A reality show featuring Whitney Houston’s relatives, including daughter Bobbi Kristina and mother Cissy, is in the works.

Houston representative Kristen Foster confirmed the Lifetime show, “The Houston Family Chronicles,” on last Friday.

It will focus on Pat Houston, sister-in-law and manager of the late singer. Pat Houston is also helping care for Whitney Houston’s only child, 19-year-old Bobby Kristina. The show promises to feature Bobbi Kristina and Cissy, as well as Houston’s cousin Dionne Warwick, gospel singer CeCe Winans and other members of the Houston family.  

Reports are saying that Cissy Houston feels that the new show could launch Bobbi Kristina’s singing career.

A recent report also revealed that Bobby Brown hasn’t been particularly supportive of his daughter’s involvement in the show not because of privacy concerns, but because he wanted her to star on his own upcoming reality show.

Whitney Houston drowned in a bathtub in February at age 48 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Authorities said her death was complicated by cocaine use and heart disease.

Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s brother Gary and Bobbi Kristina spoke about Houston’s death in an interview with Oprah Winfrey on Winfrey’s OWN network in March.

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with residents following a speech after meeting with homeowners Val and Paul Keller to discuss the housing crisis in Nevada, at their Clear Acre neighborhood home in Reno, Nevada, May 11, 2012.

A new poll shows that President Barack Obama’s decision to support gay marriage might make many independents and even some Democrats less likely to vote for him in November.

According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll released Saturday, 26 percent say Obama’s support of gay marriage will make them less likely to vote for him as compared to just 13 percent who say it will make them more likely.

About 60 percent of Americans say Obama’s May 9th announcement will make no difference to who they will vote for.

The poll also found there was a negligible difference between the number of Americans who support gay marriage in general, which is about 50 percent, and those who approve of Obama’s position on the issue, 51 percent.

Gallup noted that since there is a strong relationship between party identification and vote choice, a key to assessing how the change in Obama’s view of same-sex marriage will affect his vote share this fall would be to look at its effect on independents, and on Democrats and Republicans whose views are different from the majority of their party.

Keeping that in mind, Obama’s position is likely to cost him more independent and Democratic votes than he would gain in this category. This indicates that his new position is more of a net minus than a net plus for him, according to the poll. Twenty three percent of independents and 10 percent of Democrats say Obama’s support for gay marriage makes them less likely to vote for him, while a smaller 11 percent of independents and 2 percent of Republicans say it makes them more likely to vote for Obama, who is the first president to publicly support gay marriage while in office.

However, the poll’s writer noted that those figures suggest that it is a relatively limited group of voters whose votes may change as a result of Obama’s new stance.

The results were based on telephone interviews conducted May 10 on the Gallup Daily tracking survey, with a random sample of 1,013 adults living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Obama’s support of gay marriage came a day after voters in North Carolina approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions by a large margin on Tuesday.

While Obama has come out with his new stance on same-sex marriage, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has made it clear that he opposes it. Romney told Fox News Thursday, “I believe that marriage has been defined the same way for literally thousands of years by virtually every civilization in history and that marriage is by its definition a relationship between a man and woman.” But he also said that gay couples should have the right to adopt children and start families.

A Rasmussen Reports tracking poll shows that Romney now leads the president by an eight-point margin.

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) announced today its first round of teachers and mentors confirmed for IMMERSE: Sam Mizell, Aaron Lindsey, Jennie Lee Riddle, Mia Fieldes, Tony Wood, Sue C. Smith, Nathan Walters, Gabriel Combs, Joel Lindsey and Don Poythress. These hit songwriters and producers have worked with artists including Matthew West, Natalie Grant, Marvin Sapp, Israel Houghton, Hawk Nelson, Rachael Lampa and Phillips, Craig & Dean among others.

“This is the BIGGEST year for IMMERSE,” states Chris Erlanson, Chairman of IMMERSE and President of 168 Management. “Since IMMERSE started in 2009, we’ve never seen this level of participation from the Christian Music industry. We now have more producers, songwriters, managers, record companies, agents and artists than we have ever had before. There is no other conference delivering this level of networking and content.”

