Music:Brian Courtney Wilson-"So Proud"

Music World Gospel (Mathew Knowles label) recording artist Brian Courtney Wilson's new single and album called "So Proud." His album drops Feb. 7!

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The CD cover of So Proud, the highly-anticipated new project from gospel sensation Brian
Courtney Wilson, features a picture of Wilson as a baby wearing headphones. For Wilson,
that serves as a reminder of both the theme of his album and the driving force of his career.
“Before my mom and dad knew I was going to be a singer, God had given them a promise to
nurture into the person that I am today,” he says. “We are all given some promise, some
vision for our future that we have to nurture, endure hard times for, and always believe in.”
Wilson has nurtured his promise into a remarkable career in music ministry. Since the release
of his debut CD, Just Love, Wilson has been touted as one of gospel music’s contemporary
break-through artists of 2010 and 2011. The three-time Gospel Music Association Dove
Award nominee will release So Proud on the Music World Gospel label on February 7, 2012.
The inspiration for this project came three years ago when Wilson penned “So Proud,” the
title song and the CD project’s first single. The song is about remembering…remembering the
reasons why you should keep going when the days seem the hardest...remembering your
value when people cast you aside...remembering the people who did not give up on you
when you feel like giving up on yourself...and most of all, it's about remembering that the
reason we have so much to remember is because God has always been there to make a way
through the people in our lives.”

Wilson believes God gave him “So Proud” when he was feeling especially discouraged and
needed to remember the way to go. He knew then that the song would anchor his next
project, and his goal for the rest of the album was to assemble a group of songs that would
convey what it means to live in God’s promise. Wilson wrote or collaborated on most of the
songs, and served as co-producer for all of the tracks on the CD. “It’s important to me that
people see this as a body of work,” says Wilson. “We’re really trying to tell a story about
believing in the promise, pressing through to realize the promise and protecting the promise.”
Several months after writing “So Proud,” Wilson played it for the multiple GRAMMY®, Dove
and Stellar Award winning producer Aaron Lindsey (Israel Haughton, Marvin Sapp), who
caught the vision of the tune and agreed to produce it. The result is a feel good blend of
inspiration, heart and soul rooted in the church paradigm that has always been a cornerstone
in his life.

Most of the other songs on the CD were produced by GRAMMY-nominated and multiple
award-winning producer and songwriter Stan Jones, including “Right Back To You,” a prayer
that God will let you be the greatest at whatever it is that he’s calling you to be, but even if you
aren’t, whatever you do will be worthy of giving right back to God; “Closer,” a song about faith and endurance that reassures the listener that no matter how things may look, God has not
forgotten you and that every promise He made, every plan that he has for you, he’s going to
see it through with you, but you’ve got to keep holding on because you’re closer than you
think; and “Grab And Hold,” which reminds us that Jesus has everything we need, and that
we need to make sure that nothing stops us from grabbing His hand and holding on. The song
has what Wilson describes as an “old school church feel” to it that reinforces the meaning of
the song.

“He Still Cares,” the second single from the CD project, was written by Stan Jones, who
considers this song an extension of “All I Need,” the mega hit that he penned for Wilson’s first
album. The message is that even when you’ve had a touch from the Master, you still may go
through trials and tribulation. But you must believe that God still cares for you, and He will
give you what you need, when you need it, to make it through. Jones also contributes “Keep
Pressing On,” an uptempo song that encourages the listener to keep pressing on even in the
darkest of days, because things are going to get better.

Wilson wanted to include in this project a song that considers the promise of marriage. He
wrote “One Day At A Time,” in collaboration with award-winning producer P.J. Morton, who
produced the song. “I’ve been married 11 years and we do it one day at a time,” says Wilson.
“We make the decision every day to be faithful to each other, to forgive one another to keep
showing up, to work as hard as we can and to keep believing that God is going to work out
whatever problems we may have. It’s important to tie marriage to worship because a good
marriage is a model for the way God wants to be in relationship with us.” “Perfect,” another
collaboration between Wilson and P.J. Morton, gives the good news that even though we are
not perfect, God sees us as perfect for the plans He has for us and the dreams He put in our
hearts. Morton also serves as producer for “Perfect.”

