Sonic Awakening: 3rd Qtr Nominees - Gospel

We Continue our revelations of the early nominee pool for the 2012 Platinum Vinyl Awards. Another well represented genre this quarter, and every quarter, is Gospel/R&B. Now as I gain new readers every day via our Inaugural Giveaway, I feel I should explain that the fact that these albums are in the pool does not guarantee that they will win an award. There is still the voting process. But just like they say you can't win if you don't enter, if you don't make the initial pool, you can not win an award. This is the first hurdle.

Without further ado, the 3rd Quarter initial nominations for

Gospel/R&B Music

• Regina Belle - Higher
• Todd Dulaney - Pullin Me Through
• Deitrick Haddon - A Beautiful Soul (Music Inspired By The Motion Picture)
• Israel & New Breed - Decade
• Israel & New Breed - New Season
• Forever Jones - Musical Revival
• Mary Mary - Go Get It
• Marvin Sapp - I Win
• Anita Wilson - Worship Soul

Now I have one caveat, and that is that both the Israel and New Breed releases, while qualifying on content, are re-issues, and this year that has produced a new curve for me. There are a lot of re-issues, and I have to decide whether to include them. One more time, I encourage you to enter the giveaway either on this blog or at My Facebook Page (click on the giveaway tab). And while your at it, get extra entries by liking the page or following me on twitter. Until the next time I am Awaiting Your Reply.

2012 Wishlist: Gospel

Here it is already 2012 and I haven't even begun my wish list for this year. We'll I have, but I have a lot of genres to go, so it sounds a whole lot more dramatic (or is that melodramatic) if I say I haven't. We move on to Gospel Music.

I think the Big Release in this Category I want to see is a new Forever Jones release. And I mean new. I know that they released a Deluxe CD this year, but that isn't really new. I want all new tunes.

Actually my other wish in this category is for another newbie. Vashawn Mitchell also had his debut in 2010 and I think it is about time for his sophomore release as well.

One other note. In 2010 I put The Washington Projects here because their sound was more R&B than Hip Hop. I would be expecting another release from them in 2012, but, with Je'kob Washington producing his solo debut, Minor Setbacks for Major Comeups, which is under consideration for a PVA in Hip Hop in 2011, the situation for this duo is somewhat murky.

Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Heating It Up: Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees - Gospel

Listen...We Come to Gospel (and its kin R&B). And we also come to categories which will require significant cutdowns (we're talking over 50% of the initial pool will get a "thanks for playing" parting gift). Dispensing with pleasantries, let us get to the business of announcing

2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees

Gospel Music (including R&B)

• Dorinda Clark Cole - I Survived
• Committed - Committed
• Ricky Dillard and New G - The Best of
• Deitrick Haddon - Anthology
• Le'Andria Johnson - The Awakening
• Forever Jones - Get Ready (Deluxe Edition)
• Donald Lawrence - YRM: Your Righteous Mind
• Jawn Murray Presents - Untapped
• Richard Smallwood - Promises
• 21:03 - Evolved....From Boys to Men

No Perfect albums this time around, but all of these selections could win. First they have to make the cut.

We still have much more to announce so stay here. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Night Beat Presents: 2010 Songs of The Year

The 2010 Platinum Vinyl Awards are over, and sacrifices had to be made to make sure we beat the Doves to the line. One of the sacrifices was the Song of the Year category, which was genre based. Still, I felt that there should be some recognition to the artists. This post is my solution. The Song of the Year Category will officially be added to the Platinum Vinyl Awards for 2011.

Without further ado, the 2010 Songs of the Year, as determined by The Night Beat:

• Folk/Folk Rock Song: The Apple, Carolina Story, When the River Meets the Sea
• Dance Song: Live it Up, Group 1 Crew, Outta Space Love
• Gospel Song: All the Way, Forever Jones, Get Ready
• Alternative Song: Between Bare Trees, The Choir, Burning Like The Midnight Sun
• Modern Worship Song: Movements, Rend Collective Experiment, Organic Family Hymnal
• Pop Song: 2AM, Poema, Sing it Now
• Hip Hop/Rap Song: The Invasion (Hero) feat. Jai, Trip Lee, Between Two Worlds
• Hard Rock Song: Voices in the Night, Silverline, Voices in the Night
• Rock Song: Desperate, Fireflight, For Those Who Wait
• CROSS/over Song: Broken Pieces feat. Lacey from Flyleaf, Apocalyptica, 7th Symphony

Well That unofficially officially ends the 2010 Platinum Vinyl Awards. I officially ended it on April 21 with the Artist of the Year Award, but I kept going back and forth on recognition for best song. This list finishes that up, and we'll try to have song categories for each genre next year. Now we really do return to our regularly scheduled posts.

CD Smackdown: Grammy vs. Platinum Vinyl

The 2011 Grammy Awards are over, and now the second guessing can begin. Here at The Night Beat there is plenty of second guessing to do. Of course the only categories we are concerned with are the categories named Gospel, but that still provides plenty of fodder.

My biggest gripe with Grammy gospel award is its limited scope. There are only five genre-specific sub categories (Rock/Rap Gospel, Pop/Contemporary Gospel, Country/Southern Gospel, Traditional Gospel, and Contemporary/R&B Gospel). On the other hand, the Platinum Vinyl Awards have ten genre-specific categories (Pop, Rock, Hard Rock/Metal, Alternative, Hip-Hop/Rap, Gospel/R&B, Dance/Electronica, Techno, Folk/Folk Rock, Modern Worship and Kids Music). As long as we are clear on who belongs in a category, the more categories the better. After the jump, I will take on each of the Grammy Winners with a who won, who should have won format.