PJ MORTON, award-winning R&B singer/producer
REMOVES AT NO. 1 WITH “GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PJ”
Maroon 5 keyboardist pushes Kanye West to claim
Top Spot on Billboard Chart with All-Star, First Gospel Album
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PJ Morton, the multi-award-winning R&B singer/producer and Maroon 5 keyboardist, has shattered Kanye West’s summertime hold on the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums consumption chart with his new digital album, Gospel According to PJ (Morton Inspiration/Tyscot). The all-star ensemble breaks the 18-week run at No. 1 of West’s beloved gospel soundtrack, Jesus is King.
“I’m thrilled that Gospel According to PJ is No. 1,” Morton says. “This album has been a labor of love, so for people to support it the way they are, it lets me know that it was truly ‘All in His Plan.’ Thank you to every artist, musician and engineer who was involved in making this album. Thank you to every radio station that played the music and finally, thank you to everyone at Morton Inspiration and Tyscot Files.“
The thirteen-track set of adult urban contemporary songs features gospel legends Morton grew up idolizing such as Kirk FranklinYolanda Adams, Commissioned, Mary Mary, J Moss, Kim Burrell and The Clark Sisters. It also features a new generation of luminaries like Tasha Cobbs LeonardSmokie Norful, Travis GreeneZacardi Cortez, Brian Courtney Wilson, Travis Greene, Jermaine Dolly, Darrel `MusiqCity’ Walls, Lena Byrd Miles and Le’Andria Johnson. The radio single, “Everything in his plan», a ballad featuring Le’Andria Johnson and Mary Mary, topped Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart last week.
“The structure is fascinating,” music critic Ann Powers told fellow critic Stephen Thompson about the album on an Aug. 28 NPR podcast “New Music Friday: All Songs Considered.” “It really tells the story of P.J. Morton’s life in gospel… His family heritage. His connection to the genre… He’s connected to gospel in the same way Aretha is.” [Franklin] was tied to gospel music, but this album also tells the story of contemporary gospel music itself… I think PJ does a great job of showing how R&B, Soul Music, Rock & Roll – all live through gospel music. I think it’s all here on this record. Oh, and of course, the music of New Orleans. It matters that he’s from New Orleans.
Many are hailing the R&B star’s project as a return to his church roots in the same vein as Aretha Franklin’s 1972 spiritual comeback, Amazing Grace. It’s also a showcase for Morton’s writing, arranging and producing skills. “This is far from a solo record,” Jim Harrington wrote in The Mercury News. “It’s probably more helpful to think of Morton operating in a Quincy Jones-like role—writing songs, finding the right voices for those songs—than to think of him as a typical solo artist here. He’s often working behind the scenes, orchestrating specific songs to their artistic ends while maintaining an eye for the bigger picture.”
The singer best known for his Grammy®-winning 2019 R&B smash “Say So” (featuring JoJo) and his brilliant reimagining of the Bee Gees’ 1977 classic “How Deep is Your Love” (which has racked up over 25 million streams); recorded the majority of the project from his New Orleans studio hub at the height of this summer’s nationwide coronavirus lockdown. In a year of racial tensions, political divisions, and a global health crisis; Morton wanted to offer some musical inspiration to lighten the heaviness of 2020. “I’d like to think that everything went according to plan,” he muses. “I feel like people need this inspiring music more than ever right now.”
A physical configuration of “Gospel according to PJ” will hit physical retail stores and online platforms such as Amazon.com Black Friday, November 27, 2020.
Dad’s Interlude: WELCOME feat. Bishop Paul S. Morton Don’t Let Go feat. Kim Burrell Repay You feat. J Moss Gotta Have You feat. Kirk FranklinJermaine Dolly & Lena Byrd Miles Over and Over feat. Ordered Dad Interlude: ORIGIN feat. Bishop Paul S. Morton So in Love feat. Darrel “MusiqCity” Walls & Zacardi Cortez All in His Plan feat. Le’Andria Johnson & Mary Mary Here He Comes Again feat. The Clark Sisters God Can/Let Go feat. Smokie Norful Dad Interlude: EN CLOSING feat. Bishop Paul S. Morton Will Never Be the Same Feat. Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Brian Courtney Wilson & Travis Greene Do You Believe feat. Yolanda Adams
MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Carpenter
(202) 441-9870 / [email protected]
The post office PJ Morton Scores Billboard No. 1 Album, ‘Gospel According to PJ’ first appeared on BlackGospel.com.
Author: BlackGospel News
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