IMMERSE is an action-packed 3 & 1/2 day event scheduled for July 22 to July 25 at Rocketown in Nashville, TN. Kicking off with a Sunday evening worship night featuring Michael W. Smith and an artist choir, the event leads into a full schedule Monday through Wednesday with a variety of educational sessions, hands-on training, mentoring, feedback, concerts and a unique competition opportunity called reVIEWyou.

“IMMERSE provides a rare opportunity for up-and-coming artists, songwriters and future music business professionals to network and receive specific training and feedback.” says, Jackie Patillo, GMA’s Executive Director, “The Gospel Music Association is excited to provide this environment that we believe will inspire and develop the next generation of Christian and Gospel music creatives and professionals.”

At the heart of IMMERSE is the unique opportunity to attend targeted sessions, which cover everything from co-writing to performance techniques. Business minded attendees can receive training in booking, management, publishing and marketing. Additional topics will cover promotion, radio, vocal training, publicity, legal and more.

A sampling of 2012’s sessions include:

Creating a Star! Learn what to look for (and avoid!) when developing an artist Keeping the Balance Between The Heart and the Work of Songwriting

Laying A Firm Foundation for Your Song – Structure

Step by Step Demo Production

Registration, housing information and many more details about IMMERSE are now available at www.experienceimmerse.com.

Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter Cheri Keaggy is set to unveil her most vulnerable album to date, So I Can Tell, on July 10. The first CD since her independent 2007 release, Because He First Loved Us, Keaggy draws on the encouragement of Scripture and her utter reliance on the comforting power of God to create an honest, engaging recording that is reflective of her emergence from a difficult season in life.

“Out of the trials of the past months, I feel like God has given me some gold,” Keaggy says of the new songs. “Now it’s time for me to pour it out.”

Under the guidance of Gospel Music Hall of Famer and legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy, Cheri Keaggy called on the combined talents of Scott Dente and Ken Lewis from Global Genius Productions to produce the new record. The combination of rich, acoustic sounds with Cheri Keaggy’s signature plaintive vocals and searingly honest lyrics results in a project that confronts life’s realities, even when filled with despair, and offers listeners the way to navigate through the challenges to a place of hope through Christ.

“Cheri’s new CD is a real blessing on many levels and these songs are among my favorite Cheri songs,” says Phil Keaggy. “They are brimming with heart and truth. There is a deep passion in her lyrics that truly touches the soul of the listener. Cheri really shines on this masterful collection of her original material. This CD will touch you and lift you with hope.”

Penned following the end of her nearly 23-year marriage to her high school sweetheart, So I Can Tell is a testimony of God’s goodness in the midst of pain and suffering. Like a modern day psalmist, Keaggy’s lyrics express grief, loneliness, and God’s comfort in the contemporary hymns “Bind Me To You,” “There Will Be One Day” and the arresting “Hello, God.” She echoes the apostle Paul in the memorable piano ballad “To Live is Christ” and celebrates Christ’s provision in the ukulele-based crowd favorite “Air, Food, and Water.”

Through an accessible folk-pop presentation, the album leaves listeners with a renewed sense that God is with us, no matter what. So I Can Tell is filled with the radio-ready songs for which Keaggy is known and loved. Her lush vocals lovingly caress piano ballads like the title cut and the haunting “When You Were Jesus To Me.” Her voice takes on a lilting quality in the hope-infused “Starting a New Year Today,” written on the one-year anniversary of her divorce. As an added bonus, guitar maestro Phil Keaggy closes the album with the peace-evoking benediction “Postlude: Invitation to Hope.”

Cheri Keaggy partnered with her fans to raise the capital for the new project through the innovative Kickstarter “crowd-funding” business model. Keaggy joins Christian musicians such as Shaun Groves and John Schlitt, and Christian filmmaker Steve Taylor (Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz ), who also used the service to fund their most recent projects.

“I never would have had the courage to launch Kickstarter if I hadn’t already experienced God working so mightily on my behalf through the body of Christ,” says Keaggy. “Somehow I knew if God was in this music, then it would be no trouble at all for Him to supply the resources to make it happen. He truly is bringing ‘beauty from ashes’ with this project.”

About Cheri Keaggy:
Cheri Keaggy began her career as a worship leader at a small church in Southern California before recording her debut album on Sparrow Records, Child of the Father , in 1994. Honored with a Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year, Cheri has gone on to record seven additional albums, resulting in nine No. 1 songs, three Dove Award nominations and a Dove Award win. After more than two decades in music, her ministry has expanded to include speaking engagements as well.

