Just a quick heads-up:
Gospel Music Channel will air the recent finale of the Verizon Wireless nationwide choir competition, How Sweet The Sound this Sunday, November 22nd at 8pm ET.
In addition to show-stopping choir performances, the program (hosted by Donald Lawrence & Lisa Kimmey-Winans) features a performance by Marvin Sapp, who’s also a judge for the competition.
Good job, Gospel Music Channel! *clapping* We like this.
Who’s tuning in?
The finale of the choir competition that has swept the nation, Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet The Sound, will take place on November 7th at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI. If you’re in the area, you should really consider attending– tix are only $7 for floor seats, $5 for upper-tier seats. That’s wild!
Eleven choirs will compete for up to $25,000 in cash and prizes, and the title of “The Best Church Choir In America.” Like the regional concerts, the finale will be hosted by Donald Lawrence and Lisa Kimmey-Winans, and feature a performance by Marvin Sapp.
You can watch the finalist choirs from EACH city here: http://www.howsweetthesound.com/media/video. Make sure you check out the Memphis video– that’s the concert I attended and it was HOTTT!
Anyone planning to attend the finale???
On Monday, my wife and I accompanied a friend on a roadtrip to Memphis for the Verizon Wireless How Sweet The Sound choir competition. The event was at the FedEx Forum and it was pretty packed.
The evening began with a performance of “Let The Word Do The Work” by Donald Lawrence, who co-hosted the evening with Lisa Kimmey-Winans. I never get tired of that song, nor any others on The Law Of Confession: Part 1… I’m like a junkie. But whatever! 
After his performance, Donald introduced the judges– Kurt Carr, Michael Davis (Memphis’ Hallelujah 97.5FM) and Marvin Sapp– before moving swiftly into the small choir competition. The Good Hope Sanctuary Choir, of Memphis’ Good Hope Church, won in that category for their awesome performance of “When The Saints Go To Worship.” They really looked and sounded great!
Before intermission, Kurt Carr and a few of his singers sang “Peace And Favor Rest Upon Us” and dazzled the crowd. The second segment of the show began with Marvin Sapp ministering with “Never Would Have Made It,” a song that is proving to NEVER grow old. Those saints were jumping up and down, screaming for him like a teenage girl at a Michael Jackson concert. It was incredible!
The second segment featured the large choirs and the Greater Community Temple Voices, of Greater Community Temple COGIC, won that set with their jaw-dropping performance of the O’landa Draper CLASSIC “My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord.” That church was O’landa’s home church before his sudden passing in 1998… they did him PROUD and were just on another LEVEL.
They were also the big winner of the ENTIRE night and will represent Memphis at the national HSTS competition. I am kinda predicting that they’ll actually win the whole competition this year– just a phenomenal job.
The night ended with a grand finale of “The Blessing Of Abraham,” led by Donald Lawrence featuring the choirs and a BUNCH of singing fans in the audience. To be honest, I didn’t expect to enjoy the event as much as I did. I dunno how good other cities are, but good singin’ is in the water in Memphis. And choirs are just… not a game. Plus, the production of it was superb (kudos Verizon Wireless!). I had a really great time.
Special shout-out to Monica Coates, Sheri Jones-Moffett & Dion Moffett, Donna Creer, and Donald Lawrence. It was great to see you guys!
I hadn’t planned on pulling out my camera, but… I didn’t wanna leave y’all hanging. 
