices rise and fall with the effortlessness of breathing. Though the melody is different, the lyrics pull verses from Joseph Scriven’s nineteenth-century hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Lundy and the MOM proclaim, “Some things we have not ...

Bob Marovich of the Journal of Gospel Music interviews Casey J, whose “Fill Me Up” is currently in the Top 20 of Billboard‘s Top Gospel Airplay Chart.

“All We Need Is Love” Totally 4 Him feat. Doug Williams & Stan Jones T4HBless@gmail.com Totally 4 Him, a young male quartet from the Full Gospel Church of God in Lumber City, Georgia, calls its style “quartemporary:” quartet music with a contemporary twist. The group’s national debut single, “All We Need Is Love,” illustrates the singers’ commitment to genre-bending by combining quartet harmonies with an island beat and smooth pop production. The Caribbean flavor gives the song’s inspirational we’ve-got-to-love-everybody theme a Bob Marley feel. The single also benefits from able assists by gospel quartet veterans Doug Williams and Stan Jones, who drop ...

NEW YORK, October 16, 2014 – Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®), a global leader in music rights management, is set to salute gospel leaders Israel Houghton, LaShun Pace and The Anointed Pace Sisters at its 16th annual Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards in Atlanta. The event, which was previously held in Nashville, is slated for Saturday, January 17, 2015 at the Rialto Center for the Arts (80 Forsyth Street NW, Atlanta, Ga.). Gospel music’s premier songwriters, brightest stars and leading industry executives will attend the invitation-only event, which is part industry celebration and part awe-inspiring worship service. BMI will also announce ...

From a Press Release: The newly established independent label, A&P Records (Aquila & Priscilla), home to Louisiana based family group, The Showers, has signed an exclusive national distribution partnership with Habakkuk Music/INgrooves Fontana. Marketing and publicity efforts are powered by The J. Hardy Agency, LLC. “A & P Records are excited about this new ordained union with Habukkuk Music. We’re looking forward to this partnership sharing great music with God’s people!” says family member Regina Showers. The Showers first gained national visibility aboard the regional success of their 2009 independent debut album, Hear My Prayer, which sold several thousand copies. Going ...

“Here I Am” Team David From the Muscle Shoals Sound Gospel album Here I Am (August 2014) www.malaco.com Employing Boys II Men harmonies and balladry, the modern gospel group Team David delivers the finger-popping “Here I Am,” a cleverly penned song about turning one’s life over to Jesus. Rather than use the phrases typically used to describe the conversion process, Team David instead employs the metaphor of turning oneself in for a crime committed. After acknowledging that “I am guilty, filthy of sin” and “I did the crime, now I must do the time,” the group asks God to “Sentence me to ...

“It’s Our Time” Dr. Vera Goodman & Anointed Praise First Lady Productions (2014) Anointedpraise2011@yahoo.com The ensemble from Jacksonville, Florida, that gave us the flowing, dramatic “I Believe” offers “It’s Our Time,” a tough-talking staccato declaration of war on the devil. “He don’t fight fair, but we ain’t scared,” the group sings, like prayer warriors clad in armor suits preparing for battle. “We’re taking over, ‘cause it’s our time.”  The single is one more example of how Dr. Vera Goodman & Anointed Praise deserves a closer look by major labels and gospel radio PDs. Incidentally, “I Believe” is now available as ...