“Obey Anyway,” was written several years ago by Toby Hill. Wilson wanted to include it in
this project because the message of the song—that when times are tough and we are looking
for an answer, we just have to keep going and following the instructions that God has already
given us—fit with the theme of the project. The celebratory, feel-good “Storm In Mind” was
inspired by a conversation Wilson saw on a program on the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN).
One man told of being on a cruise ship when a storm came up. Everyone started to panic
except the captain, who explained to the passengers that he knew there was no need for panic
because he was there when the ship was built, and he knew that it was made to endure the
storm that they were going through. The message of this song is that if we’re going through a
storm in our life, we’ve got to believe that we can make it through because God has made us to
endure it. Wilson performs “Unspeakable Joy” as a duet with gospel legend and label mate
Vanessa Bell Armstrong. Wilson was inspired to write the song because he believes that if you
understand that you are perfect for God and perfect for whatever plan God has for you, then it
should bring you a sense of joy. “You Are My King” is a simple, straight forward song that says
no matter who you are or what your station is in life—rich or poor, with many friends or
alone, God is our King and He can help us get through.

So Proud follows Wilson’s debut CD, Just Love, which entered at #2 on the Billboard Top
Gospel Albums chart and #6 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart. The CD has
remained at #1 on Christian Music Trade Association’s (CMTA) Inspirational Albums chart
for 52 weeks. Since its release in June 2009, the CD held steady in the Top 20 on the
Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for over 90 weeks—longer than any other CD title on
Billboard’s Top 50 that year [2010].

As a fitting follow-up, the Music World Gospel relaunch of Just Love Deluxe Edition, reentered
on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart at #3. Just Love made music chart history,
Wilson was the only artist to have four active singles [“All I Need,” “Already Here,” “Just
Love,” and “Awesome God”] on Billboard’s Gospel charts, and all have peaked in the Top 5,
10 and 15 positions [2009/2010]. His first single release, “All I Need,” was then, the longestrunning
current single, charting 92 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart.

In 2009, “All I Need” was named Song of the Year at the Mississippi Gospel Music Awards,
which also saluted producer Stan Jones as Producer of the Year for his work on the project.
In 2010, Wilson received two Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award nominations for New
Artist of the Year and Urban Recorded Song of the Year for “Just Love,” which was followed
in 2011 with his third nomination for Urban Recorded Song of the Year for “All I Need.” Also
in 2010, he was nominated by the Atlanta Gospel Music Choice Awards for Song of the Year
for “All I Need” and he was also included in the The Root.com list of 100 Young Achievers and
Pace Setters. In September 2010, Wilson received the Gospel Music Heritage Month Rising
Artist Award. In early 2011, Wilson received a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for
Outstanding Gospel Album of the Year (Traditional and Contemporary).

Wilson was raised in the Chicago Illinois area, where, as a young boy he sang with the adult
male chorus at the Rock of Ages Baptist Church. Wilson attended the University of Illinois,
where he sang in the black chorus while working toward a degree in Liberal Arts and
Sciences, with an emphasis in Economics. After graduating from college, Wilson took a job as
a pharmaceutical salesman, and eventually moved to Houston, Texas to work for Johnson &
Johnson.

Despite having been raised in the church, Wilson says he was confused and adrift in his early
post college years. “God had a plan for my life, but I got off track,” says Wilson. What got him
back in the right lane was a friend’s invitation for Wilson to visit the Windsor Village Church
in Houston. At Windsor, Wilson came to fully understand who he was and what was his
calling. Wilson was invited to write music for their services, and some of his songs received
airplay at local radio stations.

Upon first meeting Wilson and listening to his single, “Already Here,” Music World Gospel
founder and CEO, Mathew Knowles, was immediately sold on Wilson’s singularly stylized
music, and signed him to the label. Wilson says Music World Gospel has become the perfect
home for his sacred art: “It’s a place where I can do more than just church music. I can do
music for the world that’s rooted in the church.”

Wilson’s faith is evident not only in his music and in his church life, but in his community
activities. Wilson is a member of the board of directors of Bethel’s Heavenly Hands, a notfor-
profit organization that supports individuals and families in Houston, Texas by providing
vital resources such as food, clothing, and shelter assistance. The organization operates on
the principal that by creating stability and promoting economic self-sufficiency for
individuals, you can empower entire communities. He is also continuing to work with the
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

God is real to Brian Courtney Wilson. “Every good thing that’s happened to me has happened
because of God’s favor and grace in my life,” he says. “Even the stuff that He’s calling me to
do, I can’t do it on my own. I can work as hard as I can, but ultimately God provides the
increase.”

www.musicworldgospel.com