Episode 1: Atlanta

The Atlanta audition was shown first. For the most part this wasn't any different than something you would see on any other type of singing competition. There were some really amazing singers that made it to the next round. There were a couple of people that seemed good enough to make it to the next round, but the judges thought otherwise. As you would expect, there were some really horrible singers that made you wonder why they even came out to audition. 

The surprise of the Atlanta audition came when we got a special treat from some the "Sunday Best" alumni. Previous "Sunday Best" winners Crystal Aikin and Y'Anna Crawley teamed up with former finalists Durward Davis and Dontavious Boatwright. Together, the four powerhouse singers delivered an amazing vocal performance.

A total of 10 contestants from the Atlanta auditions made it through to the next round. 

Episode 2: Dallas and Los Angeles

The big surprise at the Dallas auditions was when a man walked out in front of the judges with a scarf covering his face. It turns out that this "mysterious man" was actually actor David Mann. He plays Mr. Brown on the show "Meet the Browns". The judges asked for an audition song, so he sang "This is Your Granddaddy".

A total of 5 contestants were selected from the Dallas auditions and 10 contestants were selected from Los Angeles.

An Insider's View

You may or may not have know this, but before the contestants make it to Donnie, Erica and Tina, they need to get past the preliminary judges. Jawn Murray was one of the preliminary judges and offered some interesting comments on Twitter about what goes on at "Sunday Best". Here are some of his comments:

"Just started watching#BETSundayBest See they're starting w/ the last city ATL. Most of the best singers came thru ATL really…then LA"

"Many people who audition for the show are better in the prelim rounds & then go down in flames on TV judge's stage."

"Of course, its a TV show. #BETSundayBest RT @LadyRubes: @JawnMurray but do y'all purposely pass some horrible singers too??"

For some reason, BET chose not to air the show in the same order they did the auditions. I'm not sure they choose to do this, but I'm sure there is a valid reason. 

Jawn's comments also make it clear that bad singers make it to TV for a reason. Let's face it, bad singers make for good TV. I know that some of us have friends that auditioned and didn't make it past the preliminary judges. They weren't amazing and they weren't horrible. People like to watch a train wreck. Average or slightly above average singers just don't bring in ratings. 

Did you see episodes 1 & 2 of BET's "Sunday Best"? What do you think about it?

Kirk will be performing "I Smile" and "Before I Die". Both of theses song will be included on his upcoming album "Hello Fear" that is set to be released on March 22. 

You can listen to a free preview of the "Hello Fear" album by clicking here. This preview is only available the week of March 15-21, so don't delay. I'll post a full review of the album soon.

You can get your copy of "Hello Fear" on iTunes and Amazon.com.

Artists scheduled to perform will include Kirk Franklin, Kim Burrell and James Fortune & FIYA. Chaka Kahn will be one of many R&B legends that are scheduled to perform for the show.

I don’t have anything against R&B singers, but I can definitely do without them as it relates to this show. Everyone is entitled to sing praises to God. However that are numerous opportunities for us to see and hear R&B artists on TV. Those same opportunities aren’t always available for Gospel artists.

Celebration of Gospel 2011 will be taped on Saturday, December 11th at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. The show will air on BET on January 30th.

I suggest that you read The Gospel According to Torrence on BET.com. There you will find a complete list of all of the artist. In addition, BET is giving people the opportunity to sing in the pre-show. Check the website for more details.

After seeing the lineup, I am definitely excited about Celebration of Gospel 2011. What do you think?

In case you didn’t know Y’Anna Crawley was the winner of BET’s Sunday Best in 2009. As the winner of the competition, she received a brand new car and a singing contract.

The Promise is a 10 track CD that features a number of solid vocal performances. These performcances includes the hits The Promise and Grandma’s Hands.

You can grab The Promise album on iTunes and Amazon.com.

BET.com

Tonight was the season finale of season 3 of BET’s Sunday Best. Congratulations to LeAndria Johnson for winning the competition and the new car!

Here is a recap of the finale:

Hezekiah Walker opened the show singing Souled Out. It was a very good performance. It was consistent with that choir sound that we have come to know and love.

