Last night the final three contests, NeVar Massey, Tony LeBron and Robert Mauti took the stage. After each contestant performed two songs, the judges named Tony LeBron the winner of Gospel Dream 2009. It wasn’t really a tough decision to make. NeVar and Robert gave nice performances, but Tony was clearly better.

What Went Wrong?
I am trying to figure out what went wrong with this show. You can argue that J.Moss, Michelle Williams and Mitchell Solarek might not have been the best choices for judges, but they were not the problem. I can completely understand the producer’s rationale for selecting them. I wish the judges weren’t so caught up in the whole artist marketability thing. Gospel music is part ministry and part entertainment. I get that.

I think my biggest issue was the contestants. I don’t know who the best unsigned gospel/Christian singer in the country is. However, I do know that whomever he or she is, they definitely did not compete in Gospel Dream 2009. I kept waiting for someone to step up and deliver outstanding vocal performances consistently, but it never happened.

The bottom line is that Gospel Dream got a pool of talent that was not on par with the talent that we’ve seen from other singing competitions. I’m not sure how extensive the talent search was, but they have to do a better job of attracting quality contestants next season.

I’m sure that all of this season’s contestants are wonderful people. I’m sure they do a great job ministering in their local churches and ministries. That being said, they did not help produce a compelling competition.

I have to be honest. I am still trying to figure this show out. I am not sure what the identity of this show is. I understand that they don’t want to copy American Idol (in some ways). They are not looking for the best overall singer. They’re looking for the most marketable person they can find. Mitchell Solarek told Rachelle Garrett that “I don’t know where to place you commercially.” I knew right then and there that Rachelle wouldn’t last long in the competition and she didn’t.

Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong, but I highly doubt that most christian music fans are concerned about the commercial appeal of an artist. Most people aren’t concernd about an artist’s image or how the artist looks. In my opinion, this is what most fans of gospel/christian music are concerned about:

1. Is the music good?

2. Is the artist anointed?

3. Are they living a life that is pleasing to God?

Hair, make-up, clothes and shoes are irrelevant in most cases. I completely understand that more artists and record companies are trying to appeal to a broader audience. I’m not saying that they should not do things to reach a different crowd. What I am saying is that these things should not replace  the core elements of what quality Christian music is about.

None of the female contestants blew me away with their vocal quality last night. The performances were good. I wouldn’t call any of them outstanding. Jasmine Jackson seemed to show great improvement over the previous week. If you saw episode 2, you may recall that she was the one J.Moss said “Everything about you is C+”. I’m not sure that is the best comment one Christian can make to another, but to her credit Jasmine bounced back with a solid performance.

After all of the performances were done, the judges chose to keep Jasmine Jackson and Amber Davies. That left the fate of Erin Lyder, Rachelle Garrett and Ashli Marie Pritchett in the hands of the male contestants. They voted to keep Erin Lyder, thus sending Rachelle Garrett and Ashli Marie Pritchett home.

Next week it is the men’s turn. I hope we see stronger vocal performances from them.

Did you see the episode? Let me know what you think.

They Are Not Looking for the Best Singer
Episode 2 made it very clear to me that Gospel Dream is not about finding the best singer possible. It is about finding the person who will have the most overall appeal in the marketplace. So now we know that it is just not about the music.

I am happy that they got this out in the open. They have established that image and overall appeal will be big factors in deciding the winner. I don’t know about you, but I won’t be surprised when the best singer does not win the competition.

There are a large number of gospel music fans that don’t care about the “image” of gospel artists. They care about an artist’s talent and spirituality. If that is what you care about the most, then watching Gospel Dream will probably frustrate you.

What Should Boot Camp for a Christian Artist Look Like?
I don’t have a big issues with the whole boot camp thing. I understand how image and the ability to deal with the media are important ingredients to the success of all artists. For Christian artists, spirituality is also an important ingredient. In fact, it is the most important ingredient.

I wonder if they thought about making spirituality part of their boot camp? I don’t know how this would be judged. I just hope this isn’t something they are ignoring when working with the finalists. It is difficult to be a Christian artist and not have a strong relationship with God. If an artist’s relationship is lacking, he/she will eventually be exposed.

The Judges
At the conclusion of the boot camp, the judges placed the contestants on the hot seat. The judges seemed very passionate about the importance of developing an image. J.Moss was very critical of Tim Stylez. I’m assuming that J.Moss along with all the other judges were trying to push the contestants in order to make them as successful as possible. I must admit that some of the critiquing left me scratching my head.

Whomever edited the video did not do Michelle Williams any favors. I’d like to think that she had some very insightful things to say. Unfortunately, through the magic of editing, she came off as being only concerned about fashion. It seemed like all she had to say was a couple of one liners and that was it.

Moving Forward
Next week’s show will get back to what most of us are accustomed to seeing in a singing competition, that being, singing. The female contestants will take the stage as the competition begins to heat up.

Please share your thoughts about episode 2 of Gospel Dream.

Where Was the Talent?
I know that TV editing can be a little misleading at times. However,  I was a little disappointed in with the overall pool of talent. If this was the best 37 singers they could find, I am scared to think what everyone else who auditioned sounded like.

Maybe my expectations were a little too high. I expected to hear at least a dozen outstanding singers. I ended up getting a little less than that.

It’s All About the Song
Every time I watch a singing competition on TV I am always left asking myself if the people auditioning have ever watched the show in the past. I wonder if they have ever seen any singing competition on TV before. How many times do we hear judges talk about the importance of song selection. After a couple of seasons of American Idol, Sunday Best, Gospel Dream and any other show you could name, you think people would get it by now.

Well, apparently they still aren’t getting it. The Gospel Dream premiere definitely had its share of bad song choices. There was even one contestant who auditioned the song “Everything That the Devil Stole.” That is a fine song  for a choir competition(maybe), not a solo audition. This contestant’s audition consisted of her ad libbing while a track of the choir sung the background vocals.

Michelle Williams vs. The Christian Music Industry
Everything in me wanted Michelle Williams to be an amazing Christian artist. I don’t know why, I just did. Unfortunately, Christian/gospel music fans never embraced her. Yesterday, I got a little more insight as to why some christian music fans haven’t embraced her.

A friend of mine pointed out that Michelle Williams recently made an appearance as a guest judge on a show called RuPaul’s Drag Race. This is basically a show to see who is the best drag queen in America. Once I heard this, I understood the problem many people have with Michelle Williams.

On one hand she is making a guest appearance on a show about drag queens. On the other hand she is a judge on a show that is looking for the next gospel/Christian music superstar. Do you think Kirk Franklin, Michael W. Smith, Toby Mac or Donnie McClurkin would ever appear on a show about drag queens as a judge? Call me crazy, but I don’t think most Christians are ready to embrace drag queens and that whole culture.

I think there are a number of people who have always questioned Michelle’s commitment to God. For the record, I am NOT one of those people. I try to live my live by Matthew 7:1-6. When referring to Michelle, I often hear people make the comment “either be in or be out.” Whenever we have questions about someone’s walk with the Lord, the best thing any of us can do is pray and let God deal with it.

Future Episodes
Overall, the show peaked my interest and I’ll continue to watch it until the end. I’m sure in the end we ‘ll get to see an number of new artists emerge.

Did you see the show? What where your thoughts?