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Kirk Franklin shows no sign of slowing down with his latest release “Hello Fear.” The album has been on the charts for an astonishing 40 weeks and it gets bumped back up to #1 in sales this week. Perhaps it was the Christmas sales that catapulted him from his previous spot at #4. Either way one thing is for sure, people are supporting the CD in record fashion.
At #2 on the charts is Le’Andria Johnson and at #3 is the sophomore release of William McDowell ‘Arise.’
The complete Top 10 is listed below:
1. Kirk Franklin | Hello Fear 2. Le’Andria Johnson | The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson 3. William Mc Dowell | Arise: The Live Worship Experience 4. Amber Bullock | Thank You 5. Lecrae | Rehab 6. WOW Gospel 2011 | Various Artists 7. Marvin Sapp | Playlist: The Best of Marvin Sapp 8. Jessica Reedy | From the Heart 9. Isaac Carree | Uncommon Me 10. Gospel’s Best Worship | Various Artists
The best-selling new artist of 2011, The City Harmonic continues to gather acclaim for its first full-length album, I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home). The hit single “Manifesto,” featured as a bonus track on the album, has now sold over 100,000 copies, while the album’s title track is No.16 and climbing on the Billboard National Christian Audience chart. With KLOVE, Air1 and other radio networks playing the song, “I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home)” is also the band’s second video, which has gathered over 35,000 views so far on youtube.com.
Named “New Artist of the Year” by the Gospel Music Association Canada, music fans will be able to hear the band play its hit singles and new music from I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home) on the 60-market “God’s Not Dead World Tour” with newsboys that launches Jan 12 and runs coast-to-coast through May 5. Every week leading up to the launch of this tour, The City Harmonic is giving away 10 pairs of tickets – one pair for each market on the tour – through its Facebook page. To enter the drawing, Facebook participants are asked to ‘share the status’ of the giveaway. (For a list of all the tour dates, go to www.thecityharmonic.com.)
While on Facebook, people are also encouraged to ‘like’ The City Harmonic’s page. As a way of saying “thanks” for the ‘likes,’ the band is offering a free download of its hit single, “I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home).”
Hitting No. 1 on iTunes® in Canada, No. 6 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and never leaving the Top 4 on the iTunes Christian/Gospel US chart in its debut week at retail, I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home) was also named among the best albums of 2011 by Watchgmctv.com staff, senior music and entertainment editors. Released Oct. 18 on Kingsway with EMI CMG Distribution in the USA, the album has been “wowing” the critics, who are using adjectives like “fabulous,” “infectious,” “exciting,” “spectacular,” “worshipful,” “captivating,” “creative,” “brilliant” and more to describe it. Here are a few of just the most recent reviews:
“This Ontario-bred [quartet] follows its promising debut EP with a set of songs mixing elements from modern British rock (especially U2 and Keane) with folk and traditional gospel. Frontman Elias Dummer’s crisp, driving keyboards and forceful yet vulnerable vocals set him apart from his peers in worship-oriented Christian rock. With his bandmates, he delivers tunes that range from the anthemic (“Yours,” “Wake Me Up”) to the reflective (“Le Reve,” “Benediction”). “Spark” and “Mountaintop” widen the album’s scope by drawing on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech for both themes and language. Reinforcing the songwriting’s quality is the band’s sense of dynamics; tracks like “Be Still, O My Soul” and “Holy (Wedding Day)” display orchestral grandeur as they rise from quiet openings to dramatic crescendos. Piano predominates here, though “Love” is built around a wistful acoustic guitar line. A radio edit of The City Harmonic’s breakthrough tune “Manifesto” adds further heft to an album distinguished by fine craftsmanship and fervency.” – iTunes
“The album is worth more than just a casual listen, as the band has gone to great lengths to produce a record of exceptional songwriting, musicality and style. At a time when many albums are mass-produced and stylistically homogenized, The City Harmonic stands apart for their authenticity and art.” – NewReleaseTuesday.com
“I Have a Dream has big songs fit for big venues … a passionate and hopeful album … a sincere rock-worship album that manages to incorporate the sounds of groups like U2, Coldplay, and Arcade Fire in the best kind of way.” – www.thechristianmanifesto.com
“What makes The City Harmonic stand out from among the worship music glut that floods the Christian market is that this band has created art when they recorded their songs.” – Music Spectrum
In less than a year, The City Harmonic went from being virtually unknown to international acclaim. Its hit single, “Manifesto,” has become the only song from a new artist this year that has broken into the top 10 of the SoundScan Top Current digital singles sales chart as its companion music video has been viewed on YouTube by nearly 1,200,000 people. Receiving three Gospel Music Association Canada Covenant Awards this fall, the band is not as interested in finding fans as they are looking for participants in the journey; “getting people in on the act—hearts pounding and feet moving.”
