The timing carries added visibility as the awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in Charlotte. Among the most nominated projects is Throwback: An Evening with John P. Kee, Vol. 1 by North Carolina’s own John P. Kee, which earned seven nominations, including the categories of Special Event Album of the Year and Male Artist of the Year. Kee’s nominations follow an active year that included a nationally broadcast performance on NPR Tiny Desk Concerts.

Also earning seven nominations is Heart of Mine, the collaborative album from Darrel Walls and PJ Morton (Gumbo Studios/Tyscot). The album, which previously received a Grammy, is nominated in several top categories, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. Its Billboard Top Ten single “Able,” featuring Kim Burrell, earned a nomination for Song of the Year. Morton also received individual recognition with nominations for Producer of the Year and Recorded Music Packaging of the Year for his design work on the project.

Veteran artist Deitrick Haddon and his Voices of Unity choir earned three nominations for ChainBreaker 2.5, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of Haddon’s 2000 release Chain Breaker. The project is also nominated for Music Video of the Year for the acoustic track “Find Jesus.”

Additional nominations highlight collaborative and ensemble work across the label’s roster. Choirmaster Jason Clayborn received nominations for “Whatever It Is,” his collaboration with Melvin Crispell III, in the Duo/Chorus of the Year and Contemporary Duo/Chorus Group of the Year categories. Meanwhile, Baltimore-based Brandon Camphor and his group Brandon Camphor & One Way were nominated for Best Traditional Duo/Chorus Gospel Performance, continuing the ensemble’s momentum following its first Stellar win last year.

The 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards will be taped live on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

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Pictured above is the cover of the Brower Brothers’ Church Devil CD project. From left to right are Quino Brower, John Thorpe, Paul Smith, Reno Brower, Rev. Clifford Brower, and Ozias Bethel. Rev. Brower passed away Monday, June 15, 2026.

Rev. Clifford Brower, a Newark, New Jersey pastor and longtime gospel musician, passed away June 15, 2026. His passing was shared publicly on social media by his wife, Rev. Desiree Brower.

Within the gospel quartet community, Rev. Brower was known as a lead singer with the Brower Brothers, a family-based group with recorded projects that include Call on God (1997), featuring covers of The Clark Sisters’ “You Brought the Sunshine” and Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” and Church Devil (2002).

Earlier in his music career, Brower grew in popularity as a musician through his tenures with established gospel groups, such as the Gospel Keynotes and Slim & The Supreme Angels.

Rev. Brower was the pastor of Blessed Assurance Christian Life Center in Newark, where he led the congregation while continuing his involvement in gospel music ministry.

Perry Funeral Home of Newark has announced a public visitation to be held Monday, June 22, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church, located at 88 Lyons Avenue in Newark. The homegoing celebration will follow immediately at 6:00 p.m. at the same location.

Gospel Music Fever extends sincere condolences to Rev. Brower’s family, friends, and congregation.

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BMI will spotlight some of the most influential voices in gospel music this summer when it hosts its annual Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards in Nashville.

The private ceremony is scheduled for July 21, at BMI’s Nashville office and will recognize the songwriters, producers, and publishers behind the 25 most-performed gospel songs in the United States over the past year. The organization will also announce its Gospel Song, Songwriter, and Publisher of the Year during the event.

This year’s BMI Impact Award will be presented to acclaimed recording artist and songwriter Kierra Sheard, recognized for her artistic influence and continued role in shaping the direction of contemporary gospel music across generations.

In remarks included in BMI’s announcement, Catherine Brewton, Vice President of Creative, Atlanta, described Sheard as “one of the most influential and dynamic voices in gospel music today,” crediting her ability to inspire audiences while expanding the reach of the genre. Brewton added that the organization looks forward to celebrating both Sheard and other honorees during what BMI describes as an afternoon of fellowship and music.

Sheard, who comes from a prominent gospel lineage as the daughter of Karen Clark Sheard of the Clark Sisters and Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Sr., has built a solo career that blends traditional gospel foundations with contemporary R&B influences. Since her 2004 debut album I Owe You, she has released multiple projects that have performed strongly on Billboard’s gospel charts, including five albums that reached No. 1.

