It was the biggest night in gospel music!
The 39th Annual Stellar Awards premiered on BET on Sunday August 4th. The show was taped on July 20th in Vegas.
While most of the winners had already been revealed, there were still a number of highlights that elevated this year's telecast.
In case you missed it, here are some of the top moments from the 2024 Stellar Awards!
Stellar Awards Top Moments:
Ricky Smiley and Loni Love
The comedy team came ready to cut-up and have fun, poking fun at The Stellar Gospel Music Awards being held in Las Vegas (aka, "sin city").
Anthony Brown and Group TherAPY
Anthony Brown and Group TherAPy is one those gospel groups that's immensely talented but is not a household name like Kirk Franklin or Tye Tribbet, despite the success of songs such as "Worth" and "Trust in You." So it was good to see Anthony Brown and Group TherAPY open the show with his hit song "Trust in You". At one point in the performance, Anthony Brown switched into country western gear!
Karen Clark Sheard with Kierra
Karen Clark Sheard performed her inspired new song "Yes" for the first time on television. Then, in a surprise, Kierra, dressed in an azure blue dress draped in feathers, joined her mother on stage and proclaimed, "I don't look like what I've been through"!
Koryn Hawthorne
Koryn is having an amazing year! After publicly announcing her engagement to her childhood sweetheart, Hunter Register, last November, she performs her gospel/RnB hit "Look at God" on the biggest stage in gospel music.
Ricky Dillard and Lisa Knowles-Smith
There's been a lot of discussion around choirs getting the attention they deserve, especially in the age of Contemporary Christian Music and mainstream gospel radio hits. Nevertheless, choirmaster Ricky Dillard and Lisa Knowles took us to CHURCH with their upbeat, hand-clapping performance!
Kim Burrell's Acceptance Speech
Before the Stellars airing, there had been much discussion around Kim Burrell's acceptance speech for the Aretha Franklin Icon Award, particularly her apology to the LGBTQ community. However, audiences finally got to hear the entire, unedited, speech where Burrell seemed truly grateful to receive the honor. A humbled Burrell even thanked her deceased mother, her 21-year old son, Christian, and her father (who could not attend because of the technology glitch that caused flight delays around the world).
Deitrick Haddon
Deitrick put on a show- all by himself! The unofficial "bad boy" of gospel music proved his God given talent, seamlessly flowing from gosepl RnB, to worship music, to hand clapping music! Deitrick gave us a concert!
Erica Campbell with...Carvin Winans?
It was good to see the elusive Carvin Winans back in the spotlight. The twin to Bishop Marvin Winans normally keeps a low profile. He and Erica Campbell presented the Male Artist of the Year award.
Jovonta Patton- remember his name!
Dressed in a red vest and red pants, the talented Jovonta Patton performed his hit song "Always" while standing amongst the audience at the Orleans Arena. His pitch perfect rendition of the song proved why he deserved to be the New Artist of the Year winner! Certainly, we'll be hearing more from Jovonta!
Melvin Crispell III's surpise win
On a night that centered on performances instead of acceptance speeches, it was nice to see a genuinely surprised and joyful reaction from Melvin Crispell III to winning an award. While Tye Tribbett dominated in all the other male categories, Melvin took home his first Stellar as the surprise winner for Male Artist of the Year.
Tamela Mann
In a Western-inspired performance, Tamela Mann performed her inspirational, upbeat new song "Working for Me," which reminded everyone of her vocal talent and the uplifting power of gospel music.
For a list of all the winners, visit https://www.thestellarawards.com/.
If you missed Sunday's telecast on BET, check your listing for re-broadcast dates.
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