The Bible says that laughter is good medicine. So every now and then we make sure you can laugh while reading PATH. These light-hearted videos stood out as 5 of the funniest from 2011.
1. Byron Cage Gets Prank Called by the Steve Harvey Morning Show
Stellar Award winning artist Byron Cage was prank called by Nephew Tommie from the Steve Harvey Morning Show. They called Mr. Cage explaining that there was a mix-up in the Stellar Awards voting process which caused a mis-count in the votes, further explaining that Marvin Sapp was the official winner of the Male Vocalist of the Year. Click Here to read the original story.
2. Marvin Sapp’s Brother “Hen Sapp” Sings Hilarious “Pants On The Ground” Song in Church
At first I thought Marvin Sapp’s brother Dr. Hen Sapp was just playing, but after a couple minutes of watching the video I realized this was a well written intentional song targeting youth who sag their pants, and who wear gold teeth. I’m not sure what the songs impact will be, but hopefully it will help someone. Sagging your pants really isn’t cute. Click Here to read the original story.
3. The Tom Joyner Morning Shows’ “J. Anthony Brown” Does Something Awful to Kirk Franklin’s Song!
J. Anthony Brown of the Tom Joyner Morning Show often does remixed parody’s of artists songs. The often hilarious renditions did not escape the Gospel music industry this time. J. Anthony Brown releases his version of “I Smile” by Kirk Franklin. The song pokes fun at Kirk Franklin’s height, or lack of it. Click Here to read original story
4. Comedian Akintunde Sings About his Obsession with Chocolate Cake
Comedian Akintunde is one of Gospel’s funniest comedians. Akintunde is also one of the writers on the ‘Monique Show’ and Host of the nationally syndicated ‘Akintunde Radio Show.’
5. J. Anthony Brown Spoofs Bishop Eddie Long’s Scandalous Photos
J. Anthony Brown of the Tom Joyner Morning Show does it again to Bishop Eddie Long.
According to Wesh.com, a news station in Orlando, we’ve learned that Riva Tims has decided to fight for the church that she founded with her late ex-husband Pastor Zachery Tims.
Riva Tims said in a news conference Thursday that she plans to file a lawsuit against New Destiny Christian Center’s board.
Tims states that she will “no longer be silent” over who the church’s board members has selected to replace Zachery Tims.
“The board has refused to meet with me,” Riva Tims said. “They have refused to meet with me with in any fashion of any kind, and so has Pastor Paula White.”
A news release was sent from the church, just hours before Tims spoke, announcing Rev. Paula White’s new position as the church’s senior pastor. The Board of Directors said that White understands how to support a ministry from the ground up and keep a church moving strong and forward in ministry.
Robert Gibson, Riva Tims’ attorney, said, “There are several counts concerning the board, concerning Paula White and the activity the board has taken which we feel is illegal.”
Gibson also said that Riva Tims is the legal and rightful heir to the church according to law.
Some at New Destiny do not support the named successor. Demonstrators held signs and circulated a petition over the Christmas weekend.
Supporters said since Riva Tims is one of the church’s founders, she should lead the church. Apparently Riva Tims agrees.
“I’m here to declare to you today that as founder of New Destiny Christian Center, I am the real mother,” Riva Tims said at the news conference.
Tims said she is grieving and listening to what people are saying. She said the church is her heritage and legacy, and that’s why she intends to challenge the board’s decision.
The church released a statement, claiming the lawsuit is without merit.
“Obviously, we are saddened by the course of action Pastor Riva Tims has chosen to pursue. Her lawsuit is completely without merit and we are extremely confident in our legal standing. We will take all actions necessary to protect our church, its ministry and its reputation,” the statement said.
White will assume her new role Saturday when she leads the church’s annual New Year’s Eve services.
This year we’ve seen and heard a lot of news as it pertains to the faith-based community and Gospel music. As the influence, impact and perception of the faith-based community changes, PATH gives you a look back into the biggest headlines of 2011.
The top articles were chosen based on a combination of national significance, page views, comments, and impact on the faith-based community.
Catch up on what you missed in 2011 and we look forward to bringing you more in 2012. Happy New Year!
New Destiny Christian Center officially announced today what had been widely rumored: The Rev. Paula White has been selected as the successor to Zachery Tims.
White, 45, will assume her duties as senior pastor during the Apopka megachurch’s annual New Year’s Eve services on Saturday.
“We celebrate the continuation of a vision, a vision launched back in 1996 with the founding of New Destiny Christian Center as a non-denominational church with a multi-cultural mission,” Board of Directors member Elder Marguerite Esannason said in a statement released by the church.
