Y’all watched, right?
Byron Cage opened the show with “I Will Bless the Lord.” He looked all cool and casual with his jeans and blazer. I see you, dude! Too bad the contestants wore those cliché blue choir robes behind him. 
As for the contestants’ performances, I think they were collectively weaker than last week’s contestants, but there were a few REAL gems in there. My thoughts:
Pete Robinson – “Through It All”: He was one of my faves from the auditions cuz I love his sincerity, but he sang the entire song a half-note higher than the melody. That may have been nerves, but it’s a problem. Nice dude, though, and I hope he gets more opportunities.
Y’anna Crawley – “For Every Mountain”: Though the arrangement never got around to the “for every mountain” part of it, it was a good performance that allowed her to showcase her INCREDIBLE vocal prowess. She gave it to the people and there’s no denying it. Me likey.
Maurice Griffin – “In The Midst Of It All”: ummmm. YESSIR! Reminds me of Micah Stampley, timbre-wise. I agree with the judges on his needing to connect more, but I think he’s reaaaally good.
Sharon Gomez – “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”: She seems like such a sweetheart, but this particular performance was just not on par with the other singers there. Still, I think there may be a place for her in the marketplace.
John McClure – “I’m Lost Without You”: I’ve always adored that song, so when I heard the opening CHORDS, I thought “please please please don’t mess this up.” And he didn’t! 
He had a really beautiful voice for it. I wasn’t thrilled with his ad libs, but he’s solid for sure.
And when Kirk had BeBe sing the first line real quick– dang it!!! THAT man. *rushin’ to listen to the original recording*
Crystal Holland – “Melodies From Heaven”: She did a really smooth, jazzy arrangement, and I LOVED it. But it didn’t feel like she meant it. That said, I like her a lot– great style, artist appeal, nice voice. I wanna see her again.
Ian Knighton – “The Presence Of The Lord Is Here”: The audience and the judges raved, but it felt kinda “Broadway showtune” to me. That’s probably a result of his vocal training, but it seemed scripted in a way. Still, he’s got a great voice and he’s got a lot of appeal, so we may see more of him.
Cekoya Burch – “In The Morning”: It’s a harder song to sing than many would think. The tempo of this particular performance seemed too fast for her because she seemed rushed and a bit pitchy, especially through the bridge. But she looked great and I really wanted it for her…
Dontavies Boatwright – “What The World Needs Now”: If the producers really are picking these songs for the contestants, I think they owe Dontavies a BIG apology. He wasn’t bad AT ALL– just didn’t like the song. But, he’s got a really nice voice and I’m excited to hear him do other songs.
Carolyn Johnson-White – “I Know I’ve Been Changed”: I was finna snooze until she modulated at that vamp and hit that high note at the end… Ma’am?? Ma’am!! And when she got to testifyin’, yooo… Good ministry there. We like you!
Twenty were chopped to ten, and they are:
Dontavies Boatwright, Latice Crawford, Y’Anna Crawley, Zebulon Ellis, Kalind Haynes, John McClure, Jessica Reedy, Clifton Ross III, Jeff Spain, Carolyn Johnson-White
My 5 faves: Jessica Reedy, Clifton Ross III, Y’Anna Crawley, John McClure, Latice Crawford
Thoughts???
I think overall last week's contestants were all on point, but for this week, I think I like John McClure, Y'Anna Crawley, Clifton Ross III. I really would hate to be a judge for this year's show. And if Tina "buys one more ticket to a concert" imma have to call in. lol
Did anyone notice that the same five from last week (with the addition of Clifton Ross, III) are the ones that were advanced..... They took 6 from the first group and 4 from the other....Interesting.
Bro Ray--Clifton Ross, III was from last week.
Who's your top 10 EJ?
@Alivia: I'm actually pretty happy with the 10 that made it, though I would've loved to see Audrey Lewis in there.
things are getting kinda nasty on Torrence's blog...geesh
I'm pretty happy with the top ten as well. I think Audrey Lewis didn't make it because they had their "token-seasoned-saint." It's a shame, though, because they seem to have different things to offer in my opinion. This competition might be fierce, though. I'm excited to see the coming episodes!
maurice shoulda made it but thats me....latice is still my pic to win and EJ that arrangement of melodies from heaven was AMAZING woulda loved to hear sumbody like tonya baker sing that version
@Alivia You are right. Thanks
Last week was better. On the real, I think a male will WIN this year. As for the female, I am going for Latice and for the male(s)....WOW...I am impressed with John, Dontavis, and Jeff, I question Jeff vocal abiities. Also....ummm....Why did Ian's come on the stage looking like that? His shirt was half button at the button, he used the jackets top button (for his size that is inappropriate). He was singing the Presence of Lord, we almost seen his present....lol
LOL
that's very true lol funny.... wats jeff spains appeal???
@mdixon When doing these shows, they tend to look for something for everybody. Jeff Spain was not on my top ten list, but I think his image & look are what got him in. I can see the younger viewing audience (females) liking him.
I FEEL LIKE BET ABSOLUTELY IS FULL OF IT.... HOW IN THE WORLD DID THEY PICK THESE SINGERS? THE TOP 10 WAS JACKED UP TO ME IF U ASK ME. I WAS GOING FOR MAURICE GRIFFIN, MISS AUDREY, JOHNATHAN JOHNSON... I JUST KNEW THEY WOULD MAKE IT--- AS FAR AS VOCAL ABILITY, THEY HAD PERFECT PERFORMANCES TO ME! THEY KILLED IT!!! THEY LET JEFF SPAIN AND JOHN MCCLURE THRU? WOWWWWWW.... I MOST DEFINATELY DONT THINK JEFF "HAS WHAT IT TAKES" TO BE A GOSPEL STAR. ARE U ALL FORGETTING THIS GUY SAID HE'S ONLY BEEN SINGING GOSPEL FOR 2 YEARS? LOL... THIS SHOW IS IN WAYYYY OVER THERE HEADS. GO ON YOUTUBE, CHECK OUT MAURICE AND JOHN JOHN.... THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. LOOK AT WHAT THEY LET OFF THE SHOW.... I THINK THAT THOSE 2 GUYS WOULD'VE KILLED IT ALL THE WAY THRU TO THE FINALE..... YA'LL BETTA WAKE UP! LOL REAL TALK.
ok my brotha just put HIS comments, so im going to put mine, i feel like John John AND Maurice should've made it. Also Tammy Turner.... I know them all 3 personally and OH MY GOD!!!! Ya'll see... their careers are going to jet. I hope they make it "bigger" than Sunday Best, cause ya'll didn't get to see what they could really do.
@musikman09 AND singagurlworships: WELCOME! I appreciate your honest comments. Make sure you come back often so you can weigh-in on the competition, and other stuff. HOLLA!
i actually like jeff spain a lot, i dont believe that the fact that he has only been singing for 2 years should be held against him, im just happy that we have so many young men singing gospel when they could so obviously be going the other route and sing secular music, i also dont really think that it is fair to judge the contestants for the songs they sing because i dont believe they actually choose those songs