Her 2020 self-titled album KIERRA marked a notable high point in her recent catalog, earning critical attention and further cementing her position within the genre. Across her career, Sheard has also collaborated with a range of gospel artists, extending her influence across both established and emerging audiences.

Her accolades include four Grammy nominations, seven Stellar Awards, three Dove Awards, and four BMI Awards. She was previously named BMI Gospel Songwriter of the Year in 2022.

In addition to honoring Sheard, the upcoming ceremony will continue BMI’s long-standing tradition of recognizing the creators behind the most widely performed gospel compositions in the country. The organization, which represents millions of musical works and creators globally, has positioned the event as a celebration of both creative achievement and industry impact.

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Best Gospel Performance/Song

“Do It Again“
Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter

“Church“
Tasha Cobbs Leonard, John Legend; Anthony S. Brown, Brunes Charles, Annatoria Chitapa, Kenneth Leonard, Jr., Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Jonas Myrin, songwriters

“Still — Live“
Jonathan McReynolds & Jamal Roberts; Britney Delagraentiss, Jonathan McReynolds, David Lamar Outing II, Orlando Joel Palmer & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters

“Amen“
Pastor Mike Jr.; Adia Andrews, Michael McClure Jr., David Lamar Outing II & Terrell Anthony Pettus, songwriters

“Come Jesus Come“
CeCe Winans Featuring Shirley Caesar

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

“I Know A Name“
Elevation Worship, Chris Brown, Brandon Lake; Hank Bentley, Steven Furtick, Brandon Lake & Jacob Sooter, songwriters

“YOUR WAY’S BETTER“
Forrest Frank; Forrest Frank & Pera, songwriters

“Hard Fought Hallelujah“
Brandon Lake With Jelly Roll; Chris Brown, Jason Bradley Deford, Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings & Brandon Lake, songwriters

“Headphones“
Lecrae, Killer Mike, T.I.; Bongo ByTheWay, Clifford Harris, William Roderick Miller, Lecrae Moore, Michael Render & Tyshane Thompson, songwriters

“Amazing“
Darrel Walls, PJ Morton; PJ Morton & Darrel Walls,songwriters

Best Gospel Album

Sunny Days
Yolanda Adams

Tasha
Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Live Breathe Fight
Tamela Mann

Only On The Road Live
Tye Tribbett

Heart Of Mine
Darrel Walls, PJ Morton

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

CHILD OF GOD II
Forrest Frank

Coritos Vol. 1
Israel & New Breed

King Of Hearts
Brandon Lake

Reconstruction
Lecrae

Let The Church Sing
Tauren Wells

Best Roots Gospel Album

I Will Not Be Moved — Live
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Then Came The Morning
Gaither Vocal Band

Praise & Worship: More Than A Hollow Hallelujah
The Isaacs

Good Answers
Karen Peck & New River

Back To My Roots
Candi Staton

______________________________________

See the full list of winners in all categories here.

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Jonathan Nelson has a new label home with a newly signed recording contract under Tyscot Records’ Tyscot Worship imprint. The agreement links Nelson with the long-running gospel label as it approaches its 50th anniversary. According to Bryant Scott, President of Tyscot Records, this is a partnership that has been years in the making.

Known for his work in contemporary praise and worship, Nelson has built a career encompassing songwriting, choral leadership, and solo recording, with songs such as “My Name Is Victory,” “I Believe (Island Medley),” and “Finish Strong.” The new contract comes as he prepares his first album of entirely new material since Declarations in 2018, with a radio single expected this year.

Nelson has spent much of his career working closely with churches, choirs, and other leaders in gospel music. Early recognition came when Donald Lawrence recorded his song “Healed,” which became a Top Ten gospel radio hit and introduced his songwriting to a wider audience. Since then, Nelson has remained active both as a recording artist and as Director of Worship and Arts at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. His new contract with Tyscot Records places his forthcoming body of work with the world’s oldest-operating Black-owned gospel label.

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After four decades away from the Grammy conversation, Candi Staton has returned to the ballot. The 85 year-old singer has received her fifth nomination for Back to My Roots, marking her first Grammy nod in 40 years and placing her once again beside some of gospel and roots music’s most established names. The album is nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, scheduled for February 1, 2026, in Los Angeles.

