New Season of “Gospel Dream” Kicks off June 24th, 2009

GMC’S HIT IDOL(R)-STYLE TALENT SEARCH SERIES IS BACK, TO BE SEEN WEDS. NIGHTS THIS SUMMER @ 10 PM ET/9PM CT

ATLANTA, June 23 /PRNewswire/ —
Thirty-six people will have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to pursue
their dream of a musical career and do so in front of a national
television audience as contestants in the fourth season of the Gospel
Music Channel (GMC) television network American Idol(R)-style talent
search series Gospel Dream. The six-week summer series will be seen Wednesday nights on GMC (www.gospelmusicchannel.com) at 10:00 P.M. ET/PT beginning on June 24. The theme for the show’s fourth season: The Greatest Inspirational Songs of All Time.

The judges who will decide the fate of the contestants will be: Michelle Williams from the GRAMMY- winning group “Destiny’s Child”; One of Gospel music’s most prolific talents, J. Moss and one of the music industry’s most respected executives, Mitchell Solarek. Kimberly Locke, the first “American Idol(R)” alumnae to debut at #1 on the Billboard charts with a non-Idol single, will serve as co-host along with Mike Kasem (“MTV’s
Top 20 Video Countdown” “American Top 10”). In addition, two major
musical artists will serve as surprise coaches during the season.

The contestants were selected during feeder auditions held this spring in nine major U.S. markets: Seattle, Minneapolis, Dallas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Nashville, Orlando, Atlanta, and Detroit. The contestants will come from more than a dozen states. They’ll come from as far as Kirkland, WA to Miami, FL; from Boston, MA to Los Angeles, CA; from St. Paul, MN to Waxahachie, TX and as close as Atlanta, GA to Nashville, TN … but only one will live his or her Gospel Dream.

Gospel Dream talent auditions invited solo artists
between the ages of 16-40 years of age, from all genres of
Gospel/Christian music styles, including traditional, rock, pop,
country and soul to compete for the final competition in Nashville
from which ten finalists — and ultimately one winner — will be chosen
by a celebrity panel of industry professionals. The winning artist will
receive record and music video exposure, among other prizes.

The Gospel Dream series was created by Executive
Producer Elvin Ross who is also the series’ executive producer and
musical director. Gospel Music Channel (http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com)
is the fastest-growing network in television and can be seen in 45
million homes on various cable systems around the country, on DIRECTV
on channel 338 and on Verizon FiOS on channel 224.