Seven-Time GRAMMY® Award Winner Kirk Franklin Releases 12th CD, Hello Fear
Two Simultaneously Released Singles are Heating Up Radio:
“I Smile” is #1 Most Added at Gospel Radio, #2 Most Added at Urban AC
“I Am” is #2 Most Added at Gospel Radio
CD In Stores March 22, 2011
Franklin Joins Steve Harvey on the Gospel Comedy Tour
, Steve Harvey
(New York, New York – February 8, 2011) -- Multiple GRAMMY®, Stellar and Dove Award winner Kirk Franklin releases his 12th CD, Hello Fear, on March 22, 2011.
Hello Fear is an innovative musical offering that showcases Franklin’s growth and maturation both creatively and personally, while still boasting his creative genius of combining various styles and genres of music into his own unique, definitively gospel sound. He has teamed again with five of the most sought after vocalists in the music industry—Isaac Carree, Anaysha Figueroa, Nikki Ross, Charmaine Swimpson and Eric Moore—to create the inimitable harmonies for which his music is known. The result is a Kirk Franklin masterpiece. Hello Fear is produced by Franklin and co-produced by Shaun “Harold” Martin and executive produced by Kirk Franklin, Jazzy Jordan, Jessie Hurst and Carla Williams.
Two singles from Hello Fear have been released simultaneously, and they are among the top songs added at gospel and urban adult contemporary radio this week. “I Smile” is #1 Most Added at Gospel Radio and #2 Most Added at Urban Adult Contemporary Radio. “I Am” is #2 most added at Gospel Radio.
“‘I Smile’ is a fun, urban upbeat melody I wrote,” said Franklin. “It is a declarative statement that I’m not going to live my life based on how I feel. I will live my life based on God’s Word. It is not easy and I acknowledge there are always obstacles, but like a lot of folks, I get tired of being guided by my emotions. When I have a deeper trust in God, I live my life in stability.”
“‘I Am’ is about exchanging all of my weaknesses for God’s strength,” Franklin noted. This song is also about declaring what God says about me and not my situation. As we daily transform to God’s image, we no longer identify with who we were, but who we are becoming.”
“‘I Am’ is about exchanging all of my weaknesses for God’s strength,” Franklin noted. This song is also about declaring what God says about me and not my situation. As we daily transform to God’s image, we no longer identify with who we were, but who we are becoming.”
Hello Fear also includes the infectious “Give Me,” featuring dynamic newcomer Mali Music; “The Altar,” a powerful traditional song, featuring Marvin Sapp and Beverly Crawford; and “Something About The Name Jesus (part 2), ” featuring Rance Allen, John P.Kee and Marvin Winans. This 13 track tour de force will again raise the standard of 21st century contemporary gospel music.
“I titled this album Hello Fear because—with everything going on in the world—it is the word and the feeling, that paralyzes all of us on some level right now,” said Franklin. “In my own life, fear has been a shadow that has followed me since I was a child. But the season of running from it is over. I am turning around and speaking directly to it. This album is full of personal and painful work that invites the listener to join me on the journey of letting this familiar ‘friend’ know that his time is over.”
“Over the years, I’ve had the unique opportunity of watching Kirk produce some of his albums,” said Jazzy Jordan, Executive Vice President/General Manager of Verity Gospel Music Group. “I am always amazed at the finished product. Kirk’s music gets better and better. He is masterful, and always delivers a project full of hit songs. Hello Fear is both timely and timeless. It’s an honor to work with him. He’s a brilliant producer and artist. His fans will love this album.”
On March 19, Franklin joins Steve Harvey at the Philips Arena Theater in Atlanta for the first stop on the “Steve Harvey and Kirk Franklin Gospel Comedy Tour” (see tour dates below). Harvey and Franklin have teamed up for the first time for this tour. “We know these are hard times for a lot of people out there, with the economy, family life, even church life…it’s just hard,” said Franklin. “We want people to leave the concert inspired, happy and charged -- knowing that no matter what they are facing, hard times do not last forever and brighter days are indeed ahead.” In between promoting his new CD and his concert tour with Steve Harvey, Franklin will begin taping the fourth season of BET’s Sunday Best in early spring.
Franklin received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional for his New York Times bestseller, The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms (Gotham Books). Franklin was recently honored at the 26th Annual Stellar Awards with the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Artists United for Haiti. After the tragic earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Franklin produced an all-star gospel recording of “Are You Listening” in an effort to raise much needed funds for the people of Haiti. Artists United for Haiti included an ensemble of over 100 singers. “Are You Listening” was also nominated for Special Event CD of the Year at this year’s Stellar Awards.
For additional information on Hello Fear and Kirk Franklin, please visit, www.kirkfranklin.com.
Steve Harvey and Kirk Franklin Gospel Comedy Tour
Saturday, March 19
Atlanta, GA
Philips Arena Theater
Saturday, March 26
Tampa, FL
St. Pete Times Forum
Saturday, April 2
Memphis, TN
Desoto Civic Center
Saturday, April 9
Nashville, TN
Bridgestone Arena
Saturday, April 30
Charleston, SC
North Charleston Coliseum
Saturday, May 7
St. Louis, MO
Chaifetz Arena
Saturday, May 21
Jacksonville, FL
Veterans Memorial
ABOUT KIRK FRANKLIN
Kirk Franklin is the biggest-selling contemporary gospel artist in the history of SoundScan, with over 14 million albums sold to date and over 20 #1 singles at gospel radio. Franklin made music history in 1993 with the release of his debut album, Kirk Franklin and the Family, which was the first gospel album to sell more than one million units. Franklin ' s eleventh CD, The Fight of My Life, was awarded two 2009 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album and Best Gospel Song for "Help Me Believe." It follows his previous, RIAA-certified platinum CD, Hero, which remained in the Top 10 on the Billboard charts for close to two years after its release. To date, the musical trendsetter has garnered seven GRAMMY® Awards; an American Music Award; 35 Stellar Awards (gospel); 12 Dove Awards (CCM); four NAACP Image Awards; two BET Music Awards, a Soul Train Award and numerous others. In January 2011, Franklin was honored at the 26th Annual Stellar Awards with the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Artists United for Haiti for the ground-breaking single, “Are You Listening.” In Spring 2011, Franklin will resume hosting the fourth season of the BET original series, Sunday Best. The entrepreneur not only serves as host of the program, which features a nationwide search for the next best gospel artist, but co-executive produces the series. A devoted husband, Franklin and his wife Tammy have been happily married for 15 years. They are proud parents of four children.
ABOUT VERITY GOSPEL MUSIC GROUP
A division of Jive Label Group, Verity Gospel Music Group is comprised of Verity Records; GospoCentric Records; Fo-Yo Soul Entertainment; Quiet Water Entertainment; F. Hammond Music and New Life Records. Verity Gospel Music Group is based in New York and has offices in Nashville, TN.
For media information and interviews, please contact:
Gwendolyn Quinn
GQ Media & Public Relations, Inc.
718.622.4100
Kymberlee Norsworthy
Verity Gospel Music Group
212.833.6640
