Marvin Sapp is among those featured in Verizon’s ”Celebrate Your Story” campaign.
In its effort to celebrate Black History Month and honor African-American innovation, the campaign highlights respected and gifted people sharing their stories of success.
Check it out–
Catch the success stories of other folks by clicking here.
This Saturday, December 3rd, at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm ET, gmc will air the finale of the Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound choir competition, which took place last month.
The event, taped at the Staples Center, will feature co-hosts Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans, judges Marvin Sapp, Israel Houghton and Shirley Caesar, Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton (singing a tune from their upcoming movie, Joyful Noise) and, of course, some of the nation’s best church choirs.
Tune-in!
Folks, I don’t know if you’re in the Los Angeles area, on your way there, or can get there this evening, but the Staples Center is THE PLACE to be tonight for the finale of Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet the Sound.
In addition to incredible performances from the best church choirs across the country, the audience will be treated to live performances from hosts Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans, as well as Marvin Sapp and more.
Judges for the evening are Sapp, Shirley Caesar and Israel Houghton.
Plus, Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton will perform a song from their upcoming film, Joyful Noise.
Doors open at 6pm, the show starts at 7:30pm and there are still a few tickets left. Tickets are only $10 and $15, and you know you can’t REMEMBER when you paid so little for a gospel show. 
Visit www.HowSweetTheSound.com to get ‘em.
And be there!!!
I know that the Sunday Best finale was bumped to this Sunday, but you’re gonna have to set your DVRs for one of these shows… you don’t wanna miss this.
This Sunday, September 11th at 8pm ET, Donald Lawrence will be featured on TV One for a special gospel edition of “One on One” with Cathy Hughes. The two will be chatting about the popularity of gospel music and more.
The feature is part of the ramp-up of the Donald Lawrence-hosted Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet the Sound, which kicks off in Dallas, TX on September 15th (visit their official site for details).
Watch it!
It’s no secret that Donald Lawrence is one of my favorite artists in gospel music. There aren’t many artists who can honor the rich heritage and sound of gospel, while still adding their own element to it. He’s not of this era– he’s got few contemporaries– but he’s still relevant. That’s not an easy feat.
In case you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to read my album review at gmc’s official website. That’s my official and formal deal on Donald Lawrence’s new album, YRM (Your Righteous Mind).
Here, I’ll allow myself to be a fan, just chattin’ about my favorite parts of the project… let’s go!
The a cappella intro to D. Lawrence’s remake of Commissioned’s “How Can We Sing (In A Strange Land)”… perfection. And it only gets better, as Keith Staten and Jason Nelson take turns on lead.
Listen to “Spiritual,” the latest single from this album, to hear how masterfully Donald incorporated the classic “fruits of the Spirit” segment from the Clark Sisters’ 1981 tune “Walk In the Spirit” (Twinkie was before her time, by the way). THIS type of stuff is where he shines.
If you attended any of the regional Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound events last year, you probably remember Marvin Sapp and CeCe Winans performing the Walter Hawkins classic “When the Battle Is Over” with Donald. On the album, singers Kim McFarland and Dante Hall (one of Donald’s newer full-time vocalists) tag team on it. It’s gospel like it’s s’posed to be.
There aren’t many duos like sisters Tobbi and Tommi. And they demonstrate it on their remake of Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire.” The bass line is true to the original, which is wise– this feels like a great, updated version of something we’re still jamming to anyway.
I adore the complex harmonies on the vamp of “The I AM Factor.” That, with the string arrangement… wow!
Aaaand Floyd Wilkinson’s performance of the Daryl Coley tune “II Chronicles,” is a more-than-fitting pairing. He executes it with precision and passion– definitely a fave.
Other stand-outs for me are “Second Wind” (featuring Anita Wilson) and “We Agree” (featuring Israel Houghton), the latter of which is a refreshing and unexpected pairing.
In a nutshell… buy it.
By the way, for street day (August 9, 2011), Amazon.com is selling it for $3.99!
Grab it here!
Tickets for the biggest choir competition in the nation are now on sale!
Here are the dates, cities and venues–
Thursday, 9.15.11 | Dallas, TX | American Airlines Center
Saturday, 9.17.11 | Atlanta, GA | Philips Arena
Monday, 9.19.11 | Charlotte, NC | Time Warner Cable Arena
Wednesday, 9.21.11 | Washington, DC | Verizon Center
Saturday, 9.24.11 | Detroit, MI | Joe Louis Arena
Monday, 9.26.11 | St. Louis, MO | Scottrade Center
Tuesday, 9.27.11 | Chicago, IL | United Center
Saturday, 10.1.11 | Los Angeles, CA | Staples Center
Tuesday, 10.4.11 | Oakland, CA | Oracle Arena
This really is a show you don’t wanna miss. I’ve attended annually for the past several years and there’s not a concert experience like it.
