Stellar Awards: Big Winners Include Marvin Sapp, BeBe & CeCe and James Fortune

The 26th annual Stellar Awards was held Saturday at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn.

The gospel music award show was hosted by Grammy winner Donnie McClurkin and featured comic relief by Jonathan Slocumb.

Special recognition was given to gospel luminaries Kirk Franklin, who received the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award; Vanessa Bell Armstrong, who received the ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legend Award; and Donald Lawrence, recipient of the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award.

Big winners at the Stellar Awards with four trophies were BeBe & CeCe, who won for song of the year, and Marvin Sapp, who landed the coveted the artist of the yea

r award.

Breakout star James Fortune earned three Stellar Awards, including group of the year with his group FIYA.

Sought-after photographer Derek Blanks, best known for his 'Alter Ego' photo shoots and appearing on 'Real Housewives of Atlanta,' won a Stellar Award with Ken Barboza in the recorded music packaging category for BeBe & CeCe's artwork for 'Still.'

Unknown singer Kristina Halloway pulled off an upset and won the best new artist award. Completely shocked and overwhelmed by her victory, Halloway made the audience gasp as she missed a step while walking onstage and nearly slipped and fell.

Hollywood stars such as Meagan Good ('The Game'), Omari Hardwick ('For Colored Girls'), Yvette Nicole Brown ('Community') and comedienne Beth Payne were among the presenters during the telecast alongside gospel stars such as Andrae Crouch, Hezekiah Walker, Lisa Page Brooks, DeWayne Woods, Jessica Reedy, Trin-I-tee 5:7, Byron Cage and Dr. Bobby Jones.

Performance highlights included the show opening performance by JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise, who brought the house down with a dynamic rendition of their powerful praise and worship anthem 'Lord You're Mighty.' Show host McClurkin sang on the reprise of the song, driving the song to another level.

Vocal dynamo Beverly Crawford

also wowed the auditorium with a show-stopping rendition of her latest single, 'It's About Time for a Miracle.' Crawford's performance had the packed theater eager to shout and praise.

Other standout performances included family band Forever Jones' endearing rendition of their number one hit, 'He Wants It All;' the quartet collaboration between The Rance Allen Group, The Soul Seekers and The Williams Brothers; and the tribute to Lawrence by the Verizon 'How Sweet the Sound' winners Voices of Destiny Choir of Compton, Calif., Sheri Jones-Moffett, LeJuene Thompson and Shari Addison.

Addison, the season one runner-up on BET's 'Sunday Best,' broke her arm after falling from the stage into the open crowd pit during rehearsals for her performance. The Chicago-bred singer still performed 'I Am God' during the salute to Lawrence with her arm in a sling.

An all-star ensemble that included Dorinda Clark Cole, J. Moss, Myron Butler, Karen Clark Sheard, Isaac Carree, Vickie Winans, Wes Morgan and others saluted special honoree Franklin with an ambitious rendition of his Haiti relief song, 'Are You Listening.' His award was presented by Haitian actor Jimmy Jean-Louis ('Heroes').

There were additional performances by Deitrick Haddon, Joshua's Troop, VaShawn Mitchell, The Neville Sisters, and Sapp, who performed a medley of 'He Has His Hands on You' and 'The Best in Me' before being joined by McClurkin on his mega-hit 'Never Would Have Made It.'

The Stellar Awards will begin airing in syndication on Jan. 22 through March 13. The broadcast will also be show on March 5 on cable channel GMC.

For more information on the show, visit www.TheStellarAwards.com.

