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Jasmine Gillispie, Benzquaia Edwards , Lindsay Felder , Dr. Emory Andrews , Selina Lovelace , Jacob Cogman , Jaleel Lewis
The 25th anniversary of the Stellar Awards was a night rooted in history and celebrating traditions.
The gospel music awards show looked back to its humble beginnings, honoring Gospel music’s legends, and celebrated those with longevity in the business – overwhelmingly awarding music industry veterans with the coveted awards.
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship were the night’s biggest winners, taking home five golden flame statues, including Artist of the Year and Choir of the Year for Souled Out. Mary Mary, another fan favorite, brought home four awards, including Song of the Year for “God in Me” and Group Duo of the Year.
The Central City Productions event still managed to make history with this year’s awards program, however, granting the Children’s Project of the Year award to Rev. Dr. Emory Andrews and the Oxon Hill High School Choir for their CD Amazing– making the Maryland-based choir the first public high school choir to achieve such an honor. It was the choir’s first and only time being nominated for a Stellar Award.
“We are just ecstatic [and] excited. It’s really a blessing beyond our greatest imagination we just praise God for what He has done in our lives,” Andrews said. “I really did not think that we were going to get it, although I preached to the kids that you speak those things as though they were. Once they called the nominees up and they called my name and the choir. I was just so amazed and so surprised.”
Although several artists from the Washington DC area were nominated for awards – including Phillip Carter with six nominations, Mike McCoy, 5 AM Praise and Christopher Page -- only Stephen Hurd, who won Praise and Worship CD of the Year for Times of Refreshing, joined Oxon Hill in receiving awards.
Carter, who produced Oxon Hill’s award-winning project, said he was glad to have taken part in it.
“It was a pleasure producing a CD for the choir I helped to start 21 years ago,” he said.
The choir is scheduled to be honored by the Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson at a ceremony in Upper Marlboro, MD Feb. 10.
Local Psalmists Byron Cage and Richard Smallwood were featured performers at the historic night at the Stellar Awards. Smallwood and Smokie Norful – who won Contemporary Male of the Year – together produced one of the most memorable moments of the night, each playing, on side-by-side pianos, the others’ songs.
Gospel icons Kirk Franklin, Vicki Winans and Donnie McClurkin hosted the 25th anniversary show, which also featured a performance by reunited brother and sister BeBe & CeCe Winans.
“The View’s” Sherri Sheppard, David and Tamela Mann from “Meet the Browns” and “Gospel Dream” winner Melinda Watts were among the presenters.
Gospel greats Shirley Caesar and Dorothy Norwood, who were both on the first awards show, were among the night’s living legends. Norwood said the Stellar Awards has given prominence to gospel artists in a way no other awards show had before.
“I’ve won Stellar [Awards]and Dove [Awards]and others,” Norwood said. “In every other award show, no one ever got to see you get your award because it was even before the taping. At the Stellar’s, we would always be on TV.”
Though celebratory, the entire weekend was also veiled in sorrow and prayer for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, which struck only days before the television taping. Many throughout the weekend were still getting word on friends and family members who died.
Franklin immediately launched a project and pulled together the artists for a late-night recording of “Are You Listening: A Love Song for Haiti” the night before the awards program.
The Stellar Award Gospel Music Academy, also presented three special awards that evening.
Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC’s were honored with the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award.
Starting at the age of seven by forming a quartet with his three older brothers, Williams had been singing for decades before a record producer picked up his group (which, by then, included Al Hollis, Leonard Shumpart and Roger McKinney) in the mid-1990s.
Since then, the group has grown in popularity around the country.
“I was happy working Monday through Friday and playing music around the area on weekends,” Williams has said. “But when all this came about, I took it as God telling me it was time to drop everything else and go totally for Him, and that’s what I’ve done.”
The Thomas Dorsey Most Notable Achievement went to the Mississippi Mass Choir, which has reached fans with hit after hit for over 20 years.
Founded by Frank Williams, of Williams Brothers and Jackson Southernaires fame, the group cut its first album and video in 1988 only five months after their first rehearsal. The album, Mississippi Mass Choir Live, remained No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel chart for 45 consecutive weeks. They’ve won and been nominated for Grammy Awards, Stellar Awards, and Dove Awards, among others.
The Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award went to gospel great Edwin Hawkins, who recorded gospel’s biggest hit of all time, “Oh Happy Day.”
Hawkins, who learned to play piano at age 5, was immersed in music all his life. He formed the Northern California State Youth Choir, which first recorded the R&B-tinged “Happy Day” that subsequently crossed over to R&B radio and exploded before finally landing on the Pop charts.
The song eventually sold 7 million copies and launched an R&B trend in gospel music that remains to this day.
At the end of the night, Walker was the big winner, taking home Contemporary Choir and Contemporary CD of the Year, along with the other awards. Walker and Love Fellowship performed on the evening’s broadcast, enrapturing the entire crowd and flooding the stage with singers, celebration and a firm declaration of being “Souled Out.”
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