Y’Anna Crawley, winner of season 2 of BET’s Sunday Best, has debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart with her long-awaited project, The Promise.  Congratulations!!!

Also, Tamela Mann and Brian Courtney Wilson experienced some significant sales gains, jumping from #15 to #4, and from #10 to #5, respectively.

The rest of the top 10 looks like this…

#1 | Marvin Sapp – Here I Am
#2 | Y’Anna Crawley – The Promise
#3 | WOW Gospel 2010
#4 | Tamela Mann – The Master Plan
#5 | Brian Courtney Wilson – Just Love
#6 | VaShawn Mitchell – Triumphant
#7 | Various Artists (from Fred Hammond) – Life In the Word
#8 | BeBe & CeCe Winans – Still
#9 | Hezekiah Walker & LFC – Souled Out
#10 | Forever Jones – Get Ready

Did you guys grab Y’Anna’s new project yet?  What do you think of it?

What do you think of the rest of the top 10???

Troy: How are you?

Y’Anna: I’m good. How are you?

Troy: Great! It’s really good to talk to you, and not just because we’re both from the DMV [DC, Maryland, Virginia], but you are DC’s rising star.

Y’Anna: Oh, yeah?

Troy: It’s kind of like first we had Wale and now… we have Y’Anna.

Y’Anna: Wow, that’s big!

Troy: So, it’s been a little while since you won season two of BET’s Sunday Best, which kind of introduced you to the nation. How has life been since you won the title?

Y’Anna: Everything is just so awesome. I’m still pinching myself – literally! It’s humbling, it’s exciting… just everything that I ever thought it would be. God showed me a long time ago that I would touch many hearts with my voice. And now it’s like, “Wow, God…” Everything that you told me and showed me is right here.

Troy: And now, the release of your debut album, which we’ve been waiting for eagerly. How exciting or terrifying is that?

Y’Anna: It’s really exciting. Just to have my own… like finally it’s my turn. I’ve been singing professionally since I was twelve, backing up people like Chrisette Michele, Raheem DeVaughn – even Aretha Franklin and Natalie Cole throughout high school – and just being in the background for so long, and now I’m in the forefront. I’m so blessed and it’s a wonderful feeling

Troy: The Promise is the title of your debut album.  What does that mean to you and what’s the message you’re trying to convey with your first project?

Y’Anna: The message I’m really trying to convey is that no matter how many times you get knocked down, if you have a passion for something God has given you and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen, remember to stand on His word. Remember to stand on God’s promises always, because He’ll never give it to you if He’s not going to make it come to fruition. God is a man of his word. He really is.

Troy: The first single from the album was “Grandma’s Hands,” which became a fan favorite from your Sunday Best performances. The current single is the title track, “The Promise,” so tell me, how is it different lyrically and stylistically from what we’re used to hearing you sing?

Y’Anna: Like you said “Grandma’s Hands” was kind of a fan favorite and, since it was so popular on the show, they decided to make that the first single. It’s more southern and soulful, but the lyrics of “The Promise” are more uplifting, telling you to persevere and hold on to God’s promises.

Musically, “The Promise” is a crossover, more pop and mainstream than southern soul. And it’s just so befitting, with my life story and everything I’ve gone through. It’s just perfect.

Troy: So “The Promise” has a pop or crossover appeal to it. But you’ve got a very dynamic voice – sometimes sounds like Aretha Franklin and other greats. What other styles did you experiment with on the album?

Y’Anna: I’m trying to give everybody a variety. I got a little hip hop on there, if you like Mary J. – well Mary J. Blige is hip hop I guess, huh?

Troy: Right!

Y’Anna: But I got a little dance tune on there.

Troy: Wow.

Y’Anna: Because there’s so many variations to my voice, I’m just trying to give everybody something so they can say “ok, she’s not just a down home church singer, like she can do everything.” And that’s really what I was trying to capture.

Troy: Did you try anything jazzy or bluesy?

Y’Anna: Well, I did! Actually I did “Sweet Love” over, but it didn’t make the album. But it’s cool ‘cause I’m gonna leak it out some type of way!

Troy: Please, please do! And you can forward me a copy as soon as you do because my parents tell me that I was conceived to Anita Baker!

Y’Anna: Uh oh! My mother played it every day, all day, so Anita Baker is one of my favorite artists.

Troy: Wow, yeah… she’s definitely on my top list as well.

Y’Anna: Yeah.

