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Benjamin " BeBe" Winans (born September 17, 1962) is an American gospel music and R&B singer from Detroit, Michigan. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine solo albums, seven with his sister CeCe Winans as BeBe & CeCe Winans, and one with three Winans brothers.
During their time on PTL, BeBe and CeCe recorded Lord Lift Us Up on PTL's label after popular demand on the show. Eventually the success warranted another effort: a full-length album. The album did well on the charts. BeBe and CeCe left PTL to pursue their singing career and recorded five albums together including self-titled BeBe & CeCe Winans, Heaven, Different Lifestyles, First Christmas and Relationships. In 1995, BeBe and CeCe split up to pursue solo careers. But in 2009, they did the album Still together. On it was the song "Close to You," which won a Dove Award in 2010 in the category of Urban Recorded Song.
BeBe signed with Atlantic records in late 1996 and delivered a self-titled solo debut in 1997. The album featured the singles "In Harms' Way", "Thank You", and the international crossover hit "I Wanna Be the Only One" featuring British soul trio Eternal. The song topped the UK Singles Chart in Eternal's native United Kingdom in May 1997.
The next album released was the fruit of a new deal with Motown Records. Love & Freedom was released in 2000 and featured production from Warryn Campbell, Brian McKnight, Masters At Work and others. The lead single "Coming Back Home" was a slow swinging ballad featuring R&B luminaries McKnight and Joe. Another single was BeBe's remake of the Stevie Wonder classic "Jesus Children of America" featuring his older brother Marvin (The Winans, Winans family) and Stevie Wonder himself.
Two years later, a live album Live & Up Close followed. The album was recorded live at BET studios and featured guests such as his sister Debra Winans-Lowe and Stephanie Mills. The set was released on both CD & DVD. The CD included the studio version of "Do You Know Him?" which served as the album's first single.
By 2003, BeBe had started his own record label, The Movement Group, and partnered with Still Waters, an inspirational and gospel imprint of Hidden Beach Recordings. The first album under this deal was 2004's largely orchestral holiday album entitled My Christmas Prayer which first appeared exclusively for sale at Starbucks coffee shops nationwide. Between releases, BeBe made his film debut with a small role in the 2004 remake (featuring Denzel Washington) of The Manchurian Candidate.
Early the next year, BeBe released his third proper solo album Dream featuring the single "I Have A Dream". The song featured samples of the historic speech by Martin Luther King, and was released to several radio stations to coincide with King's birthday celebrations. The cover of the album features a hand painted portrait of BeBe standing in front of a Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. street sign. Also "Miracle Of Love," a duet with Angie Stone included on the album, also appeared on a soundtrack of songs inspired by the film The Passion Of The Christ.
On September 30, 2003, at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, Bebe performed two songs with Anastacia; a duet for her song "Heavy on my Heart" and backup vocals for a cover version of the Aerosmith song "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing". The performance was for the fourth annual "Women Rock" benefit for breast cancer, which was broadcast on October 23, 2003, on the Lifetime cable channel.
Winans performed a duet with Eden Espinosa on the 2008 Alma Awards which was broadcast on ABC on September 12. 2008. Winans and Espinosa sang "I Don't Know Much" as a tribute to honoree Linda Ronstadt. Bebe performed "Born for This" on the Obama/Biden Inauguration tribute Change is Now CD+DVD set. BeBe & CeCe Winans had confirmed a reunion album scheduled for early 2009.
Winans hosts his own nationally syndicated radio program, The BeBe Winans Radio Show. BeBe Winans has starred in Broadway's The Color Purple as Harpo as of January 9, 2008. He is starring alongside Chaka Khan who is playing his wife, Sofia.
Since 2010, Winans has been the host of Sunday morning radio show The BeBe Experience for SiriusXM's Heart & Soul airs every Sunday Morning
Winans was one of the judges for a gospel music competition show on BET called Sunday Best, along with gospel duo Mary Mary. He was invited to participate in the remake of "We Are The World" to benefit Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Bebe together with Cece and Mary Mary featuring the West Angeles Choir performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
In 2012, Winans released The Whitney I Knew, a memoir about Whitney Houston, who had died earlier that year. Winans was a close friend of the singer, and sang at her funeral.
In March 2014, Winans joined British pop/R&B group Eternal at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, to perform the number one hit "I Wanna Be the Only One", as part of The Big Reunion live shows.
In March 2025, Winans achieved his third number-one on Billboards's Gospel Airplay chart (fourth if including CeCe Winans) with "Father In Heaven (Right Now)" (featuring Gerald Albright), following "In Jesus Name" in 2021 and "He Promised Me" in 2018. BeBe, with CeCe, also had a number-one hit on the Gospel Airplay chart with "Close to You" in 2009.
