With a regal purple-and-gold setting, gospel royalty flocked to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Aug. 14-15 for the 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, an evening that celebrated artistry and emphasized the power of faith.
From Kirk Franklin serving as the event host to powerhouse performances and honoring influential artists and faith leaders such as Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Pastor Mike Jr., the awards show highlighted both the gospel sound and the spiritual foundation of the genre: trusting in and turning to God for guidance
“If you’re grieving, the posture at the feet of Jesus has taken me through the loss of a baby. It’s taken me through the loss of my father and many seasons of being brokenhearted,” said Cobbs Leonard, a three-time Grammy winner who received the Aretha Franklin Icon Award. “I could not have made it without that posture.”
Pastor Mike Jr. received the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award. His acceptance moment took on the cadence of a sermon, moving beyond celebration and toward the role gospel music can play when communities are facing grief, uncertainty and division.
“Whatever you go through in life, don’t allow the devil or the enemy to take your appetite for what God has for you,” he said.
The celebration also reflected the genre’s range, with performances from artists including Darrel Walls, John P. Kee, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Lisa Knowles-Smith & The Brown Singers, Marvin Sapp, PJ Morton, Tye Tribbett and Yolanda Adams.
Further, artists from across the DMV area were award nominees, such as Howard University’s Gospel Choir, and some even won awards to take back home, including JustCordell, who won Rap/Hip-Hop Song of the Year for his song “Movin,” and Brian Camphor & OneWay, who received their second Stellar award for Traditional/Song or Group.
While the musical group’s primary goal is to spread God’s love through music, they also are bringing D.C. sounds to the masses.
“One of our favorite songs that you all can listen to is called ‘Forever.’ It definitely brings our home and the rich legacy of go-go into the music. We all met during our formative years at Duke Ellington school of the Arts, where we knew of each other and developed a friendship,” said Angela Marie Jones, one of four group members in Brian Camphor & OneWay. “As soon as we knew that the foundation was Christ, we began to do music. Actually Brandon was the one who brought us together.”
From traditional gospel and choir music to contemporary worship and gospel hip-hop, the Stellar Awards — which airs Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. via the Stellar Network and Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. on BET — showcased a genre that continues to evolve while remaining connected to testimony, community and the Black church tradition.
“I feel like we are navigating between triumph and tragedy. One thing is for sure: you can’t sing about a God that you don’t trust and that you don’t believe in,” Knowles-Smith said. “So what we have done in this season is really put our trust in Him.”
