Bloom Radio

05/06/2026

Coming up: 20 The countdown magazine coming up at the top of the hour. Listen via https://welove.radio/radio/bloom-radio3/

04/06/2026

📰 GOSPEL NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD — THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026 📰

Good morning! Here is your complete global gospel and Christian music update for today. Share with your church family!

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🏆 BREAKING — STELLAR AWARDS 2026
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✅ 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards nominations ANNOUNCED! Kirk Franklin to host. August 15, Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC. John P. Kee and Kim Person lead with 7 nominations each. Tasha Cobbs Leonard and JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise with 6 each. Artist of the Year: Darrel Walls, Jekalyn Carr, Kim Person, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Tye Tribbett. Tickets: StellarAwards.com

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🔥 JESUS GENERATION TOUR — LIVE NOW
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✅ Forrest Frank's Jesus Generation Tour is ON THE ROAD — 29 arenas, Tori Kelly + Cory Asbury + The Figs. Tonight: North Little Rock AR. Tomorrow: Rosemont IL (Allstate Arena). June 10: MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NYC. June 19: GEODIS Park Nashville. Tickets: ForrestFrank.com

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🌍 GLOBAL GOSPEL
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✅ NIGERIA: Princess Ogochimerem's "Aritu Aritu God" — Igbo-language praise anthem — continuing to spread globally. African gospel speaking in its own indigenous voice in 2026.
✅ UK: Pastor Clive Johnston appeal continues — 78-year-old convicted for preaching John 3:16 near hospital presses his case with The Christian Institute backing him.

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📊 GOSPEL CHARTS
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✅ Billboard Gospel Airplay #1 (4th week): "Jesus I Do" — Mariah Carey ft. Clark Sisters
✅ SGNScoops Southern Gospel #1: "Lord, I'm Thankful" — Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
✅ UK #1: SO BE IT — Elevation Worship

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🎵 CROSSOVER GOSPEL
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✅ Brandon Lake & Lainey Wilson — "The Jesus I Know Now" still spreading everywhere. The country-gospel collaboration born from Lainey's honest conversation about faith continues to go viral.

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✍️ FOR SONGWRITERS
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✅ Modern Sound Worship Song Contest 2026 — GMA partner. Submit by June 30 at modernsound.co!

God bless you all — share this with your church and gospel community! 🙏

04/06/2026

🏆 BREAKING: 41ST STELLAR GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED! 🏆

The 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards are coming to Charlotte, North Carolina — and the full nominees list has just been revealed!

📅 SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2026
📍 Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
🎤 HOST: Kirk Franklin (45x Stellar Award winner · 20x Grammy winner)
🎫 Tickets: StellarAwards.com
🎪 Stellar Plus Experience: August 12–15 (comedy, fitness, master classes, live music!)

Kirk Franklin says: "It is truly an honor to return as host of the 41st Stellar Gospel Music Awards. I'm excited to join the gospel music family in Charlotte as we celebrate another historic year of excellence, innovation and ministry through song."

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🏅 TOP NOMINEES
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👑 John P. Kee — 7 nominations (leading the field!)
👑 Kim Person — 7 nominations (tied at the top!)
⭐ Tasha Cobbs Leonard — 6 nominations
⭐ JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise — 6 nominations
🌟 Jekalyn Carr — 5 nominations
🌟 Lisa Knowles Smith & The Brown Singers — 5 nominations
🌟 Vincent Bohanan & SOV — 5 nominations
⭐ Jonathan McReynolds — 4 nominations
⭐ Asaun Bynum — 4 nominations
⭐ Adia — 4 nominations
⭐ Darrel Walls — 4 nominations

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🎤 ARTIST OF THE YEAR
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Darrel Walls — Heart of Mine (Tyscot/Gumbo Studios)
Jekalyn Carr — Jekalyn X The Legends (Waynorth Music)
Kim Person — Reflections (Blockbuster/KLP Music)
Tasha Cobbs Leonard — TASHA (Motown Gospel/TeeLee)
Tye Tribbett — Only On The Road Live (Motown Gospel)

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📀 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
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Darrel Walls — Heart of Mine · Jekalyn Carr — Jekalyn X The Legends · JJ Hairston — The Live Reunion: Washington DC · John P. Kee — Throwback: An Evening With John P. Kee · Kim Person — Reflections · Tasha Cobbs Leonard — TASHA · Tye Tribbett — Only On The Road Live

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🎵 SONG OF THE YEAR nominees include
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"Able" ft. Kim Burrell — Paul Sylvester Morton Jr. · "10X My Blessings" — Jevon Dewand & The Trap Starz ft. Isaac Carree · "Come Jesus Come" — Stephen McWhirter · "Do It Again" — Kirk Franklin · "On the Way" Remix ft. Erica Campbell — Adia Andrews · "Church Parking Lot" ft. Tasha Page-Lockhart — Otis Kemp

The Stellar Awards celebrate gospel music across 31 categories, plus 6 Gospel Radio categories. The Pre-Show and Gospel Radio Awards event will be held August 14 at the Carolina Theatre in Charlotte.

