By Larry Nager
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It was part concert, part TV show and all praises to God, as Cincinnati's multiplatinum Christian hit-maker Nicole C. Mullen came home for a Wednesday night performance at the Aronoff.

The show was filmed by a seven-camera crew for her fourth album, an upcoming live DVD/CD package.

Nicole C. Mullen onstage at the Aronoff (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

The crew also went on location, filming her childhood home in Walnut Hills; her family's church, the Harvest Time for Christ New Life Temple; her old school, the New Life Christian Academy; the Kennedy Heights bus stop that inspired her song "Homemade;" and even her favorite snack stand, Poppie's in Madisonville.

It was a homecoming for the gospel star, who makes her home in Nashville, the center for Christian music as well as country. The reunion mood extended to the crowd of more than 1,200, which included dozens of the four-time Dove Award winner's family and friends.

Many were performing onstage, including three nieces, Melody, Hope and Joy, who joined her dancers for the evening.

Her father, Napoleon Coleman, led the choir (which included her nephew Gabriel Aaron Davis) that backed her on "Redeemer," her 2000 breakthrough hit that has already become such a gospel standard that it was used on the most recent Billy Graham Crusade.

Nicole's 9-year-old daughter, Jasmine, sang "Black, White, Tan" with her mom, while husband David Mullen sang with his wife on a song they wrote together, "Black Light."

That's where the nepotism got a bit too hard to take. David came across like an overwrought Joe Cocker imitator on what was otherwise a powerful, Southern soul-styled piece blending gospel with social concerns a la the Staple Singers.

Nicole coolly strummed her red Telecaster, her restrained vocals effortlessly dominating the song, which was given even more of an edge by guitarist Joe Mazza's biting lap steel. The mismatched vocal duet was reminiscent of the regrettable times when Amy Grant's former husband Gary Chapman used to join her onstage.

Both "Redeemer" and "Black Light" were done twice to ensure the best versions were available for the DVD package, extending the night's performance to two hours and 20 minutes. To give Nicole a breather, the night also included two solo songs by her outstanding backup singer, Jason Eskridge.

The retakes and a pre-show warm-up (to ensure the audience would respond as actively as possible) were the only real evidence that the night was being filmed and recorded. Of course, there was also the huge "gib" (pronounced "jib"), an extended camera crane that hovered over the right side of the auditorium, filming the crowd.

The audience was hers from the start, even without additional encouragement, including those who weren't kin or former classmates. Her core audience of young girls (or "baby girls," as she affectionately calls them) was there in force, and its easy to understand why.

For one thing, Nicole is simply the hippest act in mainstream Christian pop, blending Afro-pop ("Freedom"), full-out dance funk ("Shooby") and various elements of hip-hop, rock and India Arie-style acoustic soul.

Combine that with her casual-yet-compelling stage presence, her fine songwriting and her athletic ability to dance and sing at the same time (something Britney could never manage) and you've got the reigning queen of contemporary Christian music.

She earned that title again Wednesday, and this time she's got the digital proof, coming this fall to a DVD/CD store near you.

E-mail lnager@enquirer.com