Troy: There’s one particular song on the album I want to ask you about called “Stronger.” On that song you talk about becoming pregnant at 17 and being an unwed mother. How was it to address such a personal and pivotal moment in your life?

Y’Anna: All songs are birthed out of experience, birthed out of pain, birthed out of joy, or whatever the songwriter has gone through. We were sitting down listening to the track, me and Buster Brown, and I wanted to talk about my life, how I became pregnant and thought the man was going to be husband, but I didn’t get the ring nor the man.

I still had to push through, and everything that happened at that moment made me sad, but now it has made me stronger.

Troy: Yes.

Y’Anna: So we just put all of that into a song. And I believe that’s going to be one of the songs that’s going to really cross over. I’m trying to get Drake to be on it… come on somebody, give me a remix!

Troy: Oh really?

Y’Anna: I believe it. Like really, get me a conscious rapper on the beginning because so many people can relate to it.

Troy: Ok!

Y’Anna: It may not be the same situation, but maybe somebody went through an abusive relationship or an abusive home situation. Whatever you go through only makes you stronger, so you can look back at it and say, “God, I got through that!”

Troy: The concept of “the promise” is not only the theme of your music, but it also expands to your other endeavors, particularly in the lives of young women. Tell me more about that.

Y’Anna: Yes. My [The] Promise Foundation is something that’s very dear to my heart. It’s a safe haven for women to come and talk, and discuss things. We’re going to uplift them and teach them ethics – like beauty ethics – teach them how to look good and dress so they won’t go on thinking that wearing less gets you more attention.

And we’re also going to do scholarships, especially for the young ones that have kids, so they can go back to school if they want to. I was once there so I just want to give back in all of the areas of my life that I grew.

Troy: Wow. That’s great.

Y’Anna: Yes, yes.

Troy: You also have two sons and you’re trying to help young men as well with Mama’s Boys.

Y’Anna: Well, I have my two sons and I’m a single mom. Their dads are in their lives, but I’m not married to them so they don’t see them every day, and it can be hard for a woman to raise boys into men. But there’s nothing like a man being in a young boy’s life.

So I want to bring in some mentors to kind of guide them, have candid talks with them, field trips. And we also want to provide some sort of scholarship for them as well, and I know that if God sees that I’m trying to give back, He’ll provide.

Troy: I’m sure He will as well, and I’m really excited about everything that you’re doing.

Y’Anna: Thank you!

Troy: I wish you the best. And you take care!

Y’Anna: You too!

*     *     *

What do you think, folks?  Did you guys grab Y’Anna’s new project, The Promise, this week?  What do you think of it?

Let us know!

I’m already aware that you good people are about to let the powers that be– whoever they may be– HAVE it.  But, here goes…

Word has it that the debut album from Y’Anna Crawley, the winner of last season’s Sunday Best on BET, has been pushed back to an August 24 release date.  The project, titled The Promise, was to be released on July 13 on Imago Dei/Universal, the new label venture by former Verity president Max Siegel.

I had already been feelin’ some kinda way about the album coming out after the new Sunday Best winner would be crowned (word has it that the project has actually been complete for MONTHS), but I was willing to accept a July 13th release…

This here?  *folds arms in protest* Gimme dat music!

Okay, I’m done venting.  But I know you’re not.  Let’s hear it– POLITELY.

Troy Lilly has HELD IT DOWN for the past several weeks, writing awesome recap after awesome recap of BET’s nationwide talent competition Sunday Best.  What better way to discuss the season finale at GospelPundit.com than in Troy’s own words?  Without any delay, here’s Troy Lilly…

*     *     *

It’s official – the people have spoken and the results are in.

LeAndria Johnson is the winner of BET’s Sunday Best for season three. Thousands from around the country auditioned, but in the end there could be only one. She won the title after viewers like you took to the Web and phone lines, casting votes online and via telephone and text.

She will receive a national recording contract and a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO.

But she didn’t have time to get caught up in celebrating. Immediately after she was named the winner, LeAndria debuted her first original song, “I Shall Leap Into My Destiny.” Sounds like she’s ready to leap forth into her new recording career.

LeAndria beat out the unlikeliest Sunday Best contestant yet, 79-year-old Elder Goldwire McLendon. Elder McLendon defied the myth that you have to be young to win a singing competition, and that age works against you. He showed that his seven decades of experience only helped him. That, and the anointing.

The show was awesome, too. The theme for the evening was “seasons.” Host Kirk Franklin said there’s a time for weeping. “A time to weep a time to laugh and a time to sing.” 