Who is your Artist of the Year pick? Drop it in the comments! 🙏 Share this with every gospel fan you know!

03/06/2026

🔥 "TOP OF THE WORLD WITH AN EMPTY HEART" — THE STORY BEHIND BRANDON LAKE & LAINEY WILSON'S VIRAL GOSPEL SONG 🔥

In early 2026, Grammy Award-winning contemporary Christian artist Brandon Lake gathered 25 country music artists and songwriters for a series of writing sessions in Nashville. Among those invited: Lainey Wilson, Lainey Wilson, Thomas Rhett, HARDY, Bailey Zimmerman, Dan + Shay, and Tyler Hubbard — all writing with Brandon about faith, doubt, grace, and what it really means to know Jesus.

One session changed everything.

Lainey Wilson — two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, Grammy winner, one of country music's biggest stars — sat down with Brandon and shared something she had rarely spoken publicly about. "You know," she said, "the Jesus I know now isn't really like the Jesus I grew up being taught about."

Brandon immediately saw a song. He recalled: "The Lord's just been opening up crazy doors to collaborate with country artists. She is the realest deal."

They wrote "The Jesus I Know Now" right then — alongside Nashville songwriters Luke Laird and Emily Weisband — and released it on April 3, 2026: Good Friday. The timing was intentional.

THE SONG: The track finds Lake and Wilson trading verses about how their understanding of Jesus has changed dramatically from childhood. They grew up fearing God — told He was angry, that He didn't like the music up too loud, that any moral misstep was a one-way ticket to destruction. But the Jesus they've come to know is a friend of misfits. Full of grace. Especially fond of the broken.

Lainey's verse is brutally honest. She sings about reaching the peak of her career — hearing her song on the radio, winning awards, achieving everything she'd worked for — and feeling absolutely empty. "Top of the world with an empty heart / And nowhere left to go / But back into the arms of the Jesus I know now."

Brandon wrote on Instagram: "He's full of grace, AND He's especially fond of the misfits. 'The Jesus I Know Now' — praying it meets you right where you are."

Wilson replied simply: "So excited to have this out."

The song is now streaming everywhere. Share it with someone who has the wrong picture of Jesus. 🙏

03/06/2026

📰 GOSPEL NEWS — WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2026 📰

Good morning and God bless you! Here is your complete global gospel and Christian music update for today. Share with your church and community!

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🔥 BIGGEST STORY — CROSSOVER GOSPEL
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✅ Brandon Lake & Lainey Wilson — "The Jesus I Know Now" is going viral. Released April 3 (Good Friday), the country-gospel collaboration has been shared millions of times across platforms. The song was born from a real conversation at a writers' retreat where Lainey shared: "You know, the Jesus I know now isn't really like the Jesus I grew up being taught about." Lainey sings about reaching the top of her career, hearing her song on the radio, and feeling completely empty — finding Jesus as a friend of misfits rather than a rule-giver. Brandon says: "This song is for anyone who's ever had the wrong picture of Jesus." Stream on all platforms now.

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🎸 SOUTHERN GOSPEL CHARTS
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✅ SGNScoops June 2026 Chart: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers at #1 with "Lord, I'm Thankful" (Billy Blue Records/New Day)!
✅ Top 5: 1. Lord, I'm Thankful (Joe Mullins) 2. He Took Your Place (Tidalwave Road) 3. And Then (Tribute Quartet) 4. The Church (Joseph Habedank) 5. Sea of Forgetfulness (The Inspirations/Crossroads)

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🎪 TOURS & EVENTS
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✅ Switchfoot 2026 Tour announced — GRAMMY & Dove Award-winning Christian rock legends back on the road! Check switchfoot.com for dates.
✅ Jesus Generation Tour (Forrest Frank) — ON TOUR NOW. Last night: Tulsa, OK opening night. Tonight: North Little Rock, AR. Coming: Rosemont IL (Jun 4), Milwaukee (Jun 5), Detroit (Jun 6), Madison Square Garden NYC (Jun 10)!
✅ Karen Peck & New River open Tennessee Church of God Camp Meeting — June 22, 2026.
✅ Gaither Homecoming Weekend — Gas City, Indiana, October 17–18. Tickets on sale.

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📊 GOSPEL CHARTS
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✅ Billboard Gospel Airplay #1 (4th consecutive week!): "Jesus I Do" — Mariah Carey ft. The Clark Sisters
✅ SGNScoops #1: "Lord, I'm Thankful" — Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
✅ UK #1: SO BE IT — Elevation Worship
✅ Tamela Mann — 13 Gospel Airplay (all-time record!)

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🌍 GLOBAL GOSPEL
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✅ Nigeria: Princess Ogochimerem — "Aritu Aritu God" (Igbo-language praise anthem) going viral. "Joyful, danceable, spiritually refreshing" — African gospel in its own indigenous voice.
✅ Haiti: Ishama Gospel & Loutchina Décius "Kanpe Avèm" in the Haitian Top 50.
✅ Australia: Hillsong Conference 2026 — Sydney, July (Hillsong Worship, Brooke Ligertwood, Aodhan King).

