This video is a great reminder that artists do not have to forsake showmanship and entertainment for the sake of ministry– they can be (and should be) combined.

In this CLASSIC video, The Winans perform “J.E.S.U.S.” to a packed house.  With energy, fervor and conviction, Marvin, Carvin, Ronald and Michael give an exciting performance while maintaining the integrity and potency of their message.

It’s kinda why they’re one of my favorite gospel groups EVER.

Whatd’ya think???

Well, here’s Part Two of my Sunday Best Edition of artist interviews– my chat with Y’Anna Crawley.  If you missed Part One yesterday, with Jessica Reedy, click here and don’t do that again.

We’ve been utterly floored by Y’Anna’s powerhouse vocals.  She is consistently on point and has not let us down YET.  Folks are saying she may go all the way… we shall see!!!

In the meantime, no time to delay– here’s Y’Anna…

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey Y’Anna!  How are you?

YC:  I’m good, how are you?

EJ:  I’m good, thank you.  I wanna start by saying “congrats” on getting this far on Sunday Best.  How does all of it feel?

YC:  Aww, man.  It’s wonderful, it’s exciting…

EJ:  I gotta tell you– even before the show began airing, some music folks I know in DC were raving about you– like John Hart and Byron Nichols.

YC:  Yes!  They’re both my godbrothers.  I grew up with John Hart from elementary school on up.

EJ:  Yeah, well I was getting emails and text messages saying “you haven’t seen anything yet!”  I feel like you were known for weeks even before the show started.  But, they definitely weren’t lyin’.  You are an incredible vocalist.

YC:  Well, thank you!

EJ:  You’re welcome… I always know when you’re about to REALLY give it to us cuz you’ll get to singin’ out the side of your mouth, y’know?

YC:  *laughing* YES, that’s crazy.  I heard somebody say “if you can get past her ugly faces, yeah she can sing.”  But I ain’t worried about that because I’ve been singing like that for a long time.  That’s just my little signature.

EJ:  And don’t change it cuz it’s doin’ well for you!

YC:  *laughs*

EJ:  *laughing*  Week by week, the viewers have had a chance to see you take us straight to church with a VERY powerful voice.  This past week, though, you sang “Ain’t No Need To Worry” by The Winans, and you showed the viewers your versatility– that you could do the smooth, jazzy thing too.

YC:  Yes.

EJ:  Do you feel like you have had enough opportunities to show all sides of your vocal ability?

YC:  Yes, I really do.  And you know what, I was surprised at the songs they were giving me.  I was a little apprehensive about singing some of them, like “Waiting On The World To Change,” and even “Ain’t No Need To Worry” because I was like “this is Sunday Best, I gotta give them my CHURCH.”

But I’m glad they threw those songs at me so that I could show my song versatility because not everyone wants to hear the church powerhouse singing.  They wanna hear somebody that can cross over– someone who can get those audiences as well as the church people.

EJ:  Absolutely.  A lot of people, at GospelPundit.com and other sites, have said that the person who wins Sunday Best needs to be a church singer– they shouldn’t be a jazzy singer or an R&B singer because when you think of “Sunday,” you think of church.

I don’t know that I necessarily agree with that, but what do YOU think the winner of Sunday Best needs to be in the industry?

YC:  I think the winner of Sunday Best needs to reach all people, from church and hip-hop, to R&B and pop… God is not just for one person and I don’t think He wants to us to reach just one genre or demographic of people.  So,  I think it needs to reach all walks of life.

EJ:  I agree.  Of the songs that you’ve performed so far, which has been your favorite?

YC:  Which has been my favorite… maybe “Grandma’s Hands” because it hit me home.  Everyone was like “how did you turn ‘Grandma’s Hands’ into a church song?!”  Because when you hear the original music, it’s like “wow, how did she turn that around?”

But it hit home because my grandmother was close to me.  We were very very close.  She passed away like 10 years ago, but I still keep her in my heart.  Everybody always says “you act just like your grandma,” so she was very close to me and very dear to me, still is.  So when I got that song, I just made it personal to me and I got up there and did my thing.

EJ:  Yeah, you definitely ministered.  I’ve never seen someone shout off of “Grandma’s Hands,” but those people in the audience…

YC:  *laughing*

EJ:  *laughing*  They were going IN!

YC:  YES! *laughs*

EJ:  Now, for the past couple of weeks, you’ve talked about being a single parent of two boys and the difficulty of that.  Is it hard juggling that responsibility with all that you’ve had to for the show?

YC:  It’s very hard, but I am blessed with family that helps me by keeping them while I’m away.  But it gets very hard being a young parent and single.  I was at home with my son for a whole year.  A lot of people don’t think that being a full-time mom is a hard job, but it gets hard with me having to sing, leaving them, missing them… and not really being there with them and catching every moment.