Representing the East Coast, Bishop Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir opened the finale with their ubiquitous choir-favorite “Souled Out.” Choir members appeared in the audience and ran up on stage with Hezekiah Walker. They really got the house rockin’.

Each of the contestants performed a medley of songs that comprised their best showing during the competition. 

LeAndria Johnson sang, “I Love the Lord,” “He Was There All the Time,” and “In the Midst of It All.” 

Asked why she sings they way she does, LeAndria simply answered, “pain!” Before coming to Sunday Best she lost her house. In the audition she wore flip-flops and socks because that’s all she could find. She said at one point she had chosen death over life. But one song got her through: Yolanda Adams’ “In the Midst of It All. How ironic that she also sang it during the show. Yolanda was honored and said she feels the pain, but more importantly, the victory of LeAndria.

 Elder Goldwire McLendon began singing a few bars of  “Yes, Jesus Loves Me” with barely any music, and moved right into “The Battle Is The Lord’s,” another Yolanda song. He finished up with a characteristically energetic rendition of “He’s Keeping Me Alive.”

 One week before Elder McLendon auditioned for Sunday Best he heard God say he was moving into a new season of his life. “God will set you up if you stay in His will,” Elder McLendon said. Throughout the competition, it seemed like Elder McLendon had been set up by God to win. And he was certainly a worthy contender. Judge Tina Campbell said, “every time I experience you I experience the God that you love and live for.

Season Two mentor Donald Lawrence returned with a few special guests to showcase his quintessential hits. Season two contestants, Jessica Reedy and Latice Crawford, sang “Seasons,” and “Encourage Yourself” respectively. And Season Two winner, Y’Anna Crawley, sang a stripped-down version of “The Blessing of Abraham.” Together, they did a few bars of “Let the Word Do the Work.”

 But no one could have prepared for the special treat that came next.

God answered my personal prayer and this year’s mentor, Kim Burrell, FINALLY performed. And the wait was so worth it. She remixed “Oh, Lord” from her Everlasting Life album, freestyling the words up to recognize Sunday Best contestants Martha Buries, Dathan Thigpen, Tiffany Carlin-Laird and Orlando Wright. Her musical acumen is undeniable and reaches across so many genres. I would go as far to say she’s the finest gospel-jazz singer of our time.

In addition to the prizes given to the winner and runner-up, Kirk presented a generous donation of $30,000 on behalf of BET to the New Orleans’s Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. New Orleans native and saxophonist Calvin Johnson was the featured local musician this week. 

Season three of Sunday Best will go down in the books as a competition that redefined what a contestant should look like. It also showed, yet again, that the power of gospel music has no limit, and the healing power can often touch the person who sings it as much as those who hear it.

LeAndria Johnson’s win this year was a triumph over the competition, but equally a triumph in her personal life. As Kim Burrell warned her, she’ll have to start preparing for life as LeAndria “after the fact.”

*     *     *

Great recap, Troy.  Thanks!

NOW, what are we gonna do on Sunday evenings?!

Leave a comment and lemme know what you folks liked/disliked about the season finale!  And what do you think about how it all turned out?!

Yesterday, BET’s Sunday Best transitioned from auditions to competition in the anticipated first-week of vocal throwdowns.  This week, 10 of the 20 finalists were commissioned to sing songs recorded by judges Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams.

Before they got started, though, the show opened with a nice medley of “Are You Listening” (Kirk Franklin’s Haiti Relief song) and Donnie McClurkin’s “Ooh Child.”  The former featured vocal performances from McClurkin, Isaac Carree, Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell and Tina Campbell. The performance also included the contestants singing BGVs.

The end of the show, albeit incredibly short, featured Y’Anna Crawley singing her new single, “Grandma’s Hands.”  She looked and sounded great, but I wish it hadn’t been cut short… even Y’Anna expressed some initial shock over it on her Twitter page.  Seems to me, they coulda cut out some of the choir oohin’ and aahin’ at the top of the show…

Oh, and I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t miss Erica Campbell at the judges’ table.  Yolanda’s doing a good job, but I miss the innate chemistry between Erica & Tina.

Okay, on to my competition commentaries:

Jonte Thomas – “Just A Prayer Away”
I loved the jazzy arrangement of this tune. It’s one of my faves from Yolanda, so I wouldn’t encourage anyone to touch it, but Jonte did it well. She’ll have to demonstrate more of her own unique style to stand against some of the other competitors, but she’s got the chops, for sure.

