SONY Urban Music Gospel Artists Rack Up an Impressive Seven Grammy Nominations!

SONY Urban Music Gospel Artists Rack Up an Impressive Seven Grammy Nominations!

CeCe Winans, Mary Mary, Israel & New Breed, BeBe Winans & Martha Munizzi Make Strong Showings in Gospel's Most Prominent Categories

NEW YORK, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- During a live broadcast from Manhattan's Gotham Theatre, amidst a superstar line-up of Grammy nominations announcers that included Mariah Carey, Patti LaBelle, John Legend and Natasha Bedingfield, SONY Urban Music gospel acts CeCe Winans, Mary Mary, Israel & New Breed, Martha Munizzi and BeBe Winans made an impressive nominations showing, filling prominent NARAS gospel categories such as Best Gospel Performance, Best Gospel Song, Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album and Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.

Already a six-time Grammy winner, veteran contemporary gospel/inspirational songstress CECE WINANS caps off a year of high visibility, singing to Hurricane Katrina victims and the release of her well received Pure Springs Gospel/SONY Urban Music Purified CD, with nominations in the Best Gospel Performance ("Pray") and Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album (Purified) categories. Winans' past Grammys include awards for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, CeCe Winans (2001); Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, Andrae Crouch -- Various Artists (1996); Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, Alone In His Presence (1995); Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, Different Lifestyles (1991); Best Gospel Vocal Performance/Female, "Don't Cry" (1989); and Best Soul Gospel Performance, "For Always" (1987).

The Grammy-winning gospel/R&B duo MARY MARY recently crossed over into Top 10 pop territory when the group's self-titled new CD, released in July 2005, debuted at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 best-selling album chart, the highest Top 200 chart position in the group's career. Their previous LPs -- 2000's Thankful and 2002's Incredible -- peaked at #59 and #20, respectively. In addition, the album subsequently debuted at #1 on the Billboard Gospel album sales chart. MARY MARY is nominated for the following Grammy categories: Best Gospel Song ("Heaven;" Erica Campbell, Joi Campbell, Trecina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters) and Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album (Mary Mary).

Considered a breakout, gospel/Christian music favorite since their New Season debut CD, Integrity Label Group/SONY Urban Music's ISRAEL & NEW BREED have steadily built a solid audience through extensive touring and undeniably gripping music releases. Major breakthroughs occurred during 2004 and 2005 when, following the release of their gold-certified Live From Another Level, the group garnered a coveted Grammy award nomination (Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album) and won two Stellar Awards (CD of the Year & Male Vocalist of the Year), a Soul Train Award (Best Gospel Album) and two Dove Awards (Contemporary Gospel Album & Contemporary Gospel Song). With such momentum, ISRAEL & NEW BREED opened the next chapter of their career with the October 2005 release of ALIVE in South Africa, a two-disc set recorded live in Cape Town, South Africa (featuring Jonathan Butler and local Cape Town musicians), while also receiving their second Grammy nomination, for Best Gospel Song ("Again I Say Rejoice;" Israel Houghton & Aaron Lindsey, songwriters).

Considered a gospel music mainstay since debuting within the brother/sister duo, BeBe & CeCe Winans, BEBE WINANS has a rich baritone that is recognizable amongst gospel, R&B and dance/club fans alike. No stranger to Grammy nominations (the family has a grand total of 31), BEBE's Hidden Beach Music/SONY Urban Music release, Dream, finds him vying for 2006's Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Grammy award -- alongside, of all people, sister CeCe.

By the time she won the Stellar Award for "New Artist of the Year" in 2005, MARTHA MUNIZZI, the daughter of evangelists, was well known throughout contemporary gospel music circles as both a performer and songwriter. On the strength of her three enthusiastically received LPs (Say The Name, The Best Is Yet To Come & When He Came), Martha has been a Billboard Top Gospel Album chart mainstay, as well as having been nominated several times for the gospel genre's prestigious Dove and Stellar awards. On the heels of the title track becoming a smash gospel radio hit, MARTHA MUNIZZI's Say The Name CD finds itself nominated for a 2006 Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album.

The 2006 annual Grammy Awards telecast airs live on February 8th.

For more information regarding CeCe Winans and Israel & New Breed, please contact Rudi Meyer, SONY Urban Music (New York City), (212) 833-7137 or rudi.meyer@sonybmg.com. For information regarding Mary Mary, please contact Tony Ferguson, SONY Urban Music (New York City), (212) 833-4595 or tony.ferguson@sonybmg.com. For information regarding Martha Munizzi or Israel & New Breed, please contact Shannon Walker, Integrity Label Group, (251) 776-5083 or shannonw@integinc.com.

Source: SONY Urban Music

CONTACT: Rudi Meyer, +1-212-833-7137, rudi.meyer@sonybmg.com, or Tony
Ferguson, +1-212-833-4595, tony.ferguson@sonybmg.com, both of SONY Urban Music
(New York City); or Shannon Walker of Integrity Label Group for SONY Urban
Music, +1-251-776-5083, shannonw@integinc.com

Web site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/

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