For more information on Cheri Keaggy and So I Can Tell , visit cherikeaggy.com . Follow Cheri Keaggy on Twitter ( @cherikeaggy ) or on Facebook by choosing “like” at the Cheri Keaggy Fan Page ( facebook.com/cherikeaggy ). Fans also can read Cheri Keaggy’s weekly blog at www.cherikeaggy.com.

When news broke last week that Jill Scott had a brief Twitter beef with two of the Braxtons over ‘Mary Mary’s’ new reality show, many wondered when the Philadelphia singer became such a fan of the gospel duo. However a recently released clip is shedding light on the situation and showing that Scott and the Mary’s are actually really good friends.

As previously reported Tamar Braxton took offense at Scott encouraging fans to watch Mary Mary’s reality program which she dubbed a “real representation” on WE tv. After being questioned by both Tamar and her sister Towanda, an obviously not amused Scott defused the situation saying, “You can’t be talking to me” and left the Braxtons speechless.

Before the Twitter mishap, Scott attended a baby shower for Erica Atkins-Campbell who was pregnant with her third child and serenaded her with a song.

It was just announced that WE-TV is bringing the sisters back for a second season.  So the reality show must be doing pretty well.  “Mary Mary” airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on WE tv. The season one finale airs on Thursday, May 31 at 9 pm, ET/PT. 

Congratulations to Mary Mary! Their hit reality show has been renewed for a second season and their set to begin filming later this month. The second season is set to include 10 one-hour episodes to air in early 2013.

The sister act consisting of Erica and Tina Campbell revealed the news, Wednesday morning, (May 9) on Good Morning America while promoting their new album titled Go Get It, which features remixes and additions to their previous hits along with a few new tracks including the single “Go Get It.”

The successful show MARY MARY has been viewed by 11.1 million total viewers since its premiere on March 29, and is delivering three times WE tv’s prime time female viewership. The season one finale airs on Thursday, May 31 at 9 pm, ET/PT.

The second season will follow the sisters through the birth of Tina’s fifth child, their latest album release – “Go Get It” – a family wedding, a cross-country album tour and countless appearances and events, all while balancing their busy, growing families. “”We’re super excited about season 2 — more music, more mommying, more husbands, more Goo Goo, Mitchell and Ms. Honey, and definitely more fun and chaos, says Mary Mary.!”

WE (Women’s Entertainment) TV’s demographic has always been women, but the network is now providing more programming aimed at African American women. We TV’s senior vice president of original production and development Lauren Gellert says, “The success of ‘Mary Mary’ is both a testament to the engaging personalities of Erica and Tina and to WE tv’s programming strategy of catering to an underserved audience of African American women. Coupled with ‘Braxton Family Values’ and the upcoming series ‘LA Hair’ and ‘Tamar & Vince,’ ‘Mary Mary’ is yet another opportunity for WE tv to serve this valuable audience and provide opportunities to our advertising and distribution partners to engage with them as well.”

Budding Gospel star Micah Stampley (Interface Entertainment) and Mathew Knowles’ Music World have mutually agreed to dissolve their business relationship.  This partnership resulted in the release of the compilation CD “Release Me” and the October 2011, critically acclaimed album, “One Voice.”  The two companies came together in June 2010.  

Stampley had this to say, “On behalf of Heidi and I and the Interface Entertainment Group of Companies, we sincerely thank Mr. Mathew Knowles and the Music World family. We wish them continued success and look forward to all the things God has in store for us in the future to come.” -Micah Stampley 

A representative for the Micah Stampley camp added “I am honored to assist and represent such an incredible and talented client like Mr. Micah Stampley as he and his brilliant wife Mrs. Heidi Stampley continue to build the Interface label and related ministries and brands. We close out a great chapter with Music World and begin a new Season even bigger and better! -Atty. James Walker

Stampley’s career took off after winning the Stellar Awards Gospel Star Search, when he caught the attention of Bishop T.D. Jakes.  Jakes would eventually sign the singer and the two also dissolved their partnership within a few years.