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🎵 FOR SONGWRITERS
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✅ Modern Sound Worship Song Contest 2026 — GMA is now an official partner! Submissions open until June 30 at modernsound.co.

Share with your church and gospel community today! God bless you all. 🙏

02/06/2026

⚖️ THE PASTOR WHO PREACHED JOHN 3:16 AND WAS CONVICTED FOR IT ⚖️

This story is one the global gospel community must know.

On a quiet Sunday in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, retired Baptist Pastor Clive Johnston — then 76 years old, now 78 — stood on a patch of grass near Causeway Hospital and led a small group of Christians in a simple act of worship. There were no signs. No chants. No protest. Just hymns and a sermon from one of the most famous verses in the Bible: John 3:16 — "God so loved the world."

He was prosecuted under Northern Ireland's Abortion Services Safe Access Zones Act. The charges: "influencing a protected person, whether directly or indirectly" by conducting a "protest" near the hospital.

He was convicted.

Let that sit for a moment. A pastor was convicted — in the United Kingdom — for preaching the gospel.

Pastor Johnston has now FILED AN APPEAL. He is being backed by The Christian Institute, a UK-based religious liberty nonprofit. His case has drawn global attention as a landmark test of whether the freedom to share the gospel in public spaces can be legally suppressed.

He says, simply: "I refuse to stay silent."

The Christian Institute argues powerfully: "Abortion buffer zones should not be used to censor gospel preaching."

The gospel community around the world is watching. Let us pray. Let us share. And let us remember that the freedom to preach John 3:16 is worth defending. 🙏

02/06/2026

🇳🇬 A BOLD IGBO PRAISE ANTHEM — AND IT IS STUNNING. 🇳🇬

Princess Ogochimerem has released "Aritu Aritu God" — a powerful new single sung in the Igbo language of southeast Nigeria, declaring that GOD CANNOT BE DETHRONED. 👑

"Aritu Aritu God" = a deep cry of reverence and exaltation. A joyful, Afro-inspired worship song that listeners are calling "danceable, spiritually refreshing, and rooted deeply in African worship tradition."

"This song was birthed out of a place of deep gratitude for God's miraculous hand in my life." — Princess Ogochimerem

African gospel in 2026 is not imitating the west. It is creating something entirely its own. Entirely anointed. Entirely powerful. 🌍🙏

🎧 Stream "Aritu Aritu God" on YouTube and all platforms NOW — link in bio!

02/06/2026

📰 GOSPEL NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD — TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2026 📰

Good morning and God bless you! Here is your complete global gospel update for today — share with your church and gospel community!

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🔴 HAPPENING TONIGHT
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✅ THE JESUS GENERATION TOUR OPENS TONIGHT! Forrest Frank's 29-arena tour launches at BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma at 7PM! Special guests Tori Kelly, Cory Asbury & The Figs. In-the-round stage. Coming to 29 cities through August 1 (Globe Life Field finale). Next stops: North Little Rock (Jun 2), Rosemont IL (Jun 4), Madison Square Garden NYC (Jun 10)! Tickets: ForrestFrank.com

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🇳🇬 AFRICA — NEW MUSIC
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✅ Princess Ogochimerem (Nigeria) releases "Aritu Aritu God" — a powerful Igbo-language praise anthem declaring God cannot be dethroned. Blends traditional Igbo worship with Afro-inspired contemporary gospel. Listeners calling it "joyful, danceable and spiritually refreshing." Stream on YouTube and all platforms now.

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⚖️ UK — FAITH UNDER FIRE
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✅ Pastor Clive Johnston (78), a retired pastor in Northern Ireland, has filed an APPEAL after being CONVICTED for preaching a sermon from John 3:16 near a hospital. He mentioned no policy, carried no signs, said nothing about abortion. Convicted under Northern Ireland's Abortion Services Safe Access Zones Act for "influencing a protected person." The Christian Institute is backing his appeal. He says: "I refuse to stay silent." Please pray for Pastor Johnston and the broader question of gospel freedom in the UK.

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🏆 FOR GOSPEL SONGWRITERS
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✅ Modern Sound Worship Song Contest 2026 returns — NOW with the GOSPEL MUSIC ASSOCIATION as an official partner! Submissions open until June 30 at modernsound.co. If God has given you a worship song — enter it!

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📊 CHART UPDATE
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✅ Billboard Gospel Airplay #1 (4th consecutive week!): "Jesus I Do" — Mariah Carey ft. The Clark Sisters
✅ Tamela Mann — 13 Gospel Airplay (unbroken historic record!)
✅ Pastor Mike Jr. — 8th Billboard #1 with "Turn It Around"

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🌍 GLOBAL GOSPEL
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✅ Haiti: Ishama Gospel & Loutchina Décius "Kanpe Avèm" enters Haitian Gospel Top 50 — Caribbean gospel is thriving!
✅ bamX Black Music Week wraps up TODAY in Atlanta (May 25–June 2) — gospel featured throughout!

Share this with your church and gospel community — the gospel is moving on every continent! 🙏

01/06/2026

30/05/2026

ARE YOU READY‼️‼️‼️‼️

Tag a friend who will go in with you in worship and tell them….. “IT’S TIME”