Stellar Awards
A Stellar Award is an award presented by the Stellar Awards Gospel Music Academy to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent gospel artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest. The Stellars were the first major gospel music awards held annually.
The first Stellar Awards ceremony was held on 1984, to honor and respect the musical accomplishments by gospel performers for the year 1983. Following the 2018 ceremony, SAGMA overhauled a few Stellar Award categories for 2019.
In 2020, the awards show was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony was aired virtually on August 23, 2020.
History
The first award ceremony was held at Arie Crown Theater in Chicago in 1985. Over the years, the Stellars have been held in various locations including Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville, and New York. Starting from the 30th Annual Stellar Awards in 2015, the show aired on American digital cable and satellite television network TV One. Starting with the 34th annual ceremony in 2019, the Stellar Awards moved its annual broadcast to BET. The number of awards given has changed over the years with categories being added and removed.The Stellars are produced by Don Jackson's Chicago-based Central City Productions. The production company is also a distributor of original programming to television and cable networks.
In the spring of 2000, Central City Productions changed the voting process by creating the Stellar Awards Gospel Music Academy. SAGMA is currently the official voting body for the Stellar Awards. The Academy is open to artists, gospel industry professionals, radio announcers, record company executives, writers, and educators.
Entry process and selection of nominees
Record companies and artists enter recordings and music videos online released during the eligibility period that meet the category requirements. Entries are made online and product is submitted digitally. Once a work is entered, submission go through a screening process. A confidential review committee made up of music industry experts in various fields meet to insure that all entries meet the eligibility criteria, all entries are in the appropriate categories, and are appropriate for the Stellar Awards. Each category is limited based on the dictate and discretion of the review committee. Technical quality, lyrics, voice quality, charting duration, project content and charting performance are reviewed for inclusion on the ballot. All review committee selections are then finalized.Final voting
The voting process for narrowing down the final nominees consist of two separate ballots. The first round ballot includes eligible entries as determined by the review committee and voted upon by eligible SAGMA members. Top entries for each category from the first ballot move forward to the final ballot. During the final voting process, SAGMA members determine the Stellar Awards nominees and winners. The nominees are announced during a press/radio tour. Once final nominees are determined, some categories are available for public voting through the Fan Favorite Voting period. Selected categories for fan voting changes from year to year.Categories
- Artist of the Year
- Song of the Year
- Male Artist of the Year
- Albertina Walker Female Artist of the Year
- Duo/Chorus Group of the Year
- New Artist of the Year
- Album of the Year
- Choir of the Year
- Producer of the Year
- Contemporary Duo/Chorus Group of the Year
- Traditional Duo/Chorus Group of the Year
- Contemporary Male Artist of the Year
- Traditional Male Artist of the Year
- Traditional Female Artist of the Year
- Contemporary Female Artist of the Year
- Contemporary Album of the Year
- Traditional Album of the Year
- Urban/Inspirational Single or Performance of the Year
- Music Video of the Year
- Traditional Choir of the Year
- Contemporary Choir of the Year
- Traditional Artist of the Year
- Special Event Album of the Year
- Rap/Hip Hop Gospel Album of the Year
- Rap/Hip Hop Gospel Song of the Year
- Youth Project of the Year
- Quartet of the Year
- Recorded Music Packaging of Year
- Praise and Worship Album of the Year
- Praise and Worship Song of the Year
- James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award
