MARVIN SAPP’s Top 10 STELLAR GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS 2016 MOMENTS
The Stellar Gospel Music Awards just taped its 31st show, and we caught up with multiple Stellar Award winner Marvin Sapp to get his no-holds-barred take on the Top 10 Moments from the show and surrounding festivities.
Sapp, who has won a phenomenal 22 Stellar Awards throughout his career, was a teenaged member of the singing group Commissioned when he first attended the program. He has been to the Stellar Awards almost every year since and, here, shares his fresh, front row perspective of the production, which recently moved from Nashville to Las Vegas:
- ANTHONY BROWN “He won 10 Stellar Awards this year; he was the night’s biggest winner. His humility and his recognition of his team were just amazing. He made perfectly clear to everyone that the reason why he is in the position he is in and the reason he won was because of his team. That was amazing to witness.”
Jonathan Slocumb, Yolanda Adams, Tramaine Hawkins, Marvin Sapp and Don Jackson at 2016 Stellar Gospel Music Awards – Backstage, Audience and Winners on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo Courtesy FrontPageCommunications/Central City Productions) - JONATHAN SLOCUMB “This guy keeps the audience engaged in between what you see on television. He makes it worth being at the actual taping. He is hilarious and knows how to get the audience involved. In between performances, Slocumb went to individuals and asked them to “gospelize” something … Dorinda Clark Cole put a gospel spin on the last verse of the Star Spangled Banner and wrecked the house!
- On that same note, SHIRLEY CAESAR singing “my bologna has a first name …” was worth the price of the airfare to get to Las Vegas. I will never be the same! You never know what’s going to happen at the Stellars, and these bits were a definite highlight this year. It is great to see everyone having fun and enjoying time together.
LAS VEGAS, NV – FEBRUARY 20: Anthony Brown & Group TherApy perform during the 2016 Stellar Gospel Awards at the Orleans Arena on February 20, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images) - FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: Anthony Brown. They changed clothes in the middle of the set, the choreography was incredible. It was one of the best performances of the night.
Marvin Sapp, Tina Campbell, Teddy Campbell and Dorinda Clark Cole at 2016 Stellar Gospel Music Awards – Backstage, Audience and Winners on Saturday, February 20th, 2016 at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo Courtesy FrontPageCommunications/Central City Productions) - FAVORITE AWARD: Tina Campbell winning traditional female of the year – I was seated next to her and (her husband) Teddy, I called her “Mother Campbell” the rest of the night — it was hilarious.
- DONNIE MCCLURKIN BROUGHT A DATE! Donnie is my brother and I have never seen him with a date. He was happy and having a great time and it was a blessing to see!
Winning team – GospelGives – StrikeSplitMix Bowling (Photo Courtesy FrontPageCommunications/Central City Productions) - STRIKESPLITMIX CHARITY BOWL that raised money for St. Jude. The Creative Classic Agency presented this event on Thursday evening, and it was wonderful to see artists and industry executives out enjoying themselves while raising money for such a worthwhile organization.
- INDUCTION INTO STELLARS HONORS Last year the Stellars introduced their own “Hall of Fame” called the Stellars Honors. It was a great privilege to have been inducted this year, along with Tramaine Hawkins, Jonathan Slocumb and Yolanda Adams.
Marvin Sapp, Yoland, Adams, Donnie McClurkin, and Karen Clark Sheard performing at 2016 Stellar Gospel Music Awards – Backstage, Audience and Winners on Saturday, February 20th, 2016 at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by: A Turner Archives) - EPIC COLLABORATION: I performed with three of not only the greatest artists, but my friends: Donnie McClurkin, Karen Clark Sheard and Yolanda Adams. We performed a medley of our hit songs and it was powerful.
- CHA-CHIIINNNGGGG! The best and worst thing the Stellars could have done for me was move to Las Vegas … Ohhhhhh, the shopping in Las Vegas, and the shopping I did in Las Vegas! That was a highlight indeed. (Sapp was at the Christian Louboutin store when we caught up with him for this article, so we’re sure this was probably his No. 1 – but we have to stay focused here!)
Bishop Marvin Sapp is senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was the top male gospel artist of 2015 according to Billboard Magazine. His album, which debuted No. 1, is You Shall Live.
Catch the 31st annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards this Sunday, March 6, on TV ONE. The show airs at 6 p.m. EST, with rebroadcasts at 8 and 10 p.m.