A complete list of Stellar Award categories with highlighted winners is below:

Artist of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans
Fred Hammond
James Fortune & FIYA
Marvin Sapp (winner)

Song of the Year
BeBe Winans, 'Close to You' (winner)
Fred Hammond, Calvin Rodgers, Phillip Feaster, Erick

a Warren, Michael Bethany and Dynna Wells, 'They That Wait'
James Fortune, C. Fortune and T. Vaughn, 'Encore'
Marvin Sapp, 'Best In Me'

Male Vocalist of the Year
Byron Cage (winner)
Fred Hammond
J. Moss
Marvin Sapp

Female Vocalist of the Year
CeCe Winans
Karen Clark-Sheard (winner)
Lucinda Moore
Tamela Mann

Group/Duo of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans
Forever Jones
James Fortune & FIYA (winner)
The Anointed Pace Sisters

New Artist of the Year
Forever Jones
Kristina Halloway (winner)
Travis Greene
Victory Cathedral Choir

CD of the Year
Fred Hammond, 'Love Unstoppable'
J. Moss, 'Just James'
James Fortune & FIYA, 'Encore'
Marvin Sapp, 'Here I Am' (winner)

Choir of the Year
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
James Hall & Voices of Citadel
Victory Cathedral Choir
Wilmington Chester Mass Choir (winner)

Producer of the Year
Aaron Lindsey, 'Here I Am' (winner)
Donald Lawrence, 'The Experience'
Fred Hammond, 'Love Unstoppable'
James Fortune, Terrance Vaughn and Ayron Lewis

, 'Encore'

Praise and Worship CD of the Year
Darwin Hobbs, 'Darwin Hobbs Live: Champion' (winner)
James Fortune & FIYA, 'Encore'
Phil Tarver, 'Place of Worshi'
The Anointed Pace Sisters, 'Access Granted'

Quartet of the Year
Reverend F.C. Barnes & Company
The Christian Angels (winner)
The Golden Wings Quartet
The Mighty Clouds of Joy

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
James Greer & Company
The Anointed Pace Sisters
The Christian Angels
The Mighty Clouds of Joy (winner)

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans
Forever Jones (winner)
James Fortune and FIYA
Trin-i-tee 5:7

Urban Inspirational Performance of the Year
BeBe & CeCe Winans, 'Still' (winner)
Forever Jones, 'Get Ready'
James Fortune & FIYA, 'Encore'
Marvin Sapp, 'Here I Am'

Music Video of the Year
BeBe and CeCe Winans, 'Close to You' (winner)
Kirk Whalum, 'Make Me a Believer'
Shirley Caesar, 'Playground In Heaven'
The Anointed Pace Sisters, 'If I Be Lifted Up'

Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
DJ Official, 'Entermission'
Everyday Process, 'Outtadisworld'
Sho Baraka, 'Lions and Liars'
Trip Lee, 'Between Two Worlds' (winner)

Traditional Choir of the Year
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
James Hall & Voices of Citadel
Victory Cathedral Choir
Wilmington Chester Mass Choir (winner)

Contemporary Choir of the Year
God's Little Soldiers International

Myron Butler & Levi (winner)
Youth for Christ
Youthful Praise featuring J.J. Hairston

Contemporary CD of the Year
BeBe and CeCe Winans, 'Still'
Fred Hammond, 'Love Unstoppable'
J.Moss, 'Just James'
James Fortune and FIYA, 'Encore' (winner)

Traditional CD of the Year
James Hall & Voices of Citadel, 'Won't It Be Wonderful'
Marvin Sapp, 'Here I Am' (winner)
Shirley Caesar, 'A City Called Heaven'
Vanessa Bell Armstrong, 'The Experience'

Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year
Fredericka Faison
Lucinda Moore (winner)
Shirley Caesar
Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year
CeCe Winans (winner)
Karen Clark-Sheard
Lisa Page Brooks
Tamela Mann

Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year
Alvin Darling
Darrell Hines
Marvin Sapp (winner)
Marvin Winans

Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year
Byron Cage
Fred Hammond
J. Moss (winner)
James Fortune

Special Event CD of the Year
BeBe and CeCe Winans, 'Still'
Kirk Franklin, 'Are You Listening'
Various Artists, 'CoCo Brother Live Presents Stand 2010' (winner)
Various Artists, 'WOW Gospel 2010'