Back to My Roots is Staton’s 32nd album and arrives late in a career that has moved fluidly among gospel, soul, R&B, dance, and Americana. Recorded with her British band as well as longtime collaborators, the project revisits material that reflects her formative years, including traditional gospel songs, spiritually themed originals, and select covers. Several tracks draw directly from lived experience, including “1963,” Staton’s recollection of the Birmingham church bombing, and “I Missed the Target Again,” written in the aftermath of her recent divorce. Her older sister, Maggie Staton Peebles, appears on two songs.

Staton’s last Grammy nomination came in the mid-1980s alongside Shirley Caesar, Tramaine Hawkins, Albertina Walker, and Deniece Williams. Since then, she has continued to work steadily, often outside the mainstream spotlight, building a later career catalog rooted in Southern soul and Americana traditions. This latest acknowledgment positions Back to My Roots as a career milestone that closes a 40-year gap while underscoring the endurance of a unique voice that carries gospel, history, and survival.

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(Sandy Spring, MD) Richard Smallwood, an eight-time Grammy® Award nominated, classically trained composer and gospel recording artist, died on Tuesday, December 30, at 12:36 AM, at the Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. He died of complications of kidney failure. He was 77.

Over the last five decades, Smallwood has written some of the biggest songs of the gospel music genre such as “I Love the Lord,” which was remade by Whitney Houston and the Georgia Mass Choir for 1996’s The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack, and Boyz II Men’s 1997 album, Evolution, closed with a song “Dear God” that included a refrain of it. “Total Praise” was covered by Destiny’s Child on their 2007 a acapella track, “Gospel Medley.” With The Richard Smallwood Singers and later Vision, Smallwood enjoyed his own hits with “I Love the Lord” and “Total Praise” as well as “Center of My Joy,” “Anthem of Praise” and “I’ll Trust You.” 

Smallwood was born November 30, 1948, in Atlanta, GA, but was primarily raised in Washington, D.C. by his mother, Mabel and his stepfather, Rev. Chester Lee “CL” Smallwood, who was pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church in southeast Washington, D.C. He began to play piano by ear by the age of five. By seven, he was taking formal lessons and by eleven, he had formed his own gospel group. Roberta Flack was one of his high school teachers prior to launching her recording career with Atlantic Records.

Smallwood graduated cum laude from Howard University with a degree in music. He developed friendships with fellow classmates Donny Hathaway, Debbie Allen, and Phylicia Rashad. He was a member of Howard’s first gospel group, the Celestials, who were reputed to be the first gospel group to sing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Smallwood was also one of the founding members of Howard University’s Gospel Choir. Following college, Smallwood taught music at the University of Maryland for a while.

Eventually, he founded the Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977, inspired after seeing the Edwin Hawkins Singers perform live. The group brought a progressive, contemporary sound to gospel music. They performed throughout the Washington, D.C. area before they were signed to Onyx Records (the black gospel division of Benson Records) in 1982. Their debut LP, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks on Billboard magazine’s Spiritual Albums sales chart. With lead vocals fluctuating between the charismatic Dottie Jones, the smoldering Jackie Ruffin, the earthquaking Darlene Simmons, and Smallwood’s dry tenor, they created a distinct sound that caught on with middle-class, mostly black Christian young adults. Whereas most gospel artists of the period appealed to an older crowd, the Smallwood Singers enjoyed a young, educated following.

Their 1984 LP, Psalms, hit #1 on Billboard’s Spiritual Albums sales chart and earned them a Grammy® award nomination. They moved over to Word Records’ Rejoice black division for the 1987 LP, Textures, which peaked at No. 7 on the same chart and produced the biggest hit of the group’s career with the ballad, “Center of My Joy.” Composed by Smallwood with Bill and Gloria Gaither, the song had a soft pop feel that built to a rousing gospel crescendo with a background vocal arrangement alternating between a classical chorale sound and a passionate gospel blowout. It was the first song to introduce Smallwood to the white Christian community and has since been covered by artists as diverse as Ron Kenoly, Tanya Goodman-Sykes, and the Sensational Nightingales. The group’s popularity led to an invitation to perform in the Soviet Union – reportedly the first gospel group to do a concert tour of the country at the time in the late 1980s. 

