“Where My Heart Belongs” by Mormon singer Gladys Knight received an Image Award for Outstanding Gospel Album at the 46th NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 6 in Pasadena, California.
The seven-time Grammy Award-winner was up against Donnie McClurkin, Erica Campbell, Fred Hammond and Michelle Williams. In other music categories, Beyonce won for Outstanding Female Artist and Pharell Williams took home the award for Outstanding Male Artist. Aretha Franklin’s “Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics” won in the Outstanding Album category.
"Where My Heart Belongs" features 10 gospel songs and was originally intended to be a Christmas CD, according to the Deseret News archives.
"Why should we have to wait until Christmas when Christ is here all the time?" Knight, a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in advance of the CD’s release in September 2014 through Shadow Mountain Records. "Even with the song, 'Happy Birthday, Jesus,' why is that the only time we would wish him the best? Let’s make this an inspirational album that covers a lot of areas."
Knight also won an Image Award in 2007 for Outstanding Jazz Artist, according to a news release.
The NAACP’s Image Awards includes more than 50 movie, television, music and literary categories and recognizes “achievements and performances of people of color in the arts,” according to naacpimageawards.net.