::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

Hezekiah Walker and Mary emerged as the top winner at the 25th Annual Stellar Awards held at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry on January 16, each taking home 4 trophies. Both artist received the top, most coveted awards, with Mary Mary earning one for Song of the Year, "The God in Me" and Hezekiah Walker receiving the Artist of the year title. Walker and his contemporary Ricky Dillard united on the show opener to kick-off a night of perfectly paired collaborations. Show highlights include dualing piano with Male Vocalist of the Year, Smokie Norful and the Maestro Richard Smallwood, the The closing act was Donald Lawrence and the Atlanta West Pentecostal Church, winners of the Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound choir sing-off. The Stellar Awards attracted 4400 people to Music City and Congratulations to All of the Winners: Artist of the Year-Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Song of the Year-Mary, Mary-"God in Me" Male Vocalist of the Year-Smokie No...

buzzz worthy. . . BMI CELEBRATES THE BEST IN GOSPEL HONORING SIBLING DUOS BEBE & CECE WINANS AND MARY MARY AT THE TRAILBLAZERS OF GOSPEL MUSIC HONORS IN ATLANTA “AMAZING” BY RICKY DILLARD & NEW G FEATURING TIFF JOY AWARDED SONG OF THE YEAR **The Inspirational Event Will Air Nationwide on TV One February 19 th  at 8PM ET** ATLANTA  – Gospel music superstar sibling acts,  BeBe & CeCe Winans  and Mary Mary , were honored at the  Broadcast Music, Inc.  ®  (BMI ® ) Trailblazers of Gospel Music Honors  at the Rialto Center for the Arts last night in Atlanta, GA. Hosted by previous Trailblazer recipient and renowned gospel singer-songwriter,  Yolanda Adams , this special night paid tribute to the best in the Gospel music community. The inspirational ceremony will air nationwide on TV One on February 19 th  at 8 PM ET.     The invitation-only event was a harmonious blend of awe-inspiring performa...

buzzz worthy. . .  Even though the ladies of Mary Mary are still very much mourning the loss of their father Eddie Atkins earlier this week, they took time out to thank fans for their condolences. The following message was released by their publicist: Erica and Tina Campbell (Mary Mary) would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all who have reached out to them during this difficult time. The ladies have been overwhelmed by the love and support of their peers, colleagues, fans, and friends and want to share the below message with you: "Our dad was a powerful man. Our family had it's challenges but our love superseded it all. We had the opportunity to profess our love for our father. We were able to tell him how much we loved him, valued him, and how much life had helped us to understand the things that we couldn't for many years. Our dad was a man of immense physical and spiritual strength. He always covered us in prayer. He warned us when hardships were co...

buzzz worthy. . . It appears that the more Mary Mary said they were parting ways, the media hungered for more of them. The WeTV reality stars appear together on the June Black Music Month  cover of Ebony  to share more about their complicated relationship. The issue is due to arrive on news stands on May 7. Surprisingly, Tina, who wanted to leave the group to focus on her family life, revealed her husband Teddy had an affair.  She admitted she was so livid she attempted to stab him, according to singersroom.com. “Once I became aware [of the affair], I initially wanted to kill my husband,” she admitted. “I was considering adjusting the will, the  living trust  and all that kind of stuff. I did physically try to stab him. Several times…I never got to the point of physical harm, not really, but my words…My words hurt.” The couple is still together working on their marriage. Erica, discussed going solo and her belief that her hubby Warren should go...

buzzz worthy. . .   Deal Expands Relationship with Campbell and eOne   NASHVILLE, TN (April 16, 2013)  – Top independent music brand Entertainment One Music (eOne Music) has inked a new deal creating a strategic partnership with My Block Records (My Block), the label and entertainment enterprise helmed by multiple Grammy®-winning super producer Warryn Campbell, announced this week for eOne Music by James Robinson, SVP of eOne Music Nashville.  Both known as formidable powers for award-winning top talent – excelling as independent labels in developing brilliant, distinctive voices in Gospel and other genres – eOne Music and My Block forge a strategic partnership to bring the latest outstanding, fresh music from new and superstar artists, with a slate of new music on deck for 2013 and more.           In this deal, the strategic partnership will utilize eOne Music’s multi-faceted channels of production, distribution, sales,  marketin...

buzzz worthy. . .     Mary Mary Tops List of Nominees with Nine Nods; Best New Artist Nominee Charles Jenkins Earns Eight, Including Artist of the Year; Marvin Sapp, Fred Hammond and Andre Crouch Score Multiple Nominations CHICAGO, IL (October 26, 2012) - Two of Gospel music's biggest acts will share the microphone when Kirk Franklin and Tina and Ericka Campbell of Mary Mary co-host the 28th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards. The annual salute to Gospel's best and brightest performers returns to Nashville's iconic Grand Ole Opry House Theater Saturday, January 19, 2013. The Stellar Awards will air in broadcast syndication on 150 stations in over 125 markets around the country and on the GMC network from January 19 to March 3, 2013. Today the nominees in twenty-eight categories of excellence were announced via webcast ( www.thestellarawards.com ) and social media. With more than 30,000 fans logging online to cast their votes for t...

buzzz worthy. . . Erica Campbell of Mary Mary and her husband, the group's noted producer Warryn Campbell welcomed baby #3, Zaya Monique yesterday (Tuesday, January 24) , weighing in at 6.12 pounds! The baby may have arrived early by doctors predictions (the original due date was February 11), but just in time for auntie Tina. Tina Campbell got her wish as she said while she was away collecting awards for the group at the 2012 Stellars over a week ago, that she needed to see her niece come into the world. In a press statement an elated Erica said, "Feeling so thankful and so blessed to have our sweet Zaya finally make her grand entrance into the world! God is awesome, our family couldn't be more happy than we are today!" Mary Mary won two Stellar Awards for Group Duo of the Year and Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year.  (Sidebar: Tina admitted to press that being at the show sans Erica was "wierd.")  Some of the recent excitement from their p...