Winans was arrested March 11, 2009, on charges of domestic assault for allegedly pushing his ex-wife to the ground in front of their children during an argument. According to a court filing, Winans and his former spouse got into a "verbal altercation" on February 13 about "custody issues dealing with their children." On December 4, 2009, the domestic assault criminal charges against Winans were dismissed. An AP news report indicates the court action resulted from a pre-trial diversion deal offered by the prosecution, calling for Winans to attend domestic violence counseling in exchange for dismissal of the charges.
| 1988 | Horizon Award - New Artist of the Year | BeBe & CeCe Winans | |
| Contemporary Album of the Year | BeBe & CeCe Winans | ||
| Song of the Year | "I.O.U. Me" | ||
| Male Vocalist of the Year | Himself | ||
| 1989 | |||
| Artist of the Year | BeBe & CeCe Winans | ||
| Group of the Year | |||
| 1990 | |||
| Contemporary Black Gospel Recorded Song of the Year | "With My Whole Heart" | ||
| Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year | "Heaven" | ||
| Contemporary Album of the Year | Heaven | ||
| Short Form Music Video of the Year | |||
| Male Vocalist of the Year | Himself | ||
| 1991 | |||
| Group of the Year | BeBe & CeCe Winans | ||
| Contemporary Black Gospel Recorded Song of the Year | "Meantime" | ||
| 1992 | Short Form Music Video of the Year | "Addictive Love" | |
| Contemporary Black Gospel Recorded Song of the Year | |||
| "I'll Take You There" | |||
| Rap/Hip Hop/Dance Recorded Song of the Year | "The Blood" | ||
| Contemporary Album of the Year | Different Lifestyles | ||
| Artist of the Year | Bebe & Cece Winans | ||
| Group of the Year | |||
| Male Vocalist of the Year | Himself | ||
| 1997 | Urban Recorded Song of the Year | "Feels Like Heaven (With You)" | |
| 1998 | Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year | "Up Where We Belong" | |
| Urban Album of the Year | Bebe Winans | ||
| Urban Recorded Song of the Year | "In Harms Way" | ||
| 1999 | "In the Midst of the Rain" | ||
| 2001 | Urban Album of the Year | Love & Freedom | |
| 2005 | Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year | "Miracle of Love" | |
| 2006 | Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year | Dream | |
| 2010 | Urban Recorded Song of the Year | "Close To You" | |
| 2015 | Gospel Music Hall of Fame | BeBe & CeCe Winans | |
| 1985 | Best Soul Gospel Performance By A Duo Or Group | Lord Lift Us Up | |
| 1987 | Best Gospel Performance, Male | "It's Only Natural" | |
| 1988 | Call Me | ||
| Best Soul Gospel Performance By A Duo, Group, Choir Or Chorus | BeBe and CeCe Winans | ||
| 1989 | "Silent Night, Holy Night" | ||
| Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male | Abundant Life | ||
| 1990 | Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male | Meantime | |
| Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal | "Celebrate New Life" | ||
| Best Gospel Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group, Choir Or Chorus | "Heaven" | ||
| 1992 | Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album | Different Lifestyles | |
| 1994 | Album of the Year | The Bodyguard - Original Soundtrack Album | |
| 1995 | Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album | First Christmas | |
| Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal | "If Anything Ever Happened To You" | ||
| 2001 | "Coming Back Home" | ||
| Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album | Love & Freedom | ||
| 2003 | Live And Up Close | ||
| 2006 | Dream | ||
| 2008 | Best Traditional Gospel Album | Cherch | |
| 2009 | Best Gospel Performance | "I Understand" | |
| 2011 | "Grace" | ||
| Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album | Still | ||
| 1987 | Outstanding Gospel Artist | BeBe & CeCe Winans | |
| 1989 | |||
| 1990 | |||
| 1992 | |||
| 1993 | |||
| 1996 | |||
| 1997 | |||
| Outstanding Duo or Group | |||
| 2010 | Outstanding Gospel Album | Still | |
| 2020 | Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song – Traditional or Contemporary | "Laughter" (with Korean Soul) | |
| 1989 | Best R&B/Urban Contemporary New Artist | BeBe & CeCe Winans | |
| 1990 | Best Gospel Album | Heaven | |
| 1992 | Different Lifestyles | ||
| Best R&B/Soul Album – Group, Band or Duo | |||
| R&B/Soul Song of the Year | "Different Lifestyles" | ||
| 1995 | Best Gospel Album | Relationships | |
| 2009 | Best Gospel Performance – Male, Female or Group | "Close to You" | |
| 2019 | Best Gospel/Inspirational Award | Himself | |
| 2020 | |||
| 1988 | Best New Gospel Artist | Bebe & CeCe Winans | |
| 1990 | Best Inspirational Gospel Performance | ||
| Best Performance by Duo or Group | |||
| Urban/Inspiration Single or the Performance of the Year | "Celebrate New Life" | ||
| Contemporary Song of the year | Heaven | ||
| Contemporary Album of the Year | |||
| 2002 | Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year | Love & Freedom | |
| 2006 | Song of the Year | "Safe From Harm" | |
| 2011 | Music Video of the Year | "Close to You" | |
| Song of the Year | |||
| Urban/ Inspirational Single / Performance of the Year | "Still" | ||
| Artist of the Year | BeBe & CeCe Winans | ||
| Contemporary Group/ Duo of the Year | |||
| Group Duo of the Year | |||
| Contemporary CD of the Year | Still | ||
| Special Event CD of the Year | |||
| 2009 | Michigan's International Gospel Music Hall of Fame | Himself | ||
| 2011 | Trumpet Awards | Spirit Enlightenment Award | BeBe & CeCe Winans | |
| Hollywood Walk of Fame | ||||
| 2022 | Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame | |||
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