For more information on Micah Stampley please visit:

www.micahstampley.org

info@micahstampley.org

Twitter: @micahstampley 

Photo (L-R): Jeff Roberts, Jeff Roberts & Associates, President; Jason McArthur, Provident Label Group, VP of A&R; Brian Scoggins, Casting Crowns, Drummer; Mike Jay, Proper Management, Artist Manager; Hector Cervantes, Casting Crowns, Lead Guitar/BGV; Melody DeVevo, Casting Crowns, Violin/Cello/BGV; Megan Garrett, Casting Crowns, Piano/BGV; Juan DeVevo, Casting Crowns, Guitar/BGV; Chris Huffman, Casting Crowns, Bass/BGV; Mark Hall, Casting Crowns, Lead Vocals; Chris Farnsworth, KSBJ Special Events Promoter; Joe Piver, Jeff Roberts & Associates, Senior Agent; Richard Silva, KSBJ Special Events Sr. Event Manager; Jeff Young, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion, Vice President of Operations. Photo by: MFL Photography

Best-selling Christian music artist Casting Crowns wraps the spring leg of its 42-city “Come To The Well” tour. With one of its most successful tours to date, Casting Crowns’ final show alone saw a sold-out audience of more than 16,000 attendees.

Following a hugely successful fall run, including more than 15 sell-out performances, playing before 155,000+ people, the spring leg kicked off Feb. 9, in Florence, S.C. Among its scheduled 42 shows, the tour hit arenas in major markets like New York City, Grand Rapids, Mich., Orlando, Fla., Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Birmingham, Ala., St. Louis, Mo., Minneapolis and Houston, among others.

The closing date in Houston on Saturday, May 5, marked Casting Crowns’ highest-grossing and most well-attended show ever with 16,000+ concert-goers. Director of KSBJ Special Events, Chris Farnsworth, who promoted the event, comments, “KSBJ Radio was thrilled to host Casting Crowns’ ‘Come To The Well’ tour this weekend. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion was the perfect venue to see over 16,000 members of the Gulf Coast community come together to make this the biggest audience of Casting Crowns’ career.”

A final tally of tour numbers for both fall and spring legs indicate cumulative attendance exceeding 370,000 with 40 sold-out dates making Casting Crowns’ “Come To The Well” tour one of the most successful Christian artist tours of all time.

About Casting Crowns: All of Casting Crowns’ projects are RIAA certified, with a tally of three RIAA Platinum Albums, two RIAA Platinum DVDs, five RIAA Gold Albums, two Gold DVDs and three Gold digital singles (“Who Am I,” “Praise You In This Storm,” “East to West”). The band currently holds the position as Billboard’s top-selling act in Christian music, since 2007. The group has also been honored with two American Music Awards, with six total nominations, three GRAMMY Awards, 14 GMA Dove Awards and four 2012 Billboard Music Award nominations.

Casting Crowns’ seven band members all remain active in student ministry in the Atlanta area and tour according to their local church commitments. Serving his 18th year in youth ministry, lead singer/songwriter Mark Hall maintains his role as the student pastor at Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta.

As a testament to the band’s impact, Casting Crowns performed for a second time in North Korea in April 2009, in partnership with Global Resource Services; the band continues to forge invaluable relationships with the people in the D.P.R.K. (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).

Casting Crowns recently concluded its 42-city “Come to the Well” spring tour, which saw 40 arena sellouts, more than 370,000 in attendance (across the 40-city fall leg and spring dates combined) and has generated more than 13,000 child sponsorships through its partnership with Christian humanitarian organization, World Vision.

For more information on Casting Crowns visit: www.castingcrowns.com, www.facebook.com/castingcrowns,www.twitter.com/castingcrowns or follow Mark Hall’s Twitter at twitter.com/markhallCC.

Whitney Houston’s mother has released a new album of gospel tunes, her first new music since her daughter’s death and in more than a decade.

Cissy Houston’s “Walk on By Faith” was released by Harlem Records on iTunes this week and includes songs such as “Living Shall Not Be In Vain.”

Harlem Records rep Bill Coyle said Wednesday her last album was in 1997. He says she started working on the album last year and musically arranged all four tracks.

Cissy Houston has kept a low profile since her superstar daughter died in February, giving just one interview.

Whitney Houston was 48 when she drowned in a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel bathtub on the eve of the Grammy Awards. An autopsy showed cocaine played a role in her death.

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