Okay, as promised… my thorough (albeit delayed) recap of last night’s episode of Sunday Best… generally: good show.

We FINALLY got to see Donald Lawrence on camera.  Everyone was saying he was the backstage coach/mentor, but we hadn’t seem him YET, so I’m glad he got some screen time.

Ann Nesby ended the show with her performance of “I Found A Place,” the single from her latest album, The Lula Lee Project.  Alright jazzy lady!  Great voice, great look.  Fine for me.

The wildcard contestant was Zebulon Ellis, which I was actually okay with.  I was slightly disappointed cuz I wanted to see more of Clifton Ross III, but it’s cool.  I think Clifton will do well, in God’s timing, in spite of that.  Plus, Zebulon ain’t a bad vocalist anyhow!!

Zebulon Ellis – “A Song For You”:  He has a nice voice and he did well, but I didn’t enjoy this performance as much as others probably did. The melody is classic, so I didn’t want his rendition to be so varied from the original.  It’s cool to “make it your own,” but… I dunno.  BeBe said “you took it away from Donnie [Hathaway]“.  I firmly disagree.  No one has ever taken ANY song away from Donnie Hathaway.  Again, though, good vocalist.

Jessica Reedy – “Just As I Am”:  She is just so doggone incredible to me!  She looked great (again) and brought the sincerity, the worship, the rawness (with a polished presentation)– again, I want my album NOW.  I agree with BeBe when he said “tone will tear me down.”  It is ALL about this woman’s tone and choices.  She rocks and I cannot wait to hear more from her.  She’s my favorite and I’m sure y’all know that by now.

John McClure – “You Are My Life”-etc.:  An incredibly great song from Fred Hammond, which turned into a medley of sorts.  Not the best we’ve heard from him.  It was very very good, but it didn’t provide the same “wowwww” factor as the other contestants have been giving us.  BeBe said it well: “quiet storm,” meaning that he didn’t give it to us with all the stomps, shouts and whistles that other contestants give, but he did well.  But was it well ENOUGH?

Latice Crawford – “Reach Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand”:  I did NOT like the song choice until the vamp, which she killed, as usual!  Her voice was hoarse, but she yanked those notes from SOMEwhere.  She’s awesome, and there’s no denying it.  I hope her voice holds up for the coming shows.

Dontavies Boatwright – “How Great Is Our God” [Editor's Note: I JUST talked about this song in my first Across The Aisle post about Chris Tomlin, remember???  Click here to see that again]:  I like his voice a lot.  I wanted him to deviate a bit and play with the melody more– it’s a simple worship chant, so there was plenty of room to be more creative with it.  That said, I want him in the industry, kinda to become the new generation of soaring crooners in gospel.  We like you, Dontavies.

Y’Anna Crawley – “Waiting On The World To Change”:  This song wasn’t built with the room to kill it like Y’Anna has demolished songs in the past, but she MADE spaces in which to demonstrate her ability anyhow!  That makes for a great artist, in my opinion.  She was polished and seasoned, as always, and she looked great.  Great job.

So, those were the contestants.  I think I feel some kinda way about the show having them do so many mainstream/R&B songs… there’s AMPLE material in gospel music to have these gospel singers sing gospel songs on the gospel talent competition.  And I’m not hating on other genres cuz my iPod is full of a wide range of music, AND I’m not saying that the songs couldn’t be re-interpreted to be about Jesus… but… we haven’t run out of gospel stuff yet, have we?

In any case, the finalists were Jessica Reedy, Zebulon Ellis, Latice Crawford and Y’Anna Crawley. I’m incredibly pleased, though I kinda wasn’t expecting four contestants to be finalists (thought we’d go down to three), nor was I expecting Zebulon to be among them, quite honestly. Still, great show and I’m cool with all of the judges picks.  EACH ONE of these singers are phenomenal vocalists and could hold their own on most stages, so I’m kinda excited to see what happens.

SUPER SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT to my awesome guest Twitter-er.  This special individual kept the conversation fresh and stimulating and I appreciate it!  Thanks!  

Some of you have already let me know your thoughts on my earlier post today, but what does everyone else think???

