The Pulse of Entertainment: Seven-Time
Grammy Nominated Mark Stephens Releases ‘E Pluribus Unum'; Keyboardist Mark Stephens Preps for ‘A Great Day' Album
Release
"Right from the beginning I wanted Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s speech in the song," said 7-time Grammy Award nominated keyboardist Mark Stephens (Chaka
Khan, Diana Ross) about his solo release "E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, We Are One)". "I love
this country....the dream. Every country is here!"
This
single was released to honor America, and it came out just in time for its 250th anniversary. It's an explosive piece of work
that makes you swell up with American pride and a clear vision of what America is all about. Many have lost sight of that.
They take their freedom for granted.
"Out of
the many, we are one, that's what E pluribus unum means," Mark pointed out to me as we began talking about the single.
"That's the essence of the song."
"By
the time I finished it the 250th anniversary was coming up," he added. "The King Center agreed to license me his
speech. We share the same birthday - January 15! I sent it to the Grammy's for the Harry Belafonte Best Song for... Read the full July 24, 2026 column here...>
The Pulse of Entertainment: ‘Turrentine,'
DeJuan, Qu33n and Golden Child, Unite for an Explosive Much Anticipated Sibling Group Debut
"Janet Jackson inspired me," said
Qu33n, one of three members of the new group Turrentine, when I interviewed her about being
a Rock artist who is coming together with her brothers - R&B's DeJuan and Hip-Hop's Dewayne, Jr. also
known as rapper Golden Child (Michael Jackson). "I first saw her as a young girl, and she has been inspiring
me since then."
"I was always into
music," added Golden Child. "Music is on my dad's side...our cousins/uncle...music is our bloodline."
Dewayne, Jr. (Golden Child) is referring to Stanley Turrentine, a Jazz
saxophonist and record producer known as The Sugar Man. Stanley's father played sax and mother piano and his brother played
the trumpet. Turrentine earned four Grammy Awards in his career before he passed in 2000.
"I have big goals," DeJuan said seriously. Then he points out, "I sale
my music independently...it's been 10 years and I reach people all over the world."
Ten years or more. That is how long these siblings have been at it. All three have
been making a living in three genres of music and now they are coming together to become an explosive act called Turrentine.
Their motivation... Read the full July 21, 2026 column here...>
The Pulse of Entertainment
Broadcasting Vol1
NEWS
Omarion Releases
Long-Awaited Music with 'O2-Part 1'
(Los Angeles, CA) - Grammy Award nominated, multi-platinum selling Omarion (B2K) has
released his long-awaited new solo album, "O2-Part 1" on Create Music Group/Immaculate Frequency
Records. Omarion heads to Japan for a solo run in August, followed by a solo domestic tour in the fall and in December,
he will join his B2K bandmates for an international tour, opening December 13 at The O2 Arena in London.
Grammy Award Winning Erykah Badu Launches Her
'Live' Tour in September Featuring The Alchemist, De La Soul, and Smino
(Dallas, TX) - Grammy Award winning Erykah Badu launches her "LIVE"
tour in September with special guests The Alchemist,De La Soul and rapper Smino.
Addition acts to be announced and join the tour when it reaches San Diego, Berkeley, and Los Angeles.
(Nashville, Tenn) - BMI celebrated the best
in Gospel music today at the 2026 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards held at BMI's Nashville office. Multiple award-winning
artist and songwriter Kierra Sheard received the BMI Impact Award in recognition of her
impressive career and impact on the future of Gospel music. Sheard was also honored as BMI's Gospel Songwriter of the Year
in a three-way tie with her brother J Drew Sheard II and Kerry Douglas. BMI's Gospel Song of the Year went to "Lead Me
On," and Publisher of the Year went to Capital CMG Publishing. The most-performed Gospel songs of the previous year were
also announced at the private ceremony hosted by BMI's CEO, Mike O'Neill; EVP, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer Mike Steinberg
and Vice President, Creative, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton.
Douglas and siblings Kierra Sheard and J Drew Sheard II received Songwriter of the Year for each writing three
of the most performed Gospel songs of the previous year. Douglas was honored for "Don't Give Up," "Windows"
and "Without You," bringing his total BMI Awards up to five, commemorating his successful career. J Drew and Kierra
Sheard were recognized for co-writing their hits "All Yours," "Rain Down on Me," and "Send It Down,"
marking the second time the duo has been honored with this coveted title, after their first win in 2022.
The BMI Impact Award tributes kicked off with a heartfelt video message
from Sheard's aunt and 2024 BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Music honoree Dorinda Clark-Cole, and her mother Karen Clark Sheard
also gave a moving speech congratulating her daughter for the "well-deserved honor."
To pay homage to Sheard's illustrious career, tribute performances kicked off with
Darrel Walls on "Indescribable," joined by DOE who gave a soulful rendition of "This is Me." Tasha Cobbs
Leonard ended the tributes by getting the crowd to their feet for an uplifting performance of "Hang On" with Karen
Clark Sheard and Tamela Mann singing along from the audience.
In
receiving the afternoon's highest honor, Sheard thanked her family and members of the audience, sharing, "God has a way
to reward faithfulness before He rewards popularity... and tonight is a reminder that if you keep saying yes, He knows exactly
where to find you." She added her appreciation to BMI, saying, "I want to thank you for pushing gospel music forward.
You make this industry worth staying in. What matters is what you represent, that someone still believes in a song that is
worth protecting and paying for."
The ceremony
concluded with Sheard bringing the audience to their feet singing her hit song "You Are."
Throughout the afternoon, BMI saluted the 25 most-performed gospel songs of the
previous year, leading up to the highly anticipated BMI Gospel Song of the Year award, which went to "Lead Me On"
co-written by Jonathan Jay, Chandler Moore and Jeff Pardo. Performed by Moore, the hit song was a lead single and a standout
track from his 2024 solo album, Chandler Moore: Live In Los Angeles. The song marked Moore's first number one as a solo artist
and spent an impressive 28 weeks on Billboard's Gospel Airplay charts overall.
The ceremony, which kicked off with a performance of "I Love the Lord" sung by Keyla Richardson,
also highlighted 16 first-time winners, including Adia, Jazze Pha, Travis Finley, Dustin "SLATE" Slater, Keran Vega
and more, for co-writing the award-winning songs.
BMI's
Gospel Publisher of the Year went to Capitol CMG for having the highest publisher share percentage of the top 25 songs, including
BMI's Gospel Song of the Year, "Lead Me On."
To
join the conversation on social media, follow us @BMI and use #BMIGospel. Please visit https://awards.bmi.com/show/trailblazers-2026
to see a full list of BMI's Trailblazers of Gospel Music Award honorees.