Especially with the oldest one– he’s in high school– and it’s hard not being around.  I just have to push past it and keep praying that God will give me strength so that I can juggle everything– Sunday Best, me singing and my family.

EJ:  That’s cool.  When I spoke with Jessica Reedy, she said that being on the show is an adjustment because every thing you do or say is now being analyzed or assessed by people.

YC:  Yes!

EJ:  And she used you as an example, saying that folks have tried to call you arrogant without knowing that you’re actually down to earth and humble.

Now, you’re on a national musical competition, but is it hard to be thrown into the spotlight and suddenly judged by total strangers for things that are outside of the musical aspect of the show?  I mean, people are saying “she shouldn’t have these kids out of wedlock,” or whatever.  How does that feel?

YC:  I’m not gonna lie– it kinda got to me at first.  But then I was like “Yannie, you can’t control what people say.  All you have to worry about is what you’re doing.”  And who are they to judge?  They’re not God… they’re not Jesus.  They didn’t die on a cross for me.  They don’t justify who I am.

So, I just kinda have to put it behind me.  It’s still there, but I have to let them know– I’m just like you.  I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to do right.  And please don’t judge me by what you see– get to know me before you place your lips on me.

EJ:  Right.

YC:  I don’t get on the blogs and… I mean, I read them, but I don’t respond back because I don’t want that ongoing back-and-forth type of thing because then it turns into a debate or a combative thing.  I don’t do that.  I just let them say what they wanna say and I keep letting God use me, putting me on a platform to spread His word.  And hopefully I can help somebody with my struggles, or with the things that they consider “negative.”  I hope they can look at me and say “well, if SHE did this, if she can get past it and be HERE, then maybe I can, too.”

EJ:  Absolutely.  The weird thing is that, at first, folks were just kinda judging the vocals.  But as things are getting down to the wire, people are starting to assess calling and purpose and anointing.  Now, YOU know what you’re called to do– how do you stay motivated in spite of people assessing things that are spiritual, not even tangible to be critiqued?

YC:  You know what’s pushing me now?  The overwhelming amount of calls and emails… just this morning, for example.  I had to take my son to the doctor this morning.  I’m in the office and they’re all looking at me like “aren’t you the girl on Sunday Best?  I watch you every week and you helped me get through the week.”

Or, I had one email from a girl I haven’t seen in a long time.  And she was strung out on drugs.  And she told me that, when she used to see me singing… sidebar: I used to sing with a go-go band.  And even with her seeing me there, she said “you really inspired me and helped me to pick myself up every day and say that I can do it.”

So, the impact of people telling me that they have hope again, and that they dream again and, by seeing me, they’re encouraged– it’s just wonderful.  And I’m not going to stop what I’m doing because God has used me in a mighty way and I appreciate that.

EJ:  That’s beautiful.  You mention singing in a go-go band.  What else were you doing, musically, before Sunday Best?

YC:  I was singing professionally.  I was singing with the go-go band, Lissen, I was doing some background singing for a lot of artists.  That was my job– it was my profession.

EJ:  It was your 9 to 5?

YC:  That was my 9 to 5.  People get up and go to Macy’s to work, people go to their government jobs, that was my job.

EJ:  Nice.  What do you feel your personal call is in music ministry?  Where do you fit and what has God called Y’Anna Crawley to do?

YC:  I really feel like God has called Y’Anna Crawley to pull someone who is not the average person to Him.  I have the advantage of having sung on the secular side and reaching people, and singing on the gospel side and reaching people.  I think God is calling me to the “unusual person,” who wouldn’t normally go to church or even think about the things of God.  I think He’s using me to reach those people.

EJ:  Well, I think you’re gonna do well in the industry, regardless of the outcome of the show.  And I can’t wait to tune in on Sunday to see what happens with this “Sing Off” deal.

YC:  I know, right?

EJ:  I said something about it on the blog the other day.  It’s like, I know it’s a competition, but in gospel music, it seems so weird.  Though, look at the industry– I guess folks are doing sing-offs all the time.  But it doesn’t seem like we should be encouraging it, like “do a better riff than THAT,” or “top that.”

YC:  Yeah.  And I think it’s because they really are having a hard time.  The talent this year was just incredible.  So, like Tina [Campbell] said, they have to start picking things and find some way to pick.  They have to find something, you know?  So, they’re gonna give it one more try with the three of us, then they’re gonna see– they’re gonna narrow it down.

EJ:  I’m sure it’s gonna be a good show!  And I really thank you for taking a moment to chat with me.

YC:  You’re welcome!

EJ:  Ok, take care!

YC:  Alright, you too!

