Last Saturday in Las Vegas was a movie as the gospel music community converged upon the Orleans Arena to celebrate the BIGGEST night in gospel music! The 2023 Stellar Gospel Music Awards experience was unmatched and unrivaled. With the addition of Stellar+ programming, Stellar week kicked off midweek and peaked with Saturday night’s capacity crowd live-taping. Jonathan McReynolds and Tasha Cobbs-Leonard hosted the night and what seemed to signify a changing of the guard in gospel music. Of the many storylines stemming from this year’s show, none came up short! Pastor Mike, Jr. led all nominees and winners with ten and eight, respectively. PMJ was not only the night’s biggest winner, but the weekend’s biggest winner, serving as an ambassador for the Stellar Awards in many of the local activities.
Now, for the BIG news of the night’s wins…
Category #1
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Pastor Mike Jr.; Winning; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
Category #2
SONG OF THE YEAR
Impossible; Pastor Mike Jr., James Fortune & JeVon Hill; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
Category #3
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Pastor Mike Jr.; Winning; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #4
ALBERTINA WALKER FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
DOE; Clarity; Life Room Label/RCA Inspiration
CATEGORY #5
DUO/CHORUS GROUP OF THE YEAR
Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin; Kingdom Book One; Tribl Records / Fo Yo Soul Recordings / RCA Inspiration
CATEGORY #6
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lena Byrd Miles; Brand New; My Block Inc.
CATEGORY #7
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winning; Pastor Mike Jr.; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #8
CHOIR OF THE YEAR
Brent Jones; Nothing Else Matters (INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING, PRAISE HIM); JDI Entertainment
CATEGORY #9
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Tye Tribbett & Joseph Bethea; All Things New; Motown Gospel
CATEGORY #10
CONTEMPORARY DUO/CHORUS GROUP OF THE YEAR
Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin; Kingdom Book One; Tribl Records / Fo Yo Soul Recordings / RCA Inspiration
CATEGORY #12
CONTEMPORARY MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Pastor Mike Jr.; Winning; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #13
TRADITIONAL MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Zacardi Cortez; Imprint; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #14
CONTEMPORARY FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
DOE; Clarity; Life Room Label/RCA Inspiration
CATEGORY #16
CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winning; Pastor Mike Jr.; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #17
TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Imprint; Zacardi Cortez; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #18
URBAN/INSPIRATIONAL SINGLE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
When I Pray; Doe; Life Room Label/RCA Inspiration
CATEGORY #19
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Mr. McClure; Michael McClure, Andre Rudolph & Antonio Minifield; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #23
SPECIAL EVENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR
T.D. Jakes Presents “Finally Loosed”; Various Artists; Dexterity Sounds
CATEGORY #24
RAP HIP HOP GOSPEL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Church Clothes 4; Lecrae; Reach Records
CATEGORY #25
YOUTH PROJECT OF THE YEAR
Detroit Youth Choir; Rockspell; Confidential Records
CATEGORY #26
QUARTET OF THE YEAR
Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson; Restructure, Renew Reunion; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #27
RECORDED MUSIC PACKAGING OF THE YEAR
All Things New; Mike McKesey & Trent Nicholson; Motown Gospel
CATEGORY #28
PRAISE AND WORSHIP ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Hymns; Tasha Cobbs Leonard; TeeLee Records/Motown Gospel
CATEGORY #29
PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONG OF THE YEAR
You’ve Been Good To Me; Zacardi Cortez; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
CATEGORY #30
RAP/HIP HOP SONG OF THE YEAR
Blak Sheep; Pastor Mike Jr.; Blacksmoke Music Worldwide
SPECIAL HONOREES
JAMES CLEVELAND LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Rev. Milton Biggham
ARETHA FRANKLIN ICON AWARD
CeCe Winans
THOMAS A. DORSEY MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones
AMBASSADOR DR. BOBBY JONES LEGEND AWARD
Dottie Peoples
GOSPEL RADIO OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
MAJOR MARKET OF THE YEAR
WPZE Praise 102.5, Atlanta
LARGE MARKET OF THE YEAR
WHAL-FM 95.7, Memphis
MEDIUM MARKET OF THE YEAR
WXHL 89.1 FM Reach Gospel Radio, Wilmington
SMALL MARKET OF THE YEAR
WWLD-HD2 98.3FM, Tallahassee
INTERNET STATION OF THE YEAR
WVTC Gospel Radio Network, http://www.wvtcradio.com
GOSPEL ANNOUNCER OF THE YEAR
Melanie Pratt, WPZS Praise – Melanie In The Midday
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THESTELLARAWARDS.COM
The SMG Report was on hand and in the mix so don’t miss a moment of our red-carpet recap as well as moments from the media room, coming up this week! We have some exclusives that we can’t wait to share with you, so rock with us as we roll out our Stellar coverage!
As pointed out in pre-show interviews, the show is only the tip of the iceberg. The Stellar+ Experience put gospel music lovers and gospel music makers in shared spaces for informational, transactional and inspirational moments only the Stellars can provide. Because The Stellar Gospel Music Awards serve as the premiere gospel music awards promotion, the industry comes out to be a part of the week leading up to the show.
This gave The SMG Report a chance to hear Mary Mary discuss future plans for music and ministry, meet numerous artists under the MNRK imprint and umbrella, witness Laterras R. Whitfield’s LIVE episode taping of the Dear Future Wifey podcast.
AT&T Dream in Black is the presenting sponsor for the 38th Annual Stellar Awards. Aflac, GM, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, McDonalds, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Spotify, State Farm, Verizon and Walmart are also proud supporters of this year’s program.
Don’t miss the telecast of the 38th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards on the Stellar Network on Sunday, July 30 at 6 p.m. ET and BET on Sunday, August 6, at 8 p.m. ET. Prepare to be inspired and uplifted by the outstanding performances and heartfelt moments that define Gospel music.
For more information about the Stellar Gospel Music Awards Show, please visit www.stellarawards.com. Stay updated with the latest news by following @thestellars on Instagram and Twitter or Stellar Gospel Music Awards on Facebook.