The group also supplied background vocals for soul/gospel music legend Candi Staton on her 1988 LP, Love Lifted Me, and her 1989 album, Stand Up and Be a Witness. Smallwood shadowed Staton’s vocals on the title cut of the latter project. Smallwood was also among the all-star choir that backed Quincy Jones’ Handel’s Messiah – A Soulful Celebration album in 1992.

By the early 1990s, the Smallwood Singers had left Word Records for a brief tenure with Sparrow Records before finally landing at Jive/Verity Records (now RCA Inspiration).  “I’ve been with every major gospel label that there is,” he once said. “I’ve been able to compare different labels and the way that things are done – the support or lack of. I’ve been in the position of the new kid on the block, where the importance or focus was put on the names that were known better than I was at the time, and all the energy was put on them….the label just did not give me the support, and that’s a frustrating feeling because you have a lot of ideas and concepts that you’d like to see, and you go to the label and say, `hey, I’ve got this idea about marketing or promotion’ and they say `well, we’ll see’ and they just kind of put [the record] out there, and if it makes it, it makes it on its own, without any serious support from the label. I’ve been there.”

With his new label home, Smallwood disbanded the Smallwood Singers. He formed a large backing choir named Vision that he featured on a string of albums that produced gospel radio hits such as “Angels” and “Total Praise.” The lush, near-classical “Total Praise” was introduced in 2001 and has become Smallwood’s biggest and most unexpected hit. “My mother was ill, and my godbrother was terminally ill with brain cancer,” he told a reporter on the red carpet at the 2014 BMI Trailblazer Awards, where he was honored.  “So, I was feeling helpless in terms of what I could do as a caregiver.  And God just sort of gave me that song in the middle of all that, which really gave me a peace about the whole thing and let me know that he was still in control of the situation. So, it came to me in a very difficult time of my life, but certainly I had no idea it was going to have the impact that it had.”

Smallwood’s 2007 album, Journey: Live in New York, featured performances from Chaka Khan, The Hawkins Family, Kelly Price, and Kim Burrell. Smallwood’s final album, Anthology, was released in 2015 and featured the Gospel radio hit, “Same God.” In 2019, Smallwood published a book, Total Praise: The Autobiography, which detailed Smallwood family secrets as well as his personal battles with grief and depression.

In the last few years, a variety of health issues have prevented Smallwood from recording. In his darkest days, he always referenced music as a solace and a method of ministry. “I don’t know that I have all the answers or any of the answers,” he once said in a 1993 Washington Post interview. “But being a minister of music, I need to be open to listen and give a word of encouragement through songs of testimony. Singing is only part of it. The ministry itself is much more than that.” Aside from eight Grammy® Award nominations, Smallwood earned three Dove Awards and multiple Stellar Gospel Music Awards.

Smallwood is survived by his brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and several godchildren.

– From a media release

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GMF was saddened to learn of the passing of Elder Goldwire McLendon, 95, on December 17, 2025. Longtime gospel devotees revered the beloved singer and elder, while a wider audience came to know him as a finalist on the third season of BET’s Sunday Best.

Ultimately placing as runner-up to Le’Andria Johnson on BET’s Sunday Best, he first captivated judges Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, and Tina Campbell with his audition performance of the Gaither hymn “He Touched Me.” At 79 years old, his velvet vocals, gentle “soft-shoe shuffle,” and unmistakable anointing endeared him to viewers week after week, culminating in a memorable finale appearance and the subsequent release of a 7-track project titled, The Best of Elder Goldwire McLendon (reviewed by GMF in 2012).

Still, long before he garnered acclaim from the gospel talent competition, Elder McLendon made his mark along the gospel highway. A soloist and former member of Philadelphia’s legendary Savettes, a recording group on the Savoy label, he was a fixture in the city’s gospel community for decades. His reputation for stirring the Spirit was evident early on. According to Anthony Heilbut in The Gospel Sound, it was McLendon who sang “Just to Behold His Face” at the 1970 homegoing service for Ruth Davis of the Davis Sisters, prompting gospel icon Clara Ward to fall out, “hollering long, loud, eminently musical shrieks.”

