The news brought tears to her eyes and a stirring in her spirit.
When Shirleyann Cyril-Mayers learned she had been honoured at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards, the gospel music veteran responded not only with gratitude, but with a new offering: Not Ashamed of the Gospel, a recording she describes as a tribute to faith, legacy, and divine timing.
“Receiving the news brought tears to my eyes,” she told the St. Lucia Times.
“I am so grateful for this honour and recognition.”
The Gospel Honour celebrates more than three decades of ministry through music – a journey marked by spiritual conviction, cultural pride, and mentorship across generations.
“This award recognises over three decades of service, contribution, and development of others in the Gospel music industry – touching lives locally, regionally, and internationally,” she said.
Cyril-Mayers expressed thanks to the organisers, as well as the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and the Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival for their support and recommendation. Her experience at the awards, she said, was as much spiritual as it was celebratory.
“The highlight for me was the red carpet moment,” she recalled.
“It wasn’t just glamour; it was ministry. I ministered to the people and the interviewers who were blessed.”
Representing Saint Lucia on that stage, she added, was a sacred responsibility: “To let people know about our beautiful island was such an honour, and most of all to represent the giver of life, the one who gave me my gift and this anointing to represent God; this was just such a special moment for me.”
That moment inspired Not Ashamed of the Gospel, a body of work she says reflects her values of faith, excellence, cultural pride and empowerment.
“The timing of this new release could not be more meaningful,” she said. “It represents the culmination of years of dedication, not only to my own artistic journey but to the Gospel community.”
She dedicated both the award and the single to her late mother, who instilled in her the teachings of the Lord from a young age.
“She taught me to always use my gift to praise the name of Jesus wherever, whenever I’m called upon. And this I have done throughout my journey.”
Often described as Saint Lucia’s first lady of gospel, Cyril-Mayers has been ministering through song since the age of six. Raised in Labayee, Bexon, she found her spiritual foundation in the Seventh-day Adventist faith and went on to command gospel platforms across the Caribbean and beyond.
Her first studio recording came in 1995 at age 17, following a second-place finish at the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Song Festival in Curaçao. The resulting album, I Believe, featured the hit single Voices.
Asked to name her career highlights, she listed four: placing at the CBU Song Festival saying, “I was the first Saint Lucian to place”, then receiving the national Medal of Merit (Silver) in 2021, being recognised by the National Archives, and most recently, the Caribbean Music Awards honour.
She has shared stages with Gospel luminaries including Shirley Caesar, Donnie McClurkin, CeCe Winans, Mary Mary, Tramaine Hawkins, and Sinach, performing in the United States, UK, Canada, Barbados, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Antigua, and Curaçao. In 1996, one of her performances aired on BET’s Gosfest.
A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Cyril-Mayers holds certifications in vocal technique, music theory, keyboard and songwriting. She is also the founder of God’s Anointed Music Ministry and the GSA Training Centre, which offers music instruction to under-resourced youth.
Her leadership has shaped national gospel celebrations for Saint Lucia’s Independence and National Day. Yet through all her accolades, she remains grounded in purpose.
“I will only sing to the glory of God – to uplift, to mentor, and to inspire, using music as a tool for healing and transformation.”
Not Ashamed of the Gospel will be released on September 29 on Spotify, YouTube and other streaming platforms.