To buy tickets, visit http://www.howsweetthesound.com/contest/tour_schedule.
Hey folks, just a quick heads-up to let you know that choir registration for the biggest choir competition to sweep the nation, Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet the Sound, has been extended to this Saturday, April 30, 2011!
Visit http://www.howsweetthesound.com to enter… your choir could be crowned the “best church choir in America,” and win up to $50,000 in cash and prizes!
Attention choirs, choir directors, musicians, deacon board, church mothers, and “truste
es”…
Don’t forget to sign up for Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet the Sound nationwide choir competition. Choir registration ends on April 15th!
BUT, that’s also when your taxes are due… why not just go ahead and register today?!
Visit http://www.howsweetthesound.com to enter… your choir could be crowned the “best church choir in America,” and win up to $50,000 in cash and prizes.
Verizon Wireless has named the following cities as tour markets for its wildly popular How Sweet the Sound nationwide choir competition this year:
Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Detroit, MI
Los Angeles, CA
Oakland, CA
St. Louis, MO
Washington, DC
Dates and venues will be announced soon, but choir registrations began on January 15th!
There’s still time to enter your choir for the chance to win up to $50,000 in cash and prizes!
For more information on How Sweet the Sound, visit http://www.howsweetthesound.com.
Associate Editor Troy Lilly recaps the finale of this year’s Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound nationwide choir competition, held in Washington, DC this past Saturday, November 13th…
Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet the Sound 2010 came to a dramatic close in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, with my favorite co-hosts Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans. And don’t misconstrue my use of the word dramatic… I’m just talking pure, theatrical drama and performance.
I’d like to dedicate a new word – choir-ography – to this year’s finalists because I don’t know if I’ve seen that much “organized” movement by a choir on stage before. But lest we forget, regardless of how much jumping and swaying is going on, the vocals still have to be tight.
That’s where this year’s judges, Marvin Sapp, the beautiful Karen Clark-Sheard and part-time comedian Fred Hammond, came in. They had the unenviable task of picking a winner from the talented pack of singers. If you were there, you’ll remember that Karen was quite “appreciative” for each choir! (inside joke)
But on to the winners…
Out of more than a dozen choirs from 14 cities across the nation, Voices of Destiny from Greater Zion Church Family from the Los Angeles region was the National Overall winner of $40,000 in cash and prizes and the title of Best Church Choir in America. Not to mention, as the winning choir, Voices of Destiny will perform at the 26th annual Stellar Awards and travel to sing during the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration in 2011.
The Compton-based chorale roused the sold-out crowd in D.C. with a dynamic reinterpretation of Byron Cage’s “The Presence of the Lord is Here.” If you hadn’t heard the song before (shame on you) you probably wouldn’t have recognized it that night.
Showing impressive musical acumen, the choir led us through a series of movements that included major, minor and diminished inversions under the guidance of their director – who also happens to be the pastor! Their set wrapped with a breakout file-and-shuffle dance number (think season 5 opening of the Cosby Show). They even synchronized a dramatic “fall”. Yes, they laid out on the stage. It was very West Side Story and “grand,” as one might say. Nice job Compton. I’m sure they made the choir director Ricky Dillard, who was in the audience that night, more than proud.
Second place honors went to the Greater First Church “GFC” Chorale out of the Chicago region. They walked away with a not -to -shabby $15,000 prize. Secretly, GFC Chorale was my favorite to take the top prize, and although they didn’t, I was still pleased that they were recognized. GFC Chorale gave us a lesson in musical genres over the last century as they performed the traditional hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” What began as opera, turned into Negro spiritual, and then to jazz, ragtime, salsa and contemporary gospel before concluding in a full-out praise break. In a word, their rendition was accomplished. I mean these folks really know music, period.
My good friends over at Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church didn’t leave empty handed either. The Greater Mt. Calvary Men of Valor nabbed the V CAST People’s Choice Award which was good for a $5,000 prize and plenty of hometown pride for the large DC-area showing in the audience.
As if the 14 choirs weren’t enough, Marvin, Karen and Fred each performed songs from their most recent albums. I don’t think it hurts to say yet again, either, that my adopted auntie Karen looked absolutely amazing, even if she got stuck using the word appreciate during judging.
It was truly an evening of great music. And for me, it was also full of great conversation. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to Brandon Frazier, the hilarious director of West Atlanta Pentecostal Choir, last year’s winner of How Sweet the Sound. From what he told me, in between making me laugh unstoppably, ensures that Voices of Destiny is in for the ride of their lives.
Congratulations again to all the choirs, and I can’t wait to see Voices of Destiny at the Stellars and the Super Bowl next year. Speaking of the Super Bowl, who’s buying my ticket??? Just joking.
Did anyone else attend the finale???
