Musical excellence meets vintage glam at Sterling Gospel Awards
Published:Monday | October 7, 2024 | 12:08 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
‘Sterling 8 will be great’ was the unwritten tag line for the eighth staging of the annual gospel music awards, and the founder, Basillia Barnaby-Cuff, her team and the nominees literally spoke that into being. Last Saturday night’s ceremony was a testament to positives in the gospel music industry. The event was executed professionally; the nominees were marked present and came out in their numbers (unlike what happens at local secular awards shows); except for two instances, one in which the winner was mourning the death of his wife, the gracious winners collected their awards themselves; and the audience was totally invested in the proceedings and showed an exuberance that was unmatched.
And, as has become the norm with this event, the fashion stakes were high...very high. In keeping with the throwback theme, the lovely ladies and dashing gents oozed vintage glam a la London’s Regency era. Kudos to those who put in time and effort with their lavish attire to ensure that they looked as if they had stepped straight out a scene in the hit Netflix period drama, Bridgerton, onto the stage of the Sterling Gospel Music Awards at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church in Kingston.
The Sterling Gospel Music Awards has as its mandate to recognise and reward the creativity, talent and exceptional contribution of individuals to the gospel music industry. In addition to the nominees, there were special honourees, among them the late Rev Vivian ‘VB’ Burke (Sterling Award of Excellence); Goddy Goddy, Chevelle Franklyn, Junior Tucker, Birthright, Perpetual Sounds of Praise, the Portmore Gospel Vision Choir, and Katalyst Krew, who received the KFC Big Deal Award for Excellence.
In an interview following his moment in the spotlight, Goddy Goddy told The Gleaner that he was delighted to be so honoured.
“I’m not much for awards, I’m more for rewards. But ... the mere fact that I have been in the gospel fraternity for 20-odd years and Sterling remember me and considered me ... trust mi... when I got the call, mi did haffi hold on pon di grille,” Goddy Goddy said with a laugh, while giving “Mrs Goddy Goddy” props for encouraging him throughout the years.
It was a night on which winning meant a lot, but those who lost out, even in long-held categories, were quite chill. Levy’s Heritage, for example, which has won the Group of the Year category so many times that it could very well be named in their honour.
“Our prediction was really HUMBLE because we saw the work that they were doing and we really believe that they deserve the award, so kudos to them. We are all a part of the body of God and we welcome all the accolades and all the achievements, but we are also okay with sharing it with our colleagues. So we are happy for HUMBLE, and big up Sterling,” Oshin Levy, one-third of the sibling group, told The Gleaner. Her brothers, Ovando and Oneil, echoed similar sentiments.
The night’s big winner was Jai Kingston, who walked away with the Male Artiste of the Year, Collab of the Year, Local Hit of the Year, and Local Producer of the Year titles. He said that he was beyond elated.
Other categories and winners were Virtual Series of the Year, ‘The Daylight Show’; Online Radio Programme of the Year, ‘The Praise Ministry’
— DC Praise; Most Rated Radio Programme of the Year, ‘The Gospel Beat’ — Neison Williams Gospel JA; Gospel Personality of the Year, Ava Gaye Blair-Black; DJ of the Year, DJ Rebirth, who recently lost his wife and whose award was collected by Nadine Blair; Most Rated Event of the Year, Genesis; Video of the Year, Step Out — LeoNell Teape; EP of the Year, Conquest - Prince Saj; Album of the Year, John Marc Wiggan — Validation; and Female Artiste of the Year, Petra Kaye.
Woven into the programme was a vignette about Lt Stitchie who is sick and needs assistance with medical expenses. Ushers were asked to take up a collection from members of the audience towards this worthy cause. Lt Stitchie is a 2019 Sterling Gospel Award honouree.
Sterling performances came from Junior Tucker, Sherwin Gardner, Genesis Praise Squad, Gilead Collective, Jodian Pantry, and Audia Spencer Brown, who collected the award for Breakthrough Artiste of the Year.