My, my, my… Between tweeting on Twitter, updating my status on Facebook and takin’ notes for this post, I barely saw any of the show… but I HEARD it all and that was good enough for me!

Kirk Franklin opened the show with his Grammy-winning single, “Help Me Believe.”  I saw Charmaine, Anaysha, Nikki, Eric and Isaac singing bgv’s, but ummm… where’s Ashley?!  I kinda don’t consider the group complete without her, but maybe I’m just weird. In any event, great job and THANKS for not having the contestants behind y’all, talking ’bout some ”ooooooooh”…

The show kicked off with each singer doing their thang and, as usual, my humble recap:

Dontavies Boatwright – Medley of Fred Hammond’s “Glory to Glory to Glory” and “Blessed”:  He’s got a really nice, soaring voice (that training!).  He had a really nice look, with great energy, too.  I enjoyed him more last night than any time that I’ve seen him thus far.

Jessica Reedy – “Brighter Day”:  Let me tell you something right now.  I don’t care WHO wins this competition– my favorite, since the auditions, has been this young woman and she is HANDS-DOWN my pick for this entire deal.  She brings something soooo smooth, so unique and original, so relevant… She sang an incredible arrangement of Kirk Franklin’s “Brighter Day,” and I mean… Jessica demolished it from the first note to the end, was confident, looked great, COMMANDED the stage.  Folks get stuck on the contestants’ riffs (which she does well), but for ME, it’s about the musical CHOICES an artist makes– did you stick to the melody only, or did you go exploring?  was it tasteful?  did you do something that I can’t hear elsewhere?  Jessica channeled a little of everybody (did y’all hear that Anita Baker-esque deal she did?!).  Ok, I’m moving on, but I’m just sayin’… Jessica Reedy.

Clifton Ross III – “Total Praise”:  I agreed with the judges that Clifton seemed a bit more nervous this time around.  I also agreed with Erica Campbell that he should have done a bit more in the beginning instead of saving the killer vocals ’til the end.  That said, he still gave a smooth, consistent vocal that I really enjoy.

John McClure Jr. – “??????”:  Umm… I ain’t never heard the song, but it was something about having a testimony.  Anyone know???  In any case, he’s got a great voice.  He reminds me SO much– vocally and appearance-wise– of Smokie Norful.  He did a good job on the song and I still wanna hear more from him.

Y’Anna Crawley – “Grandma’s Hands”:  She’ll sing out the side of that mouth, but SING, she does!  She’s absolutely another fave of mine.  Any time the host asks a contestant to do some MORE of the song they just sang, it’s sayin’ something.  She delivers– vocally and with stage presence– like she’s been doing this for decades.  She’s already a pro, in my book, and we’re just kinda waitin’ for the album.

Zebulon Ellis – “He’s Able”:  Another reaaally nice arrangement of a classic Kirk Franklin tune.  I think he did a great job.  His spot was kinda unfair cuz he had to come on the heels of audience members laying slain in the aisle cuz of Y’Anna’s performance, but I think he held it down.

Jeff Spain – “Yesterday”:  He did Mary Mary’s hit, and he did a nice job.  I really like him as person, for sure.  And I love that he’s only been doing gospel for a couple of years, but that he’s determined to do it.  I mentioned on my tweet last night that I dunno if he translates well for gospel audiences.  By that, I mean that the MAJORITY of the gospel audience often wants a vocalist to come and slay us with the squall and the riff.  “Churchy” is not Jeff’s style.  Funny thing:  Though he’s got more of a voice for R&B, he doesn’t want to use it for that and I respect THAT.  For that reason alone, I say that if we don’t have room for him, we try to make room for him.  We like you, Jeff Spain.

Carolyn Johnson-White – “Secret Place”:  Now, I typically don’t like folks doing Karen Clark-Sheard cuz I think 9 out of 10 will only embarass themselves.  And, while she had a few theatrics that I didn’t need (“shush”-ing folks and what not), I think she really made the song her own and, to be honest, I kinda didn’t think of it as a KCS track anymore– I thought of it as a Richard Smallwood track (which it is), sung by a great vocalist in a way that really captured what the “secret place” may be like.  And, to that, I say “very good and well done, ma’am!”

