Will DRAMA take place on this much talked about new reality show? Will special guests appear? Kierra Sheard talks with me about her family's new TV hit series airing this Sunday April 7th (7pm cst) on BET, "The Sheards."

(LOS ANGELES, CA - April 4, 2013) -- Grammy-Award winning star and Gospel music icon Kirk Franklin is joining forces with House of Blues and its venues across the United States to create a new Gospel Brunch experience as part of its year-long 20th Anniversary Celebration.

Considered by many to be the most popular brunch experience in the country, Kirk Franklin's Gospel Brunch at House of Blues will be unveiled for the first time at House of Blues locations across the country this Mother's Day, May 12th. The new Gospel Brunch experience will be infused with the same kind of contemporary energy that has made Franklin the biggest selling Gospel Music artist in the world.   

The Queen of Soul will perform at gospel's biggest night.  

Fresh off a congenial show at NJPAC, Aretha Franklin has agreed to sing at McDonald's Gospelfest, an annual star-driven celebration held at the Prudential Center in Newark. Gospelfest 2013 will happen on Saturday, May 11th.

Franklin joins regular performer Donnie McClurkin, Smokie Norful, and John P. Kee in the announced Gospelfest lineup. Popular preacher T.D. Jakes is also scheduled to speak at the event. 

Memphis, TN -- Many Gospel music fans are well-aware of the talents of Kevin Davidson.  Songs like "Fight On", "I Know What Prayer Can Do" and "Bounce Back" have come from the anointed pen of Apostle Davidson.  Artists such as Shirley Caesar and Earnest Pugh have recorded his music and his group, Kevin Davidson & The Voices (now known as Kevin Davidson & Dominion) have graced the stage with countless Gospel notables including Donald Lawrence, Yolanda Adams, The Kurt Carr Singers, The Clark Sisters, Hezekiah Walker, Kim Burrell, J. Moss and many others.  Now Davidson, along with the UCICC (United Council of Independent Christian Churches) Fellowship Choir, returns with a new, inspiring single called "Something Happens".  

Davidson says, "'Something Happens' is one of my favorite songs.  The reason I love it so is because it speaks about the power of God.  His name changes things."  A reminder of the awesome abilities of God, the ballad beautifully showcases Davidson's skill in songwriting.  Davidson is currently putting the finishing touches on the brand new release scheduled to drop in the summer of 2013.  The CD will be released on LVP Entertainment, led by Bishop Laurence V. Plummer, Sr., who also heads the UCICC.

New York, NY-- RCA Inspiration is gearing up for the release of Deitrick Haddon’s new album R.E.D. (Restoring Everything Damaged). 

The first single "Have Your Way" was birthed from a real place for me,” says Haddon.  “It is dedicated to people going through real issues, because I think it will help them the way it helped me. It was the soundtrack that led me out of the wilderness and I believe it will do the same for others.” 

Haddon says the album is “the most real record I’ve ever done in my entire life; I actually went through so many things before I made this record.  This is a very transparent album.” 

“R.E.D. means so much,” says Haddon. “It means love, it means forgiveness, it means stop; it ultimately means the blood of Jesus, which redeems us from all of our sins.  I am talking Restoring Everything Damaged in every sense of the word.   

R.E.D. (Restoring Everything Damaged) will be Haddon’s 12th album.  It is scheduled for release this summer on RCA Inspiration.

First lady Michelle Obama is making her second Vogue cover appearance for the publication’s April 2013 issue.

New York– A new after school program at a Brooklyn elementary school is taking a modern approach to teaching children about music. 

Three times a week, students at P.S. 38 in Boerum Hill are layering beats and manipulating sounds, learning how to craft their own songs in a digital music class.

Parent Coordinator and professional music producer Hassan Salaam began offering the eight-week paid course to students in February after transforming his office into what he now calls “The Network Recording Studios.” 

Hassan filled the narrow space with speakers, keyboards, computers, a mixing board and other equipment, with the help of his principal and support from the Department of Education and the school’s Parent-Teacher Association. 

Rick Warren, the 59-year-old pastor at the 20,000-member Saddleback Church in California, is preparing for "retirement" in a few years much like he has spent his ministry – by living simply and focusing on God. 

Warren, the author of A Purpose Driven Life, the most reprinted non-fiction book on a global scale after the Bible, has often spoken about the importance of living humbly and within one's means. 

"The Bible teaches that we are to love people and use money, but we often get that reversed and you start loving money and using people to get more money. Money is simply a tool to be used for good," the California pastor has said.

"I drive a 12-year-old Ford, have lived in the same house for the last 22 years, bought my watch at Wal-Mart, and I don't own a boat or a jet," Warren revealed. He also stopped taking a salary from his church after the success of A Purpose Driven Life and even went as far as returning all that he earned from the church.

Baltimore, MD- Habakkuk Music recording artist Lisa Page Brooks is ready for the spring and has sprung into action with a powerful, encouraging new radio single entitled, “God Thing,” from her forthcoming June CD release, “Ready.” The infectious urban melody opens with a straight to the heart message, “Might be a good thing but it must be a God thing.  
“It speaks about a person having a dream,” the Detroit native says of the bouncy track. “It talks about going to California because the sun was calling me but right here where I was is the safest place to be and I thought I really knew what was best for me but in the center of his will he supplied my every need. You know how we get carried away it may be a good thing but you need to make sure it’s a God thing.”
 
The grooving track was produced by Brook’s longtime producer/husband, Michael Brooks, a founding member of the legendary `80s contemporary gospel band Commissioned.

Brooks was a founding member of the Grammy Award nominated  `80s quartet Witness that created contemporary gospel hits such as “Clap Your Hands” and “Standard.”  Brooks launched a solo career in the late `90s and has enjoyed radio hits such as “God is Good,” “Waiting” and “I Want To Say Thank You.”