Most recently, in 2023, a new generation was introduced to McLendon when a video captured at his surprise 93rd birthday dinner went viral on social media. In the clip, McLendon is seen singing “It Is Well,” a moment shared by his granddaughter, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Samara Joy. Music clearly runs in the family; his son, Antonio, Samara’s father, is a singer, songwriter, and musician who toured with Andraé Crouch.

GMF extends sincere condolences to the McLendon family, friends, and all whose lives were touched by his voice and witness.

A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2026, at Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Philadelphia, PA. Viewing will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the service at 10 a.m.

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GMF joins the gospel music community in mourning the passing of Jeffrey Newberry, Sr., who transitioned December 14, 2025. He was 69.

Newberry joined the Gospel Keynotes in the late 1970s under the leadership of the late Willie Neal Johnson, the group’s organizer and frontman. His bass-baritone voice and charisma were featured on several of the group’s popular songs, including “Rise Again,” “Hold On (Just A Little While Longer),” and “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” the title song of their Grammy-nominated album.

At the time of his passing, Newberry was carrying the torch with his eponymous group, Jeffrey Newberry & The Keynotes.

A Celebration of Life service took place Saturday, December 20th, at Lighthouse Worship Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Present and past members of the Keynotes, along with Newberry’s grandchildren and son, Jeffrey Newberry, Jr., were among those who rendered musical tributes during the nearly three-hour service. Former Keynote Larry McCowin shared lively reflections and presented a resolution to the family on behalf of the group.

In tribute to his father, Jamaque Newberry emotionally described him as “a presence like no other” with “a voice like velvet,” who “sparked us with a light in all of us to be the best that we can be.”

GMF extends sincere condolences to the entire Newberry family.

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Best Gospel Performance/Song

“Do It Again“
Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter

“Church“
Tasha Cobbs Leonard, John Legend; Anthony S. Brown, Brunes Charles, Annatoria Chitapa, Kenneth Leonard, Jr., Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Jonas Myrin, songwriters

“Still — Live“
Jonathan McReynolds & Jamal Roberts; Britney Delagraentiss, Jonathan McReynolds, David Lamar Outing II, Orlando Joel Palmer & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters

“Amen“
Pastor Mike Jr.; Adia Andrews, Michael McClure Jr., David Lamar Outing II & Terrell Anthony Pettus, songwriters

“Come Jesus Come“
CeCe Winans Featuring Shirley Caesar

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

“I Know A Name“
Elevation Worship, Chris Brown, Brandon Lake; Hank Bentley, Steven Furtick, Brandon Lake & Jacob Sooter, songwriters

“YOUR WAY’S BETTER“
Forrest Frank; Forrest Frank & Pera, songwriters

“Hard Fought Hallelujah“
Brandon Lake With Jelly Roll; Chris Brown, Jason Bradley Deford, Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings & Brandon Lake, songwriters

“Headphones“
Lecrae, Killer Mike, T.I.; Bongo ByTheWay, Clifford Harris, William Roderick Miller, Lecrae Moore, Michael Render & Tyshane Thompson, songwriters

“Amazing“
Darrel Walls, PJ Morton; PJ Morton & Darrel Walls,songwriters

Best Gospel Album

Sunny Days
Yolanda Adams

Tasha
Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Live Breathe Fight
Tamela Mann

Only On The Road Live
Tye Tribbett

Heart Of Mine
Darrel Walls, PJ Morton

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

CHILD OF GOD II
Forrest Frank

Coritos Vol. 1
Israel & New Breed

King Of Hearts
Brandon Lake

Reconstruction
Lecrae

Let The Church Sing
Tauren Wells

Best Roots Gospel Album

I Will Not Be Moved — Live
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Then Came The Morning
Gaither Vocal Band

Praise & Worship: More Than A Hollow Hallelujah
The Isaacs

Good Answers
Karen Peck & New River

Back To My Roots
Candi Staton

See the full list of nominees in all categories here. The GRAMMYs are set for Sunday, February 1, 2026, and will broadcast live on CBS and stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

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