CMR'S AMBASSADOR'S STATEMENT

Dear Body of Christ,

It is with much grief, severe disappointment and an overwhelming fear of the Lord that Cross Movement Records is sad to announce that we will be discontinuing the forwarding and promotion of the Artist and Minister, The Ambassador AKA William “Duce” Branch, due to recent findings of moral failure in his marriage. It is CMR’s past, current and prayerfully, future position that living in moral compromise is unacceptable and never allowable in the lives of any of the ministers that we co-labor with. We continue to hold up the teachings of Christ as the standard for all Christians and especially those in Christian leadership and public ministry. Although it is a rare find these days, discipline is still one of the true marks of the true Church.

That being said, we also know according to Hebrews 12:6 that “whom The Lord loves He disciplines.” So we know that our beloved brother Duce is under the Lord’s loving care (Hebrews 12:5-11). We at CMR solicit your prayers for him as he begins the uphill climb of restoration through the process of repentance. We also ask that you remember his wife and children in your quiet time with our Lord as well. We are reminded by Galatians 6:1, that we are to work toward the restoration of our dear brother in due season and also to do such in the spirit of meekness, considering ourselves lest we also be tempted.

Lastly, some that have had this circumstance announced to them through other sources have begun to suggest some type of cover-up or a sweeping under the carpet by CMR because of a slight delay in this statement versus the announcement that has already happened in William Branch’s church. This is the farthest thing from the truth. This matter was unbeknownst to CMR and upon discovery we have taken the proper time to speak with the Lord, The Ambassador, his church leadership and many other Christian leaders regarding this issue. After seeking wisdom and allowing the appropriate amount of time to make sure we had all the issues in full consideration, we have come forward as quickly as we were able to after completing this process.

In conclusion, we apologize for the effect that this may have on many who have followed and supported The Ambassador, Cross Movement and Cross Movement Records for many years. Despite this unfortunate occurrence, CMR and all of its artist/ministers continue committed, our resolve unaffected, with the mission of making the message of the Cross known to the world. Again, we ask for your prayers as we keep our hands to the plow, heal our wounded and worship the God of our Salvation. We remain Christ’s and your servant.

Sincerely,

John Wells

Pres/CEO

Cross Movement Records/ Issachar Media

WHO WILL BE THE NEW AMERICAN IDOL?

With the biggest upset last week, as we loss Danny Gokey. Season 8 of American idol all comes down for the Battle of Good Vs. Evil. Kris Allen and Adam Lambert are the 2 finalist and tonight is the last time dedicated fans are able to make a difference as to who will be the next American Idol for this season. Tune in to FOX Tonight 8/9c for the Last showdown and tomorrow night for the Finale to crown Season 8's American Idol on FOX for a 2 hour special starting at 8/9c.

As for me with Danny Gokey gone...My votes move to Kris Allen, Win or Lose!

GLEE

WARNING: This Ain't Your Brother Or Sister's High School Musical!

From Ryan Murphy, the creator of "Nip/Tuck" and "Popular," comes GLEE, a one-hour musical comedy that follows an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to transform the school's Glee Club and inspire a group of ragtag performers to make it to the biggest competition of them all: Nationals.

McKinley High School's Glee Club used to be at the top of the show choir world, but years later, a series of scandals have turned it into a haven for misfits and social outcasts. WILL SCHUESTER (Matthew Morrison, Broadway's "Hairspray"), a young optimistic teacher, has offered to take on the Herculean task of restoring McKinley's Glee Club to its former glory with the help of fellow teacher EMMA PILLSBURY (Jayma Mays, "Ugly Betty"). It's a tall order when the brightest stars of the pitch-imperfect club include KURT (Chris Colfer), a nerdy soprano with a flair for the dramatic; MERCEDES (Amber Riley), a dynamic diva-in-training who refuses to sing back-up; ARTY (Kevin McHale, "Zoey 101"), a geeky guitarist who spends more time avoiding bullies than chasing girls; and TINA (Jenna Ushkowitz, "Spring Awakening"), an awkward girl who needs to suppress her stutter before she can take center stage.

Will's only hope lies with two true talents: RACHEL BERRY (Lea Michele, "Spring Awakening"), a perfectionist firecracker who is convinced that show choir is her ticket to stardom; and FINN HUDSON (Cory Monteith, "Kyle XY"), the popular high school quarterback with movie star looks and a Motown voice who must protect his reputation with his holier-than-thou girlfriend, QUINN (Dianna Agron), and his arrogant teammate, PUCK (Mark Salling).

Driven by his secret past, Will is determined to do whatever it takes to make Glee great again, even though everyone around him thinks he's nuts. He's out to prove them all wrong - from his tough-as-nails wife TERRI SCHUESTER (Jessalyn Gilsig, "Nip/Tuck") to McKinley's cheerleading coach SUE SYLVESTER (guest star Jane Lynch, "Best In Show," "Role Models") to an ?ber-hip world that thinks jazz hands and sequined tuxedos litter the road to infamy rather than pave the way to Hollywood dreams.

Featuring a soundtrack of hit songs from past and present, GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan and John Kousakis serve as co-executive producers. Murphy directed the pilot.

Watch GLEE on FOX Tonight At 9/8c after American Idol.

MAT KEARNEY: City Of Black & White

When you record the type of smart, catchy songs Mat Kearney cut for his 2006 album Nothing Left to Lose, you end up spending a lot of time on the road. And after that album’s title track throttled up the charts, that’s exactly what Kearney did. Three years later, he returns with City of Black & White, an album informed by the travelling, performing and adventuring the Oregon-born, Nashville-based singer did while supporting his breakthrough album. An open-hearted album of self-discovery, City of Black & White is a chronicle of the people he met and missed during that journey. Musically, it’s an upping of the ante, laced with hooks and rhythms that are meant to sneak up on you quietly and quickly, en route to winning your love.