Each of the final two contestants performed a medley from songs that they have sang throughout the competition.

LeAndria’s medley consisted of:
-I Love the Lord
-He Was There All the Time
-In the Midst of It All

This performance was a great ending to a spectacular season of high quality singing. Week after week her singing was consistently amazing.

Elder Goldwire McLendon’s medley consisted of:
-Yes, Jesus Loves Me
-The Battle is Not Yours
-All Over Me, Keeping Me Alive

His performance was passionate and spirit filled. I’m paraphrasing here, but Yolanda Adams basically said that if he doesn’t win, then she would put her support behind Elder McLendon getting a CD released.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, Kirk Franklin introduced Donald Lawrence. We received a great treat when the top three finalists from last year took the stage and each sang one of Donald Lawrence’s songs.

Jessica Reedy -Seasons
Latice Crawford-Encourage Yourself
Y’Anna Crawley- The Blessings of Abraham

All three ladies joined together in the end and sang Let the Word Do the Work. When most people reflect on last season, Latice Crawford often gets overlooked. In case anyone forgot, Latice reminded us that she has some serious chops.

Kim Burrell has done a great job mentoring the contestants all season. During the finale, she sang a tribute to the contestants that were eliminated. It was special! She called out many of the contestants by name and you could see that they were deeply touched by her singing.

In the end, LeAndria Johnson was announced the winner. She closed the show with her new single I Shall Leap Into My Destiny. I enjoyed the song, but I can’t wait to hear what it sounds like a couple of months from now after she has had the opportunity to practice it more.

Even though he didn’t win, Elder McLendon doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of. He did an outstanding job. I’m sure there is definitely a place in the Gospel industry for him.

Once again, congratulations to LeAndria Johnson. I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses her in the upcoming months and years.

What do you think about the outcome? Post a comment and let me know what you think.

Take a look at the interview and let me know what you think about it.

The cast of Meet the Browns also appeared on the show. David and Tamela Mann talked about their careers, their marriage and more.

Take a look at the video and let me know what you think.

Ledisi opened the show singing Higher Than This. Overall, I thought she delivered a very nice performance.

After the final two contestants each sang a song, Vanessa Bell Armstrong took the stage. Her performance of Prayer Still Works was very powerful.

Here are my observations of the final two:

Elder Goldwire McLendon
First Performance
He sang an interesting arrangement of I Know It Was the Blood. I didn’t like the song selection. If a 20 year old would have delivered the same performance, he/she would have been heavily criticized.

Obviously the judges saw and heard something that I didn’t, because they liked his performance. I guess that is why they are there and I am here.

Second Performance
I liked his upbeat rendition of Jesus Be a Fence Around Me. I thought it was much better than his first performance. The judges loved it.

LeAndria Johnson
First Performance
She absolutely destroyed (in a good way) Running Back to You. After that performance, I will likely have goosebumps on my arms for days.

Second Performance
She messed up the words to Set Me Free. In the end, that didn’t really matter because she still did an absolutely outstanding job.

Donnie McClurkin asked her, “What is it that you can not sing?”. Allow me to answer this one pastor, nothing.

At the end of the show, both contestants performed I’ll Take You There in a duet. It was a nice performance and a nice way to end the competition.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. LeAndria Johnson should win this competition. I’m not taking anything away from Elder McLendon. He has done an outstanding job.

In my opinion LeAndria would beat out any contestant from any season of any reality singing competition. That includes American Idol. I am grateful that I am getting the opportunity to see how the Lord is using her.

Now it is up to us to vote for the winner.

To vote for Elder Goldwire McLendon, dial 1-888-923-7801.

To vote for LeAndira Johnson, dial 1-888-923-7802.

You can also vote at www.bet.com/sundaybest. Voting is open until June 19.

After all of the contestants performed, Lala Hathaway closed the show with Against All Odds by Phil Collins. She gave a very exciting performance. It would have been tough for anyone to follow the quality singing that went down tonight.