“The central directive of this ministry has always been to build people of purpose, power and prayer. We believe Pastor Paula will continue to make New Destiny a church for all people, reaching out to the hurting and the lost by touching lives and helping individuals overcome the disabling challenges of life.”
White, senior pastor of Without Walls International in Tampa, is a popular evangelist and author who hosts her own cable television show. For a time, she served as Zachery Tims’ personal pastor.
Tims, 42, died in August. His cause of death has not been released.
White was selected after a search conducted by New Destiny’s Board of Directors. She will serve as a non-voting member of the board and will be subject to the oversight of both the Board of Directors and the church’s Board of Regents.
“I will come to my new assignment with a servant’s heart, humbled by this great responsibility and grateful for the confidence the board has shown in naming me Senior Pastor,” White said in a statement. “I will work tirelessly each day to ensure that the mission of this church is fulfilled and that its ministry and congregation remain united and strong.”
White’s selection has caused a backlash among some members of the congregation who feel that their voice was ignored in the search process. A group of members — many of whom back Pastor Riva Tims, the church’s co-founder and ex-wife of Zachery — has been protesting the selection of White and has threatened to take legal action to remove the board of directors.
“We prayed fervently for guidance during our search which led us to ask Pastor Paula White to take over as Senior Pastor,” Harold Fuller, acting chairman of the Board of Directors, said in a statement. “We were searching for someone who could understand the history of our ministry, one who had a close relationship with our members and our staff and one who knew the heart of our senior founder. We earnestly know that the Lord led us to select Pastor Paula White.”
Members of the Board of Regents and Board of Directors called on all NDCC members to unite in support of White and to continue the church’s work and ministry.
“We know that times of transition and change can often bring questions, concerns and uncertainties,” Fuller said. “But we ask that all of our brethren in Christ would unite in prayer and support of Pastor White and to work with her to move our great church forward into a promising new future. Together we will continue to accomplish great things in the name of the Lord.”
Gospel singer Robert E. Person has had a whirlwind year. Since the release of his third CD, Soul Sanctuary, in July 2011, Robert has been busy promoting the new, critically-acclaimed release. The lead single, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”, a jazzy arrangement of the Donny Hathaway classic, has been heard on 200 radio stations nationally and the artist had the opportunity to sing his rendition at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Dedication in his hometown of Washington, D.C. The song catapulted up the BDS and Mediabase charts entering the Top 100. Other notable performances in 2011 included The Library of Congress, The Spirit of Washington, Rejoice In The Word with Bishop George Bloomer and Babbie’s House, Christian artist Babbie Mason’s television show.
The industry has been talking about the impressive psalmist. In addition to receiving rousing endorsements from industry notables such as Earnest Pugh, Harold Rayford and Bob Baldwin, he’s been getting great reviews of Soul Sanctuary. Also, he has been named one of the Top 5 Indie Artists for 2011 by EnSound Entertainment and One of the Indie Artists To Look Out For In 2012 by Rejoice America Radio. He has also been listed as one of CJBRadio.com’s Top 10 Independent Artists of 2011.
He closed out the amazing year with a Birthday Celebration Concert on Monday, December 26th at H Street Playhouse in D.C., the same location where he’s been performing in Langston Hughes’ musical Black Nativity during the month of December. Person’s Birthday Celebration Concert (pictured above) featured performances by his musical friends Quest, Jimmy Russell & Because of Christ, The Allyn Johnson Trio, Lori Williams, and Tony Thomas. Person took to the stage as well singing a few songs from the new release. Presented by Theatre Alliance and REP Music, the event gave Person the opportunity to give thanks for the support of his friends and to share in his special day. More information on Robert E. Person can be found at www.RobertEPerson.com
According to Channel 2 WSBTV, Dozens of parents said they are left scrambling to find a school for their children after leaders at New Birth Christian Academy said the campus will not reopen next week.
School officials told Channel 2 Action News that money and not enough students are the main issues, but some parents said they believe it’s more than that.
Parents received a letter putting them on notice that New Birth Christian Academy was shutting down.
One parent spoke to Channel 2’s Eric Philips, but did not want her identity known.
“It’s almost like they purposely waited for the holiday before they sent out this letter. I mean, a letter (that says) my daughter basically does not have a school to go to on Jan. 4,” said the parent.
The letter blames a sluggish economy for the closure.
School administrators released this statement:
The deficit, along with the declining enrollment over the years, left the New Birth Christian Academy Board of Directors with no other option. The board has made the tough decision to temporarily close the school.
“It leaves us in a tremendous bind,” said the parent.
The academy is housed inside the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. A spokesperson made it clear that the school closure has nothing to do with the sex abuse allegations against Bishop Eddie Long.
“I don’t believe that. I believe that this last straw with the divorce, the sealed settlement, it just does not look good,” said the parent.