- Gospel Radio Top Market of the Year
- Gospel Radio Medium Market of the Year
- Gospel Radio Small Market of the Year
- Gospel Radio Internet Station of the Year
- Gospel Announcer of the Year
- Syndicated Gospel Radio Show of the Year
Ceremonies
| # | Date | Host | Venue | |
| 1 | 1986 | Tramaine Hawkins | Arie Crown Theater, Chicago | |
| 2 | 1987 | Al Green Tramaine Hawkins | Auditorium Theatre, Chicago | |
| 3 | 1988 | The Winans | Christ Universal Temple, Chicago | |
| 4 | 1989 | Wintley Phipps Tramaine Hawkins Marvin Winans | Christ Universal Temple, Chicago | |
| 5 | 1990 | Clifton Davis Marla Gibbs | Aquarius Theater, Los Angeles | |
| 6 | 1991 | Clifton Davis Marilyn McCoo | Apollo Theater, New York City | |
| 7 | 1992 | Clifton Davis Marilyn McCoo | Royce Hall, Los Angeles | |
| 8 | 1993 | Clifton Davis Marilyn McCoo | Royce Hall, Los Angeles | |
| 9 | November 1994 | Anna Maria Horsford Clifton Davis | Auditorium Theatre, Chicago | |
| 10 | 1995 | Arnetia Walker Meshach Taylor | Auditorium Theatre, Chicago | |
| 11 | 1996 | James Avery Kim Fields Jonathan Slocumb | Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville | |
| 12 | 1997 | Terrence C. Carson Jonathan Slocumb CeCe Winans | Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville | |
| 13 | 1998 | Yolanda Adams Miguel A. Núñez Jr. | Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville | |
| 14 | January 9, 1999 | Lynn Whitfield Steve Harvey CeCe Winans | Atlanta Civic Center, Atlanta | |
| 15 | January 8, 2000 | Dr. Bobby Jones Donnie McClurkin Vickie Winans | Atlanta Civic Center, Atlanta | |
| 16 | January 13, 2001 | Ananda Lewis Vickie Winans Dr. Bobby Jones T. D. Jakes | Atlanta Civic Center, Atlanta | |
| 17 | January 12, 2002 | Yolanda Adams Donnie McClurkin | Atlanta Civic Center, Atlanta | |
| 18 | January 11, 2003 | Mary Mary Donnie McClurkin Michelle Williams | Atlanta Civic Center, Atlanta | |
| 19 | January 10, 2004 | Yolanda Adams Kirk Franklin Donnie McClurkin | George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston | |
| 20 | January 15, 2005 | Yolanda Adams Donnie McClurkin Tonéx | George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston | |
| 21 | January 21, 2006 | Israel Houghton Vickie Winans Donnie McClurkin | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 22 | January 13, 2007 | Kirk Franklin Mary Mary Tye Tribbett | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 23 | January 12, 2008 | Kirk Franklin CeCe Winans Byron Cage | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 24 | January 17, 2009 | Dorinda Clark-Cole Donnie McClurkin Sinbad | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 25 | January 16, 2010 | Kirk Franklin Donnie McClurkin Vickie Winans | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 26 | January 15, 2011 | Donnie McClurkin | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 27 | January 14, 2012 | Dorinda Clark-Cole Marvin Sapp | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 28 | January 19, 2013 | Mary Mary Kirk Franklin | Grand Ole Opry, Nashville | |
| 29 | January 18, 2014 | Sherri Shepherd Rickey Smiley | Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville | |
| 30 | March 28, 2015 | Rickey Smiley David Mann Tamela Mann | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas | |
| 31 | February 20, 2016 | Rickey Smiley Sherri Shepherd | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas | |
| 32 | March 25, 2017 | Anthony Brown Erica Campbell | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas | |
| 33 | March 24, 2018 | Kirk Franklin | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas | |
| 34 | March 29, 2019 | Kirk Franklin | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas | |
| 35 | August 23, 2020 | Kirk Franklin Jonathan McReynolds Koryn Hawthorne | Virtual ceremony | |
| 36 | July 10, 2021 | Jekalyn Carr Tye Tribbett | Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville | |
| 37 | July 16, 2022 | Jekalyn Carr Kierra Sheard | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta | |
| 38 | July 15, 2023 | Jonathan McReynolds Tasha Cobbs Leonard | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas | |
| 39 | July 20, 2024 | Rickey Smiley Loni Love | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas |