Brian Courtney Wilson: An Artist Rising

By Bob Marovich of The Black Gospel Blog.

To say that much has happened to Brian Courtney Wilson since he sat down to talk with TBGB in September 2008 would be an understatement.

Wilson’s debut solo album, Just Love, was released on Matthew Knowles’ Spirit Rising Music imprint in January 2009, and shot like a bullet to the Top Ten of the Billboard gospel album charts. Today, more than a year after its release, Just Love still sits high, at #11.

The album’s first two singles, “Already Here” and “All I Need,” also charted. “All I Need” has been on the Billboard gospel single charts for 49 weeks and remains in the Top Twenty.

Last week, Wilson told TBGB why he believes “All I Need” became popular and has remained so. “Yolanda Adams played it on her [syndicated radio] show early on. And I recently saw a tweet that said ‘All I Need’ was ‘simple yet heartfelt at the same time’ and that it has ‘depth in the performance.’ When you do gospel, you want to be authentic. When people respond this way, we know we did it.”

In addition to chart success, Wilson received a 2009 Mississippi Gospel Music Award for Song of the Year by a National Single Artist for “All I Need,” written by Stan Jones, who also produced Just Love. Next month, Wilson will find out if he garners any honors at the 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards. Last year, he was a presenter on the program. This year, he has been nominated for New Artist of the Year and Urban Recorded Song of the Year (“Just Love”).

Meanwhile, “Believe,” a selection from Just Love that TBGB includes on its list of Gospel Songs for Weddings, is being marketed to urban contemporary radio. “The video we did of this song at my church had 10,000 hits on YouTube before the album was even released,” Wilson commented.

The latest single from the album is the title track, “Just Love.” “This is the song that talks about my transition to gospel music ministry, meeting Matthew Knowles and recording the album.”

Needless to say, Wilson’s previous career as a pharmaceutical rep is in the rear view mirror. He is now writing songs and pitching them to artists planning recordings. Spirit Rising Music is also discussing a re-release of Just Love with four new songs sometime this fall.

Despite the success, Wilson acknowledges that it has not been a frictionless journey. “There was a year when we weren’t even sure that the album was going to come out, but God loves me so much, he won’t let me mess his will.”

Photo: Brian Courtney Wilson w/TBGB’s Bob Marovich, September 2008.