If Nothing Left to Lose sent Kearney on a marathon tour - during which he opened treks for the likes of John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, and The Fray, in between his own headline stints - it also built up to an eventual happy return to Nashville, his home for the past eight years. And City of Black & White definitely reflects that, as it’s marked by the pride and happiness that comes with spending five years trying to make it, and then finally getting there.

“At its core, this record is about community - finding it and losing it,” he says. “There’s definitely the theme of this travelling/sojourner/vagabond kind of guy landing in the midst of people that he loves, and who love him - guy/girl, musician, old people, all of that. It feels as if the travelling sojourner of Nothing Left to Lose has found a home, a group of companions, and a love. Many of the songs deal with what happens after that - after someone digs roots, allows himself to fall in love, to clasp arms with a brother, to dig in through high moments as well as the painful ones. It speaks of vulnerability more than distance - a place where someone can be pinned down to perseverance and heartbreak.”

Fitting for such a well-travelled writer, some of the songs took route in places as varied as Oregon and Turkey. “During a recent visit home, I broke into the University of Oregon music room, which was under construction,” he laughs. “I jimmied the door open and climbed down this balcony. I wrote ‘Straight Away’ there. ‘City of Black & White’ was born on a ferry as I crossed the Bosphorus River, which splits Istanbul in two as well as acting as an invisible dividing line between two continents. I was travelling with a friend celebrating what felt like victory after a five-year-long knife fight to establish myself as a new artist. I remember the water being dark and my friend turning to one side saying, ‘Look! It’s Europe,’ then turning to the other and saying, ‘Look! It’s Asia,’ then back again.”

Co-produced by Kearney and Nothing Left to Lose helmsman Robert Marvin, and recorded last year at Blackbird Studios in Nashville - where Jack White and Martina McBride and even Nicole Kidman were working in neighbouring rooms - the album finds Kearney going for a bigger sound - and getting it.

“It actually ended up sounding bigger than I expected; big in a late-’80s/epic kind of way. I knew that I wanted the whole record to feel good when I put it on. I wanted the drums and bass to demand something of your body, I wanted the songs to come to life when I played them live. I had been listening to a lot of Sam Cooke and I wanted the rhythm sections to make your head bob before you could decide if you liked the songs… I literally approached every song like I wanted it to feel good.”

The whole first half of City of Black & White, specifically, was written in that manner - to carry a Motown sort of heartbeat. “I was also listening to a lot of early U2 and Tom Petty, and songwriters like Randy Newman to try to figure out how they could be so concise and profound at the same time. If the last record was more stream-of-consciousness with lots of words and images, City of Black & White feels intentional and refined, attempting to be classic as well as grandiose. I didn’t want to hold anything back.”

City of Black & White also features Kearney playing a lot more electric guitar on record than he has in the past. In addition to acoustic and electric guitars, he plays “a lot of keys, sleepy ‘70s piano, weird synth, this weird glockenspiel, and the bells with a screwdriver - because I couldn’t find anything else to play ‘em with.”

A quintessential late-bloomer to music, Kearney didn’t write his first song until midway through college. Raised by hippie parents in Oregon, he was charmed early on by music, smitten with albums like Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Paul Simon’s Graceland. But it wasn’t until the summer between his junior and senior year at California State University Chico that his musical life began. Splitting for Nashville, he slept on a friend’s couch for what seemed like an eternity, before cutting the learn-as-you-go debut album Bullet in 2004. Three years later, and thanks in large part to VH1 - which kept “Nothing Left to Lose” in rotation for 45 consecutive weeks, before sending Kearney out as the headliner of the channel’s first You Oughta Know tour - he was playing Madison Square Garden and appearing on The Late Show With David Letterman. “Nothing Left to Lose”, “Undeniable” and “Breathe In Breathe Out” all cracked the Top 40.

“It still feels surreal every night,” says Kearney. “I feel like I may be fooling someone, like the audience is going to one day prove to be all cardboard cut-outs or something. I’m so grateful and honored to be doing what I’m doing.”

Check Out the new album by clicking HERE.

PUBLIC WORKS: ART CONTEST

This is your chance to be heard and your works be seen! Metropark & Obey presents "Public Works" 3rd annual art contest. Use you imagination to make statement with any art form you choose, everyone is encouraged to create. Painting, drawing, photography and sculpture are just a partial list of options.

The winners of the "Public Works" contest will have their designs produced exclusively by Obey for Metropark. Everyone will have a chance to vote for their favorite submissions. One Men's grand prize and one Women's grand prize will be chosen by Metropark and Obey.

Designs must be submitted by JUNE 30TH, 2009. To submit a design click HERE.

COUNTDOWN TO THE E.N.D.

One of the most anticipated album to drop in the summer of 2009. The new B.E.P. album is sure to give new listeners and fan alike an andrenaline that's beyond this earth.

The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) is an appropriate acronym for the Black Eyed Peas. With more than 20 million albums sold, multiple GRAMMY awards, sold-out tours, Fergie's The Dutchess, and Will.I.Am's ascension as an in-demand producer and political game changer ("Yes We Can"), The Black Eyed Peas are a worldwide pop entity. The Peas advance their swagger on their fifth studio album, The E.N.D., with the No. 1 single "Boom Boom Pow" already creating chaosacross the land and "Imma Be" bubbling over. Check back often as iTunes is offering singles from the albumleading up to The E.N.D.'s June 9 release. As Fergie says on "Boom Boom Pow": Be "3008, not 200 and late."