BeBe & CeCe Winans

Reunited and It Appeals So Good
Fifteen years ago, siblings BeBe & CeCe Winans made up one of Christian music’s favorite groups. But after scoring numerous number ones in both the Christian and mainstream markets with R&B hits like “Addictive Love” and “I’ll Take You There” and winning every award imaginable, they decided to split up and fulfill contractual obligations to record solo albums. But this fall, after tremendous success apart, the multi-platinum gospel stars pair up once again for an all-new recording, Still (B&C). Taking a break from a recent radio tour, the reunited siblings explain why BeBe & CeCe will always sing gospel music—and what they’ve learned about grace.

David Crowder

Catching Up With . . . David Crowder
The musical theologian/thinker/experimenter explains why Church Music is the perfect moniker for his band’s latest creative output.

Ben Utecht

The Singing Bengal
High-profile performance is nothing new for Ben Utecht. As a five-season NFL veteran and Cincinnati Bengals starting tight end, Utecht entertains hundreds of thousands of fans each fall with his skillful offensive field techniques. But the 28-year-old—who won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts—has more than pigskin on the brain. He’s also a gifted singer/songwriter—his debut album earned four stars from us—who’s proving his off-season aptitude to the masses. Utecht spoke with us about his music, the relationships that brought him from the gridiron to the stage, and why, for now, football comes first.

Flyleaf

Fully Alive
It’s easy to take life for granted. Not until some fatal event shocks our complacent day-to-day routines, reviving our awareness of life’s beginning and end, do we take advantage of the precious opportunities life offers. For Lacey Mosley, lead singer and principal lyricist for Flyleaf, this distinction between life and death is personally poignant. “I was 16 when I got saved. Before that, I was an atheist and I wanted to commit suicide,” she remembers, death’s stark reality knocking on her door. “The Lord intervened in a miraculous way to keep me from killing myself. The next day, I remember waking up saying, ‘You gave me life, and care so much that you would keep me from dying. What do you want from me?’”

BeBe & CeCe Winans “Still”

Sounds like … the smooth R&B of Ledisi with the vocal pop soul of Whitney Houston and straight up gospel messages of Mary, Mary or J. Moss

At a glance … the legendary duo’s reunion is a stellar comeback CD

When BeBe and CeCe Winans sing “It’s been a long time since we’ve been together” in the opening line of their new album, Still, the statement is no revelation. After releasing the Gold-selling Relationships in 1994, the dynamite duo made a temporary split—or so they thought—to fulfill their record label obligations to record solo projects. But after achieving monumental successes with CeCe’s Alone in His Presence and BeBe’s self-titled debut, the cycles of promotion and demand set the siblings’ individual careers in perpetual motion.

And the era of CCM/R&B/BeBe/CeCe that had been filling radio airwaves for nearly a decade came to a halt. And the void was great.

B. David

Leaving the Gay Life Behind
When Christian music veteran Ray Boltz released a statement saying he was gay last fall, the announcement sent tidal waves of disbelief through the CCM world, shocking longtime listeners with his assertion, “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live.” The news prompted hundreds of related articles, messageboard threads and forum discussions on the topic of homosexuality and the church.

Gospel/worship artist B. David, whose own history of homosexuality and spiritual downward spiral hit rock bottom in 1997—which he calls “the worst year of my life”—shares in Boltz’ candidness, but not his convictions. “Some say, ‘I was born this way,’ and I don’t deny that at all. We are all born into sin,” he explains. “But we have a Savior.

Fred Hammond “Love Unstoppable”

Style: Urban praise and worship; compare to John P. Kee, Donnie McClurkin, and Israel & New Breed

Top tracks: “Awesome God,” “Take My Hand,” “I Know What He’s Done”

In a nutshell: Beginning his gospel music career as bassist for The Winans and furthering his enduring his journey as a founding member of Commissioned, Fred Hammond needs little introduction. But even the music legend’s prestigious history is eclipsed by his solo career, verified by mantles of Grammy, Stellar and Dove Awards, walls of Gold and Platinum records and collaborations with secular titans like Diddy

Avalon

Born Again
Avalon has been through the wringer over the past couple of years. After watching album sales and concert crowds shrink, releasing a handful of specialty records to mixed reviews and suffering the resignation of longtime member Jody McBrayer, the vocal outfit’s future looked a bit grim.

But taking into account millions of records sold, and even more millions of lives reached, the legendary group decided not to call it quits.

Pillar

Road Confessional
Tearing up Christian music with enterprising rock records and an explosive stage show, Pillar has entranced fans for years with full-force, red-blooded rock. But the aggressive collective has more than rabid guitars and zealous screams up their sleeves. Intensifying its Grammy-nominated discography with super melodic hooks and symphonic backdrops, the rock-hard quartet probed the depths of their artistry while prompting fans to get right with God. The result? Their sixth studio release, Confessions.

David Crowder*Band “Church Music”

Expanding The Church’s Musical Horizon
The title of David Crowder*Band’s fifth studio recording is not some tongue-in-cheek assertion by one of Christian music’s least traditional artists about the Church’s oft-traditional musical output. Rather, it’s an honoring of the body of Christ’s infinite musical possibilities by an incredibly diverse musical collective. Considered a “worship band” because of Crowder’s longtime involvement with the Waco, Texas University Baptist Church and Louie Giglio’s exclusive Passion roster, the band seeks to musically realize the notion that God inhabits the praises of His people. So for Christians living within the context of His Spirit, Church music is, in fact, everywhere.