The letter also stated the staff at New Birth will help students and parents find a new school.
Pastor DeWayne Harvey has announced the signing of gospel music veteran, the Princess of Gospel, Angela Spivey, to his Tallahassee-based Innovative Records. Spivey’s first release for the label, “He Keeps His Promise,” is due in April 2012. It will be led by the title track, which goes to radio on January 2, 2012. The set is produced entirely by Harvey, Antonio Wimberly and Etienne Porter.
Harvey says his goal is to expose Spivey to a broader audience. “Angie’s been a hidden talent,” he says. “People know about her, but her success in terms of sales, outings, venues, and all the things that come along with a good gospel artist just aren’t there. That’s my goal. I know her voice is anointed and designed to reach not only people here in the United States but all over the world.”
A native of Chicago, Spivey began singing in her father’s church at the age of four and directed her first choir at the age of five. Her 65-member Voices of Victory is now regarded as one of the premiere choirs in gospel music. “He Keeps His Promise” is Spivey’s fifth CD.
A minister, label executive and recording artist with five CDs to his credit, Harvey said that he has always had a “special connection” with Spivey, who has been featured on his last three releases. “I’ve heard her preach and minister at my church,” he said. “We came in on the same record label, Aleho International Records, and that’s where we had our first meeting.”
Spivey’s new release is destined to be one of her greatest. Harvey and his crew of producers have not only captured the essence of what Spivey does, but have given her a new look and sound. This new sound is evident in the lead track “He Keeps His Promise” and “God Cares”. Spivey said that the songs stretched her out of her comfort zone; however, the results of moving out are amazing. Spivey says, “It’s new, it’s fresh, almost as if I have been reinvented.”
Harvey says his mission at Innovative Records is to release music — both domestically and internationally — that captures the attention of wide-ranging audiences.
Worth Dying For will return February 7th with their third national release, Live Riot, recorded live at the Ammunition Conference in California. The Ammunition Records release is already receiving exposure from radio and the new music video for “The World Can’t Take It Away.”
Maintaining their aggressive rock sound with big guitars and driving loops, the band manages to capture worship like has never been captured on any previous album of Worth Dying For. “We have never stepped into the live worship recording before,” says Worth Dying For’s Christy Johnson. “For the first time, we get to interact with our fans and listeners and share what our worship to our creator is like in its most organic and raw form.”
Although the moments of worship are deep, high-energy praise songs like “Freedom Is Rising” and “One Love” keep the album moving and the listener engaged. More traditional worship fans will be drawn in by ballads such as “Risen from the Grave,” and the prophetic style of “Spirit of God.” While this album features 10 all-new songs, it also includes new live versions of some fan favorites from Worth Dying For’s previous album, Love Riot, including “Savior,” “Higher” and that album’s title track. Fans of Skillet and Evanesence as well as Hillsong United, Planetshakers and Jesus Culture will find that this collection of 15 live songs create a worship experience unlike any other.
The modern worship team that makes up Worth Dying For consists of original members Christy Johnson, Josh O’haire and Sean Loche, as well as new worship leaders Dalisha Turner, Deanna Joven, Nick Morris, Rochelle Leguern and Sarah Agbayani.
“We are honored that we get to do what we do and see new worship leaders step into their calling,” says vocalist Sean Loche. “There is something powerful about the leaders of a worship team being plugged into a ministry based within a church and serving the needs of a city before the needs of a world. Worth Dying For’s heart is not only to see lives changed in worship, but to work to see Ammunition Conference grow and shake the roots of cities around the country. There is a mandate from God to birth this conference in cities around the nation. Live Riot helps people hear the sound of the conference.”
Worth Dying For’s Ammunition Conference started as a camp with 40 people and has turned into an annual conference with world-renowned speakers and attendance in the thousands. In addition to recording, touring and their own popular conference, Worth Dying For is stepping into a new season by planting a church in the Los Angeles area.
Worth Dying For will support the new album on the national conference circuit in 2012, with live performances at such major events as Acquire the Fire, Thirst Conference, Christ for the Nations, Ammunition Conference and many more. The music video for “The World Can’t Take It Away” will be serviced to video outlets nationwide early next month. Additional videos will be released in early 2012. A video about the album is also available.
lead single, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”, a jazzy arrangement of the Donny Hathaway classic, has been heard on 200 radio stations nationally and the artist had the opportunity to sing his rendition at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Dedication in his hometown of Washington, D.C. The song catapulted up the BDS and Mediabase charts entering the Top 100. Other notable performances in 2011 included The Library of Congress, The Spirit of Washington, Rejoice In The Word with Bishop George Bloomer and Babbie’s House, Christian artist Babbie Mason’s television show. 