Children's Project of the Year
God's Little Soldiers International, 'Soldier Story'
Kingdom Kids Worldwide, 'Kingdom Kids Worldwide Volume 1' (winner)
The Velasquez Family Singers, 'While We Still Have Time'
Youth for Christ, 'Thanks In Advance'

Recorded Music Packaging of the Year
Cameron Hilson and Mark Neubauer, 'Get Ready'
Denise Trotman, 'Here I Am'
Derek Blanks and Ken Barboza, 'Still' (winner)
Jeff Gilligan, 'Love Unstoppable'

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Top-Selling Gospel Artists

CeCe Winans
The eighth of 10 siblings in the gospel-singing Winans family, CeCe recorded music with brother BeBe. The dynamic duo scored two No. 1 R&B singles, 'Addictive Love' and 'I'll Take You There.' As a soloist, CeCe has won six Grammys and her collection of R&B hits includes 'Count on Me,' her duet with Whitney Houston from the 'Waiting to Exhale' soundtrack.

(Photo: Getty)

BeBe Winans
After years as a duet with sister CeCe, BeBe Winans went solo and released a self-titled album in 1997. Featuring singles 'In Harms' Way,' 'Thank You,' and 'I Wanna Be The Only One,' the album did well on gospel and secular charts. BeBe is a two-time Grammy winner, one as co-producer of the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack.

(Photo: Pieter M. van Hattem, AOL)

Kierra "KiKi" Sheard
KiKi Sheard is a third-generation gospel artist. Her mother is Karen Clark Sheard of the famed Clark Sisters and her grandmother is gospel pioneer Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. Shortly after graduating high school, Sheard released her second album 'This Is Me,' which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Gospel charts in 2006.

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Mahalia Jackson
Regarded as the "world's greatest gospel singer," Jackson's spirit-filled force produced gospel classics such as 'Move On Up a Little Higher,' 'He's Got the Whole World in His Hands' (a Top 100 pop single) and 'How I Got Over.' She sang for Presidents Eisenhower & Kennedy, and for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. immediately before his "I Have a Dream" speech.

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James Cleveland
A pianist, singer, composer and producer, Cleveland was revered by the music world as the King of Gospel and even taught a Queen (of soul), Aretha Franklin a few things about gospel. Cleveland is credited with writing and arranging more than 400 gospel songs, including 'Everything Will Be All Right,' 'The Love of God' and 'Peace Be Still.'

(Photo: Time Life/Getty)

Kirk Franklin
Kirk Franklin came up in the church, but often reworks his church messages into a hip-hop mix. Franklin's 1998 hit 'Stomp' propelled him to the best-selling gospel artist of the modern era. Moving beyond music, Franklin has hosted 'Sunday Best,' a music competition on BET, in addition to working the speaker circuit.

(Photo: Jesse Grant, Getty Images)

The Winans
The Winans, comprised of five-time Grammy-winning brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald, put out 10 albums from 1982 to 1995, spawning hits such as 'Let My People Go' and 'It's Time and a Friend.' Their own sons went on to form the third-generation group Winans Phase 2.

(Photo: AOL)

Yolanda Adams
Though initially criticized in the Christian community for embracing R&B and jazz rhythms and "immodest" fashion to accompany her holy music, Adams scored quickly with gospel audiences. Her 1999 album, 'Mountain High...Valley Low' earned Adams her first Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel.

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Mary Mary
Sisters Erica and Tina Atkins formed gospel duo Mary Mary, named after biblical Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Jesus. Their debut album, 'Thankful,' boasting smash single 'Shackles (Praise You),' was a crossover hit earning the duo Grammy and American Music Awards. The single received rotation on mainstream radio and MTV.

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Andraé Crouch
After founding the Disciples in 1965, André Crouch garnered mainstream success, appearing on 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson' and at Carnegie Hall. The Disciples contemporary gospel sound, complete with soothing melodies of pop rather than traditional hymns, helped the group develop a racially diverse audience.

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