*Everybody just needs to leave poor little Michelle Williams alone. She knows what she’s doing.

The singer has been recently criticized for bouncing back and forth between secular music and gospel, some even questioning her commitment to God. But she says her salvation is not anyone else’s business.

“I don’t make it an issue. Everybody else does. You know, as a human your feelings are going to get hurt because you want people to know, like, what do I gotta do to prove to people that I’m saved?” Michelle questioned via Philadelphia’s Praise 103.9. “Do I need to speak in tongues? Do I need to froth at the mouth? Saints of God, what do y’all need me to do?”

A rhetorical question, really. She followed up, explaining that she knows God has her right where he wants her.

It’s Madea, who has gotten lost trying to find Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network on her cable system (she pronounces it OWN’t) and has ended up on a dirt road in “The Color Purple,” where she comes across an angry Miss Sofia.

The OWN promo spot, which began airing Thursday night (April 4), has Tyler Perry suiting up as his cross-dressing alter-ego to promote his two new shows premiering next month – a drama called “The Haves and the Have Nots” (May 28) and the comedy “Love Thy Neighbor” (May 29).

Winfrey dusted off her Miss Sofia outfit for the spot and hit Madea with her famed “All my life I had to fight…” monologue from “The Color Purple,” with some of the words changed to reflect her battle against “haters” trying to bring down the network.

*Richard Smallwood, one of Gospel’s living legends latest project is “Promises.”

The album is the first one since 2005 for the artist, since his mother’s passing.

“I had not written a song since my mom died,” he says, “I thought the gift had dried up.  I would try to write and nothing would come.”

So his album is filled with little messages of hope and encouragement for those who have also suffered losses or are just going through a hard time.

Smallwood says “Trust Me” “is a song to encourage those who have experienced loss.  It’s telling them that what they are feeling shall pass, if they only trust God.”

“I was going through some of the songs I had written in the ‘70s and many had the same theme as this song,” Smallwood recalls. “Back then it was the Vietnam War, so we’re going through the very same thing because there’s always been fighting, there’s always been war. But now racism has reared its ugly head in a way that I haven’t seen since I was a little boy. I wanted to write something that everyone could identify with globally, which is that we need peace.”

“Promises” is in stores now.

*Richard Smallwood, one of Gospel’s living legends latest project is “Promises.”

The album is the first one since 2005 for the artist, since his mother’s passing.

“I had not written a song since my mom died,” he says, “I thought the gift had dried up.  I would try to write and nothing would come.”

So his album is filled with little messages of hope and encouragement for those who have also suffered losses or are just going through a hard time.

Smallwood says “Trust Me” “is a song to encourage those who have experienced loss.  It’s telling them that what they are feeling shall pass, if they only trust God.”

“I was going through some of the songs I had written in the ‘70s and many had the same theme as this song,” Smallwood recalls. “Back then it was the Vietnam War, so we’re going through the very same thing because there’s always been fighting, there’s always been war. But now racism has reared its ugly head in a way that I haven’t seen since I was a little boy. I wanted to write something that everyone could identify with globally, which is that we need peace.”

“Promises” is in stores now.

*As legendary as she is and as powerful as her music has become, Shirley Caesar remains humble and candid about her journey, says Singersroom.com.

Appearing on Good Day LA earlier this month, the “No Charge” and “He’s Working It Out For You” singer spoke about her voice, the anointing, preaching and singing and even admitted that she learned how to “yodel” and piece words together quickly from Sam Cooke and other soulful singers.

“My voice has always been bigger than me,” Caesar told Good Day LA. “Singing and preaching goes together like ham and eggs.”

In addition to speaking about her album, Shirley Caesar just happened to be in the studio when ”American Idol” top 10 performer Curtis Finch Jr. was there. Having an amazing opportunity to meet her and discuss her impact on Gospel music and his life, Finch sat down with Shirley Caesar on-air…

Grand Rapids Ellington Academy of Arts and Technology, which opened in fall 2012, currently has about 140 students in 6th-8th grades, meaning its total student body could grow substantially when the new grade levels are added.

“A number of parents expressed interest with their younger students,” said Cynthia Springer, CEO of GREAAT Schools, Inc., which operates the school.

The curriculum at Ellington integrates performance art and technology, including areas such as instrumental music, vocal music, dance, mix-media arts, creative arts and theater arts.

The school is located near the intersection of Eastern Avenue and Burton Street SE at Kingdom Square, which also houses a ministry led by Sapp. This fall, when the new grades are added, all classes will be held in a new, larger building on the property.
Building renovations will be funded through private donations, Springer said.