WINNING CONGREGATION RECEIVES A FREE MARY MARY CONCERT & BREAKFAST FROM PILLSBURY ®  EGG SCRAMBLES™ AND GRANDS!™ BISCUIT SANDWICHES New York, NY ( December 12, 2011 ) – Mary Mary’s Something Big Contest has concluded. With over 4,500 votes, the winning congregation is True Holy Church – City of Refuge located in Brooklyn, NY.   The Something Big Contest, a joint venture between My Block/Columbia Records recording artists  Mary Mary  and Pillsbury ®   Egg Scrambles™ and Grands! ™   Biscuit Sandwiches, challenged churches across the nation to  do something big  for their communities. The contest launched in October and submissions were accepted over a 6-week period. Churches were challenged to identify a meaningful need within their community, design and create a winning solution, and mobilize their ministry into positive action. Many churches submitted entries; however the finalists were narrowed down by Mary Mary according to the participa...

INSPIRATIONAL DUO ADDS TWO JUST-ANNOUNCED GRAMMY ®  AWARD NOMINATIONS TO AN OUTSTANDING YEAR OF CHART SUCCESS, AWARDS, TELEVISION APPEARANCES, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS – AND A NEW BABY ON THE WAY 2012 Grammy ®  Award Nominations for Best Gospel Album (“Something Big”)  and Best Gospel Song (“Sitting With Me”)Arrive on the Heels of Nationally Televised Soul Train Awards Win and Spirited Performance (New York, NY – December 1, 2011)  –  The amazing year that multi-Grammy® Award-winning My Block/Columbia recording artists  Mary Mary  has had thus far refuses to slow down, moving full-steam ahead in a blessed and highly favored fashion.  Their sixth studio album, released earlier this year and appropriately titled  Something Big , has fueled one of the duo’s biggest, most successful years yet.  Mary Mary – sisters Erica and Tina Campbell – have just been nominated for  two  2012 Grammy® Awards:  for Best Gospel Song (“Sitt...

buzzz worthy. . . MARY MARY Premiering Spring 2012 Erica and Tina Campbell are More than a Grammy ® Award-Winning Gospel Group….They’re Sisters, Mothers and Career Women Who Strive to Balance it All NEW YORK, NY – November 21, 2011 – Talk about a sister act!   As the popular three-time Grammy ® award-winning Gospel duo, “Mary Mary,” Erica and Tina Campbell are busy career women touring the country, promoting their sixth album, “Something Big” and walking Hollywood red carpets.   More than that, they’re sisters and mothers who strive to balance hectic careers with growing families.   Now, WE tv has greenlit a brand-new original series, tentatively titled MARY MARY , that follows the sisters in their daily lives as they work to do it all.   The series premieres Thursday, March 29 th at 9pm ET/PT with eight, hour-long episodes. Music is a family business for the Campbell sisters:   Erica’s husband, Warryn, is the group’s producer and Tina’s husband, Tedd...

buzzz worthy. . . Season 4 of the hit singing competition "Sunday Best" -- the only televised singing contest that's just as riveting as "The Voice" -- will premiere on BET tonight, July 10 at  8P/7C. Kirk Franklin will return as host with fellow superstar gospel acts  as judges (Mary Mary and Donnie McClurkin). Participants from all over the nation were selected from auditions in Dallas, Atlanta and Los Angeles and judging from the past the compeition is bound to be intense.  "Musical powerhouse Kim Burrell also returns as celebrity mentor. Fans can expect to be blown away by performances as this season's hopefuls venture from the auditions to the main stage. In the premiere episodes, thousands of contestants make their way to audition stops in Dallas, Los Angeles and Atlanta, but only 20 are selected to compete in Atlanta. Many are called but only one will be crowned winner of this season's SUNDAY BEST. In addition to the coveted title of S...

Show to broadcast live at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 26 Chris Brown leads the 2011 BET Awards with 6 nominations. We're counting down to the hottest  party - uhm, award show - ever televised.  In just 4 days Rick Ross , DJ Khaled and Ace Hood will join Beyoncé , Mary J. Blige , Kelly Rowland , Trey Songz , Lil Wayne , Drake , Chris Brown , Jill Scott and Alicia Keys as performers at the 11th Annual  BET AWARDS . Gospel performances will also be in full affect with Mary Mary, Shirley Caesar, Donnie McClurkin and Deitrck Haddon and the Faithful Central Mass Choir on the ticket. (FYI. . .The nominees for the Best Gospel Artist are Byron Cage, Mary Mary, Deitrick Haddon, Karen Clark Sheard and BeBe and CeCe Winans.) In addition to the stellar lineup, Cee Lo Green (NBC’s “The Voice”) will make a special appearance at this year’s Awards. Reportedly Justin Bieber will also make an appearance in some capacity. Lady Marmalade herself, Patti Labelle and Comedy King...

ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will honor multiple Grammy Award-winning gospel music duo Mary Mary with the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award during its 24th Annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. The invitation-only event will take place on Friday, June 24, 2011 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The ASCAP Golden Note Award is presented to songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones. Past recipients include Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, LL Cool J, New Edition and Lionel Richie. As previously announced, hip-hop impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs will be presented with ASCAP's Founders Award , and the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs on the 2010 R&B/Hip-Hop, Rap and Gospel charts will be honored at the awards ceremony. Top awards will be given to the Songwriter of ...