The theme of this episode was Gospel cinema. The remaining five contestants were required to sing Gospel songs that were featured in movies.

Here are my observations:

Tiffany Carlin-Laird
Although she tripped coming on to the stage, she gave a very solid performance of Joyful, Joyful from Sister Act 2. There was a slight bit of hoarseness in her voice, but she pushed through it. Tina Campbell thought that Tiffany wasn’t really into the song. Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams thought she did well. I thought she did OK. I definitely wouldn’t classify her performance as memorable.

Durward Davis
I always cringe a little bit when people try to sing Whitney Houston songs on singing competitions. Let’s face it, most people don’t have the chops to pull it off. However, Durward Davis is not like most people. He absolutely crushed I Believe in You and Me from The Preacher’s Wife. His performance was absolutely phenomenal!

Martha Buries
The judges really seemed to like her performance of Will You Be There by Michael Jackson from Free Willy. I thought she gave a very strong performance. I just didn’t like it as much as the judges did. Right now the bar is set pretty high. I don’t think she reached it.

Elder Goldwire McLendon
Even though he forgot some of the words to He’s All Over Me from The Preacher’s Wife, it didn’t matter. His performance was extremely energetic. It even included some dancing. Elder McLendon’s appeal is so unique, it must be from God.

LeAndria Johnson
My vocabulary is just not good enough to write about how phenomenal she is week after week. She gave an outstanding performance of Maybe God is Trying to Tell You Something from The Color Purple. All of the judges absolutely loved it!

In the end, Martha Buries and Tiffany Carlin-Laird were eliminated. I don’t claim to be a prophet, but for the last couple of weeks I’ve know that the final three would be Durward Davis, LeAndria Johnson and Elder Goldwire McLendon.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Durward is amazing. In any other year he probably would win the competition. However, LeAndria and Elder McLendon are just too special.

Next week should be very interesting. I’m looking forward to hearing some great singing.

Did you see episode 9? What did you think about it?

Here are my observations of episode 8.

Chrisette Michelle opened the show singing Donnie McClurkin’s Stand. She gave an absolutely wonderful performance. The judges gave her a standing ovation.

After her performance aired, she posted a note on Twitter talking about how Stand was personal to her. It was sung at her grandfather’s funeral.

Dathan Thigpen
He sang Friend of God. Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams loved him. I side more with Tina Campbell on this one. I didn’t think that he did a great job connecting with the audience. There was definitely something lacking.

Tiffany Carlin-Laird
Her performance of Going Up Yonder was light and smooth. The judges thought she gave a perfect execution.

Durward Davis
“He sounds like old school Fred Hammond.” That is what my wife said during his performance of Kirk Franklin’s Lean on Me. Donnie McClurkin talked about how he painted a picture with the song. Tina Campbell called it perfection. I would have to agree with them 100%.

Martha Buries
Her performance of Holy, Holy, Holy displayed her strong vocal ability. Her interpretation of the song was definitely interesting. The judges absolutely loved her.

Brian Smith
I think he’s firmly established that wearing a bow tie is going to be his thing. Yolanda Adams and Tina Campbell loved his performance of Lord I Lift Your Name on High. Donnie McClurkin seemed to have a different take. He didn’t feel like Brian connected with him or the audience. He also thought that Brian could have given more. Overall, I thought his performance was average.

LeAndria Johnson
Yolanda Adams called her one of the most phenomenal female voices of all time. I was absolutely speechless after her performance of Endow Me. She is just an amazing singer!

Elder Goldwire McLendon
I thought this would be the episode where we see a chink in the Elder’s armour. I definitely had my doubts when he started singing How Great Thou Art. Foolish me. He pulled off the end in spectacular fashion! The judges absolutely loved him. People in the audience were crying at the end of his performance.

In the end, two contestants were eliminated, Dathan Thigpen and Brian Smith. I do not have any problems with this decision.

In all seriousness I think LeAndria Johnson and Elder Goldwire McLendon are going to be extremely tough to beat. The judges and most of America have a great deal of affection towards both of them. Next week is going to be extremely tough. I can’t wait.