earlier this week—with nine nominations, including Male Vocalist of the Year and
Song of the Year for “Never Would Have Made It.”
Other leading nominees named for the best African-American artists in gospel
music in 2008 were Jonathan Nelson with eight nods, while Dorinda Clark-Cole and
Kirk Franklin each earned five nominations.
Sapp, Clark-Cole and Franklin were nominated in the Artist of the Year
category along with Beverly Crawford and Ricky Dillard & New G. Crawford and
Clark-Cole were nominated in the Female Vocalist of the Year category with CeCe
Winans, newcomer Jessica Greene and Shirley Caesar.
To be hosted by comedian Sinbad, the Stellar Awards will be held Jan. 17 at
the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, which will be taped for broadcast by the Gospel
Music Channel.
Click here for a complete list of 2009 Stellar Award-nominees.