Ever keen to broaden our musical scope, recent months have seen That Grape Juice venture into a number of new musical landscapes including, most recently, gospel.

Spearheaded by well-received interviews with gospel singers Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, Dorinda Clark Cole, Israel Houghton, and more, TGJ is now offering readers ‘The Overflow’ – a collection of the top gospel-themed news stories from the week.

Tuck in below for the latest news on Kirk Franklin, William Murphy, and Hezekiah Walker…

Kirk Franklin Readies BET Reality Show

2013 is apparently going to be the year of the Kirk Franklin takeover.

After nabbing a Sirius XM station named in his honor and signing up for another round of BET’s hit singing competition ‘Sunday’s Best’, now the ‘Smile’ maestro has reason to do just that as word has it he will be part of a new reality series titled ‘Gone Gospel’.

Via our friends at TheGospelGuru:

“Gone Gospel is a one hour music competition docu-series that takes popular musical artists of yesteryear and immerses them in a Gospel boot camp, giving them a second chance to dig deep and transform their lives as they write their own personal inspirational anthem.

In each episode, the cast members will be mentored by Gospel greats as they compete against each other in challenges that will test them musically and emotionally. At the end of the journey, one winner will be crowned. Kirk also serves as Executive Producer alongside Marilyn Gill (Sunday Best, The Mo’Nique Show).”

William Murphy Arrested For Carrying Gun At Airport

A week of celebration quickly turned sour for Atlanta based, newly appointed bishop William Murphy.

The ‘Praise Is What I Do’ performer’s early half of the past week saw him celebrate news that he was elevated to bishop at Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship International.  That news, unfortunately, was quickly followed by headlines that Murphy was detained on suspicion of carrying a gun to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Via Ugospel:

******

Hezekiah Walker’s ‘Azusa’ Album Debuts At #1 With The Year’s Biggest Gospel First Week Sales

‘I’ll Make It’ maestro Hezekiah Walker has seen his latest album ‘Azusa:  The Next Generation‘ make it to Billboard’s top spot on the hems of its hand-clapping lead single ‘Every Praise’.

Released June 11th, the album’s debut was accompanied by numbers that saw it crowned with the year’s best first week sales for a gospel release.

Congratz are in order for Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir.  Read our interview with the Grammy winner by clicking here.

*******

Gospel Throwback Jam of the Day: GMWA Women of Worship – “Order My Steps”

Your thoughts?