*     *     *

Good chat, no?  I really enjoyed talking with Y’Anna– she’s very candid and the whole chat felt more like friends catching up than a stuffy interview.

What did y’all think???

And don’t forget to check tomorrow for the last interview in this series– my talk with Latice Crawford!

Here’s my recap for you kind people– ‘ppreciate your patience.  If you’d rather NOT wait, though, don’t forget that you can always follow me on Twitter for my live recap every Sunday night: http://www.twitter.com/gospelpundit.

I think last night’s show was a bit more mellow than previous shows.  Everyone kinda had slower, building arrangements of songs made famous by gospel FAMILIES, which was a nice lil’ concept.  Don’t get me wrong– they still brought it, but it wasn’t as flashy and high-energy as previous episodes have been.

The show opened with The Williams Brothers singing “Living Testimony.”  These gentlemen have some of the sweetest voices in the game– I loved it.  Wished they had done a little bit of “Cooling Water,” but I can’t have it all.  Or can I?

Up next came the contestants, one-by-one, and I was kinda shocked to see that they didn’t do a joint performance this go ’round– the show featured songs from families that were gospel groups (i.e., Clark Sisters, Pace Sisters, Williams Brothers, Winans, Mary Mary)… seemed like this was THE WEEK to do a group song together.  But whateva…

Each contestant sang two songs, throughout the night, but I’ma recap both songs as I chat about each contestant.  Got it?

Jessica Reedy opened the show with “The Question Is” by The Winans.  It’s a classic song which she, of course, put her own little smooth and jazzified spin on it.  She was clearly a bit hoarse, as was evident by a couple of cracks in her vocal performance, but (as was noted by Tina Campbell), she was SUCH a pro, turning those cracks into intricate riffs that just WORKED.  Great job.

Her second song was “Still Here” by The Williams Brothers.  Before she performed, we got a chance to see footage of her prep time with Donald Lawrence and the singers.  THAT YOUNG WOMAN was arranging the background vocalists, changing stuff up, and did a DERN good job, you hear me?!  The performance was SOOO in the pocket– she’s just got it.  She’s my fave, no doubt.

Latice Crawford started with “Is My Living In Vain” and did a great job, also, putting her own spin on it.  She revved up like a pro towards the end of it and definitely left me wanting a bit more.  Her second song was “I’ll Take You There” and she really sang on that thing, as always, but it just didn’t quite CLICK for me.

I enjoy her, always, but I have to admit that I zoned out a little for some portions of her performances.  Tina Campbell said it best– there was a disconnect that made us uncomfortable cuz SHE didn’t seem as confident.

Y’Anna Crawley (another fave of mine) started with “Heaven” by Mary Mary.  I thought she did it well, though a lot of the ad libs sounded just like the stuff that the Marys did at first.  Toward the second part of the song, she flipped it sho’ nuff, though, and I was like “THAT’S what Y’Anna brings!”

Her second song was the classic “Ain’t No Need To Worry” by The Winans and Anita Baker.  I immediately thought “noo… y’all shoulda given this to Jessica” because her voice is so right for the Anita Baker deal.  BUT LEMME TELL YA, this was a perfect song for Y’Anna and here’s why:  it finally gave us the opportunity to see that she can also do the smooth, jazzy thing.  We’ve always seen her CLOBBER a song, but we’ve not really had the opportunity to see her work it from a quiet place.  She delivered in a BIG way for me.  Great job, ma’am!!!

At the end, NONE OF ‘EM got sent home.  We’ll see ‘em all next week for some “Sing Off” they’re gonna have.  I feel some kinda way about that cuz I don’t think the “sing off” should be the criteria for whether someone should be a gospel artist or not.  We already have too much of that in the industry (but that’s for ANOTHER post… showboatin’ and what not).

Folks, at the end of the day, EACH of these three women are phenomenal vocalists who just HAVE it.  They are all artists.  Any one of them will be on my iPod for a good month and, if given the right songs/producers, could have award-winning albums.

The Anointed Pace Sisters wrapped up the performances by rippin’ into “Already Done.”  I was already jammin’ (“already done done… already done done done done done”), but when Lashun Pace came onto stage… Loved it!!!!  She looks great (they all did, really) and they killed.  Glad that they got some BET exposure, too… long overdue.

Soooooooooooooo??? What did y’all think???

“Uphold Me” is one of my MANY favorite songs from The Winans.  It’s just one of those classic cuts, but… aren’t they all???

This particular video is from a Gospel Heritage conference a few years back.  Rance Allen was singing it, then Donnie McClurkin took the reprise.  He proceeded to pass the mic to Marvin Winans, then to Marvin Sapp… to Kelly Price to Ted Wynn and, finally… Karen Clark-Sheard.  GREAT stuff!

Whatd’ya think?