BET Will 'Raise the Praise' On Sunday, January 25 at 8:00 p.m.* With the 9th Annual...

BET Will 'Raise the Praise' On Sunday, January 25 at 8:00 p.m.* With the 9th
Annual 'CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL'
Mary Mary, LL Cool J, Louis Gossett Jr., Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin,
Vickie Winans and More Take the Stage with Funnyman and Host Steve Harvey

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking the spirit to new heights,
BET's CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL is a soulful two-hour celebration with moving
performances of worship by both gospel and mainstream greats. In his ninth
year, veteran comedian, actor and popular syndicated radio personality Steve
Harvey again hosts the popular religious telecast, which premieres Sunday,
January 25 at 8:00 p.m.* on BET.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )
Led by the world-renowned musical director Ray Chew and his 24-piece
orchestra, gospel supernovas Mary Mary and hip-hop legend LL Cool J
passionately performed their new hit collaboration "We Gonna Make It" to a
packed house at downtown Los Angeles' Orpheum Theatre. Kirk Franklin, Isaac
Carree, Lowell Pye and Rance Allen also blessed the crowd with a soul-moving
performance of "Lil Boy", followed by Smokie Norful and Heather Headley's
rendition of "Jesus is Love." Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr. and actor Terry
Crews performed beautiful spoken word segments, while Trin-i-tee 5:7 and 21:03
hit the stage and gave young gospel listeners something to stand up and dance
to with "I'll Take You There."
Marvin Sapp, Pastor Shirley Caesar and Pastor Dorothy Glass, Dr. Bobby
Jones with the Nashville Super Choir, Karen Clark-Sheard, Donnie McClurkin,
Vickie Winans, Hezekiah Walker & LFC, Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers, as
well as Christian artists Muyiwa & Riversongz direct from the United Kingdom,
round out the mega-list of awe-inspiring performances at BET's CELEBRATION OF
GOSPEL '09.
CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL is produced by BET: Stephen Hill (President of
Programming), Lynne Harris Taylor (Vice President of Specials) and Marilyn
Gill.

*All times ET/PT

About BET Networks
BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the
nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public
affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary
BET channel reaches more than 98 million households and can be seen in the
United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan
Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse
group of businesses extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for
Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks - BET J,
BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge
entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded
offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET
Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless
devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and
oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.
SOURCE BET Networks

Zabrina Horton, +1-310-481-3737, zabrina.horton@bet.net, or Voncella McIntosh,
+1-310-481-3732, voncella.mcintosh@bet.net