KIRK FRANKLIN and his chart-topping album HELLO FEAR was just certified Gold, as reported by the R.I.A.A. The announcement follows Franklin’s two GRAMMY® awards wins for Best Gospel Album (HELLO FEAR) and Best Gospel Song (“Hello Fear”) earlier this week at the 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards celebration held on February 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. With these two new trophies, Franklin – the #1 selling Gospel artist of all time – now has nine career GRAMMY® awards. Franklin also performed at this year’s live NBC Network NAACP Image award show. in which he was the winner for – Outstanding Song (“I Smile”) and Outstanding Gospel Album (HELLO FEAR).
Franklin’s HELLO FEAR debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel sales chart and #5 on the Billboard Top 200 when it was released last Spring, making the album the fourth highest Gospel debut in Soundscan history. In addition to his GRAMMY® wins and NAACP nominations, Franklin was recently awarded four Stellar Awards for HELLO FEAR and “I Smile” — Song of The Year, CD of the Year, Producer of the Year and Contemporary CD of the Year. Franklin performed “I Smile” on last year’s American Idol finale, and was #1 at Gospel radio for 23 weeks, hitting Urban AC radio at #3. Currently, Franklin stars as Baylor Sykes in the feature film Joyful Noise starring Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah. He also hosts and executive produces gospel talent show “Sunday Best,” the highest-rated gospel program in BET network history, now heading into its fifth season.
For two decades, Kirk Franklin has been a pioneer in gap-bridging musicianship, uniting gospel, hip hop, pop and R&B audiences. His rhythms have resulted in albums that have consistently topped Billboard’s Gospel, Christian and R&B/Hip Hop charts. He is also a New York Times best-selling author for “The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms (Gotham/Penguin). To date, Franklin has garnered nine GRAMMY® Awards, an American Music Award, 35 Stellar Awards, 14 Dove Awards (CCM), six NAACP Image Awards and two BET Awards.
