On the heels of his first Grammy award for Nothing Without You, the chart-topping follow-up to his debut release, I Need You Now, EMI Gospel recording artist Smokie Norful has been nominated for two GMA Music Awards (formerly Dove Awards), for "Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year" ("In the Middle") and "Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year (Nothing Without You);" as well as an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Gospel Artist." The 36th Annual GMA Music Awards take place on April 13 in Nashville. The 36th Annual NAACP Image Awards will be broadcast on Friday, March 25 on FOX.
Norful received a Grammy award for "Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album," and his itinerary during Grammy Week included a performance at a first-ever Grammy gospel event produced by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science (NARAS). On Thursday, February 10, the Grammy Salute to Gospel Music -- hosted by Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ -- showcased some of gospel's biggest stars. Norful shared the stage with Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, CeCe Winans, Byron Cage, Kurt Carr and the Kurt Carr Singers, Donald Lawrence, Nicole Mullen, among many others. During his time in Los Angeles, Norful also shared his knowledge and experience with young people working on a special NARAS-coordinated recording project at the Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood.
Gospel's leading man hits the road this spring for a string of concerts and appearances, including a February 18 performance at a highly-anticipated Black History Month Focus on the Family chapel service in Colorado Springs, CO.
Norful is also preparing for the June 21 release of his first DVD. Filmed in Hi-Definition with 5.1 Surround Sound, the Nothing Without You DVD features live concert performances, in-depth interviews, an introduction of Norful's new artist discovery, Darrel Petties and Strength & Praise, plus a bonus feature of the singer's popular "I Need You Know" video.
The work that's earned Norful his Grammy Award and his NAACP nod, Nothing Without You, spent five consecutive weeks in the #1 position on Billboard's Gospel Chart and remains in the top three. The album's latest single, "I Understand," has climbed to number two on the R&R Gospel chart and has an anticipated urban impact date of March 28. The CD has spun two singles -- "I Understand" and "Can't Nobody" -- that quickly shot into the R&R Top 40. With this powerful follow up to his gold-selling debut, I Need You Now, Norful has firmly established himself as a singer and songwriter to watch.
Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI Gospel is a division of EMI Christian Music Group, the world's largest Christian music organization that also includes EMI CMG Label Group, EMI CMG Distribution and EMI CMG Publishing. It is part of EMI Group, the world's largest independent music company whose other U.S. labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Nashville, EMI Latin, Narada and Virgin Records.