Kalind Haynes – “Healing”:  Alright, sir, with the hip new look!  Got the hat and what not… I see you.  Kalind gave a nice, smooth vocal, as usual.  I didn’t feel like the performance was necessarily strong enough to keep him in the game, but I enjoyed him.

Latice Crawford – “Praying Spirit”:  So, this is one of those songs that I don’t ever want people to touch because I’m almost certain they won’t do it right.  So, when the music came on, I thought “uh oh.”  To that, Latice said “ummm… I can kinda sing my face off, so BOOM!”  And WOW.  This woman delivers every time.  And the reason that I enjoy her is that she REALLY has some of the hardest, most nostalgic tunes to do each week (remember her doing Vanessa Bell Armstrong’s cut a few weeks ago?).  That’s tough.  And to not just do them, but to do them like you own ‘em… great stuff.  Definitely a fave.

As great as EVERYONE was, the judges had to cut the 10 down to 5.  They are:  Jessica, Dontavies, Y’Anna, Latice and John.  Plus, there’s a wildcard contestant from the Top 10 that will be selected to perform next week… I’m kinda hoping it’s Clifton.

Thoughts about the show???  Do you agree with the Top 5?  Who do you wish was in there that isn’t?  Among the Top 5, who’s your fave?  HOLLA!

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???

Who watched it?  I LOVED it… like, practically every single moment of it.

Mary Mary opened the show performing their lastest single, “God In Me.”  They looked great and the audience was bouncin’ like they had come STRAIGHT from the club.  Then, Kierra Sheard came out and blaaaazed on the bridge.  She, also, looked amazing.  Good job, ladies!  I did NOT care for the “contestant remix” of the song, but it’s whateva.  They’re the reason for the show, so I don’t mind the inclusion.

10 of the 20 contestants performed last night and here’s my review of each, in order, along with the songs they sang.

1.  Tammy Turner – “Look At Me”:  I think Erica Campbell said it best– it’s a classic and you’ve gotta be careful to stick close to the melody on classics.  First of all, the original was done perfectly by Tramaine Hawkins.  Then, Coko brought her own flair and demolished it on her debut album a coupla years ago.  Both are soooooaaaaaaring sopranos and Tammy Turner appears to be an alto, so the key was… way different.  But she went first (which is hard), and she still sounded great, so good job!

2.  Clifton Ross III – “Now Behold The Lamb”: What?! YES!!!  An instant favorite.  He chose a great song, TORE IT TO PIECES like a pro, was gracious and humble throughout.  We like you, Clifton.  You’re among my faves, no question.

3.  Camille Betton – “Just A Closer Walk With Thee”:  She looked like a GAZILLION bucks, but I was not a fan of the song or the arrangement.  It didn’t go where I wanted it to, so she never really broke out and GAVE it to us.  But, she’s a good singer and I like her.

4.  Jeff Spain - ”Seasons”:  The judges loved him, but I keep thinking that he borders on forgettable.  It’s not that he doesn’t have a nice voice, he certainly DOES… it’s just that he’s kinda reserved and laidback, so the “artist” element isn’t really there for me.  I think he mentioned that he recently came to Christ, which implies that he may not know what a typical “gospel audience” expects… perhaps he’ll learn as the show goes, though.  Or perhaps we should change our expectations…

5.  Jessica Reedy – “Just A Prayer Away”:  Another ABSOLUTE fave of mine– I have LOVED her voice and her passion since the auditions.  Tina Campbell said it well: “Powerful but light.”  She reminds me A LOT of Jazmine Sullivan (maybe it’s the look, maybe it’s the voice)… I want her album NOW.

6.  Jonathan Johnson – “God Will Make A Way”:  It was a bit disconcerting for me, and I dunno why.  I just didn’t know what to look at, listen to, or think.  He’s a nice guy and I think he wants this.  He’s got a nice voice, albeit very mature considering his age, and he’s kinda got the look… I just dunno.

7.  Latice Crawford – “Peace Be Still”:  When she came out, I said “you’re not gonna try THAT…”  But she did more than try.  She DID the doggone thing!  The song was a great choice cuz her timbre is reminiscent of Vanessa Bell Armstrong.  She doesn’t execute her riffs as well as Vanessa, but FEW do, so that can’t be a dealbreaker for her… I think she was great.

