24TH Annual Stellar Gospel Music Award Nominees Announced

Marvin Sapp Leads the List with Nine Nominations Followed by Dorinda Clark-Cole and Kirk Franklin tied with Five

CeCe Winans, Ricky Dillard, Israel & New Breed, and Canton Jones tie with four nominations each

Nashville, Tenn. – The nominees for The 24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards were announced today at the annual press conference held at the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, in Nashville, Tenn. Don Jackson, Chairman and CEO of Central City Productions, announced the 2009 nominees. The prestigious award show will return to Music City for the 4th consecutive year bringing with it excitement, anticipation and gospel music’s brightest stars.

This year’s list of nominees includes stars from every genre of gospel music including traditional, contemporary, urban and rap/hip-hop. Topping the list, with a phenomenal nine nominations, is chart-topping traditional gospel singer, Marvin Sapp who picks up nominations for “Song of the Year,” “Male Vocalist of the Year,” and “Traditional Male of the Year,” to name a few. Sapp is trailed by Dorinda Clark-Cole and vKirk Franklin who tie with five nominations each. Clark-Cole and Franklin will compete against Sapp in the “Artist of the Year” and “CD of the Year” categories.

Ricky Dillard, Israel & New Breed, Canton Jones and last year’s co-host and winner of the Most Notable Achievement Award, CeCe Winans, tie with four nominations in a cross section of categories ranging from traditional to contemporary and urban. Last year’s “Song of the Year” winner Isaiah D. Thomas, gospel great Marvin Winans and another of last year’s co-hosts, Byron Cage, each pick up three nominations.

Deitrick Haddon’s group, Voices of Unity garnered three nominations for their CD, “Deitrick Haddon presents Voices of Unity.” Haddon received two nominations for his urban inspirational single “Love Him Like I Do,” featuring Ruben Studdard and Mary, Mary.

Other nominees include “New Artist of the Year” nominees Jessica Greene, Jai Reed, Terrell Hunt, Melody and The Murrills. Gospel’s Rap and Hip Hop artists made a lot of noise this year, and rhyming their way into the spotlight are our Stellar Award “Rap Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year” nominees, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., FLAME, Frontlynaz, Sho Baraka, and Trip Lee.