8.  Kalind Haynes – “Center Of My Joy”:  He’s got a smooth and passionate voice and a lovable personality to boot.  He’s an all-around “nice” contestant to me– nice voice, nice guy, nice look… I kinda want someone more edgy, but he’s undeniably a great vocalist and someone who brings his heart for Christ to the forefront when he performs.  Sidenote: Kirk Franklin is stooooopid for bringing out a box to stand on because Kalind is so much taller than him.

9.  Audrey Lewis – “He Looked Beyond My Faults”: I just think the world of this woman!  Another fave of mine.  She’s ministers on stage like a seasoned pro and I feel like she’s already a part of the fabric of the industry.  We’re gon’ put her right next to Dottie and ‘em.  Go’n and take your place, mother!  (And how much do we love the nickname, Mama Lew?!)

10.  Zebulon Ellis - “God Is Standing By”:  He’s a nice guy, with a nice voice and tons of energy, but I wasn’t as excited as the judges were.  I thought the song choice was kinda weird, and I just kinda couldn’t get with it.  I wanna hear him sing somethin’ else, though, cuz I think he’s got a good voice.

My predictions for the 5 that would proceed to the next round were: Clifton, Jessica, Latice, Kalind and Audrey.  HOW-SO-EVUH… the show pulled a fast one on us and decided that NO ONE was going home, EVERYONE was stickin’ around.

How sweet. 

Note to BET:  We’re not so fond of talent competitions that don’t really have… the COMPETITION part in there.  I felt like I watched one big concert, which you KNOW I don’t mind anyhow, but don’t prolong the inevitable… And the whole “everyone was just toooooo good for the judges to make a decision” thing…

I don’t wanna crush anyone’s dreams and, at the end of the day, it’s not a big deal at all– it just means more episodes for us.  But I’ll tell you WHAT… I’ma need 5 folks on a plane come next Sunday.

Having said all of that, MAJOR KUDOS to BET and the Sunday Best producers– y’all are doing a DYNAMITE job.  I’m really loving it!

Last night’s episode featured the Sunday Best auditions in D.C.  I was excited to hear ‘em, cuz people have been talking about THOSE vocalists for a minute.  I think this episode demonstrated how tough the auditions really are– they took only 10 singers from the city, but A BUNCH of ‘em could blow.

My thoughts:

1.  I kinda don’t have time for the antics, so the unicyclist was frustrating, but it was ALL worth it once Tina Campbell said “When Sunday Best becomes a circus, YOU’RE IN!”

2.  All the internet ravings about Y’Anna Crawley were right.  She saaaang.

3.  Clifton Ross III (director of the Howard Gospel Choir, by the way) made it through and I’m glad about it!  A big ol’ “WHATEVER” to the judges’ assessments of his image/attire– I’ve seen him a few times and I think that’s kinda just who he is.

4.  I know folks are gonna knock the judges for not letting the young lady with the skin condition through, just like with the woman who stuttered, but I tended to agree with the Marys– pretty voice, but not the best.

5.  I kinda don’t know what the heck the judges wanted from that woman who auditioned in each of the three cities.  She gave something different each time, and could GO on the vocals.  I have to chalk that one up to some edits that we ain’t see cuz they put other folks through that just…kinda…were subpar.

6.  One of my faves so far is Peter Robinson.  He and his girlfriend were robbed, kidnapped, shot and left for dead.  She died in his arms, but God miraculously saved him.  He’s got a nice tone, great agility, but more than anything, a profound testimony that can really witness to people.

7.  I LOVED Jessica Reedy, the last contestant to be put through.  She, also, has an awesome testimony about being ostracized after getting pregnant, then finding refuge in Jesus Christ, the one person who will NOT condemn or cast aside… wait… am I preachin’?

All in all, I’m excited for next week’s episode (of course).  To see a full list of the FINAL 20 Contestants, with images and bio info, click here.  Too early to call it, though I’m hoping that someone outta the D.C. auditions wins.

What did y’all think about last night’s show???