LeAndria Johnson – “In The Midst Of It All”
That woman is just dope and we all know it.  Not only did she demolish her vocal like a seasoned professional, she was believable and captivating because of her passion and delivery.  She’s a natural at this and she just flat-out SINGS.

Robert Hatcher - “What About The Children?”
He’s got a great, clear tone with an old-skool crooner richness to it. The performance was a little too ‘Barry Manilow‘ to me, but he’s got a great voice– I wanna hear more from him.  Hopefully, we’ll get to see more of his style come out on the next song he does.

Tawanna Tarvin – “I’ll Trust You”
In my opinion, it was a bad song choice.  And I don’t say that because she can’t do it, but because time restrictions made her draw the song to a climax before we knew it was coming.  Donnie finessed that song so that, by the time it reached its peak, we were drawn in and ready to go.  Tawanna’s arrangement (not her fault, in my opinion) did not allow for that build-up, so it felt kinda Broadway-ish.

Davon Fleming – “We Fall Down”
Dude is kinda fresh to me.  He needs to know when to blaze with the falsetto and when to leave it in the natural (so, he’ll also have to pay attention to the lower register so that he has control of his tricks down there, too), but I really like him.  And that says a lot because I don’t EVER want to hear anyone but Donnie McClurkin sing “We Fall Down” (I think few can do it well)– he’s got potential, for sure.

Quiana Pettigrew – “Great Is Your Mercy”
I think I wasn’t a fan of the arrangement. It had a bossa nova vibe to it, but it didn’t lend itself to showcasing her vocals well.  I’m sure she can do it, but the arrangement made it tough to work it.  The vocal was a bit unfocused and, though she can definitely sing, I don’t know that she knew what to do with the song.

Franklin Davis – “I Believe I Can Fly”
Again, wasn’t too thrilled with it, but I believe it was because of the urban/Caribbean arrangement that they put on the song.  It kinda distracted me from what he was doing, which is unfortunate because I can recall the odd musical arrangement better than I can recall his vocal performance.  That’s not good.

Funmi Oduyemi – “Open My Heart”
It was just not okay.  But it’s not her fault, exclusively.  We pulled a Nigerian singer to the States, expecting her to sing in a way that would appeal to the U.S. gospel industry and the musical palettes within it.  If it were an easy task, someone would have done it by now.  I think it’s a tall order and she just didn’t measure up on this one.  But she’s got a great spirit and demeanor– I really do want the best for her.  I just don’t think it’s in the U.S. gospel marketplace.

Durward Davis – “Victory Chant”
This was a hard song to sing in terms of showcasing one’s talent– it’s really a call-and-response praise & worship song, which wouldn’t be an obvious choice for a vocal competition.  That said, he did a VERY good job of delivering it… so much so that I wanted him to keep going!  I liked Durward’s performance a lot.  Definitely wanna see more.

Elder Goldwire McLendon – “The Battle Is The Lord’s”
Aaaaand I’m SOLD.  I don’t think I need to see this through– he’s my pick.  He’s who I want an album from.  Someone else can give one, too, but I want Elder McLendon’s ministry in the mix right now.  He’s got a Pop Winans kind of vibe to him that is endearing and familiar… I want him to be a part of the fabric of our industry.  I want him to impart into the younger generation.  I want him to… I enjoyed him.  Thoroughly.

And that’s THAT.  Okay, folks… lemme know what you thought of the show and lemme know what you think of my recap.  You think it’s baloney, don’t you?  No, wait… you wholeheartedly agree, don’t you?

Talk to me!

EXCLUSIVE!!!

You heard her sing it on BET’s Sunday Best last year and it’s the first single from her debut album, The Promise (in stores July 13th).  No need for much intro…

The single will be hitting radio next week, but before it does, you know how I tend to do…

I’ve got your first listen to Y’Anna Crawley’s “Grandma’s Hands” on the PunditPlayer.

Click here to check it out!!!

And tell me what you think!!!

I’m just sayin’… the new music from Y’Anna Crawley is BANGIN’.

I’ve been fortunate enough to hear some new music from it, including some a track that she recorded with PAJAM (“Blessed”) that is going to knock your holy ghost socks off.

The project is a blend of some jazzy tunes, some urban tunes, but altogether GREAT music.  I can work out to some of it, ride with the windows down to some of it and fake-squall in my office to some of it.  What more do you need?! LOL

The project doesn’t drop until July 13th, but I just wanted to let you guys know– it’s gonna be worth the wait.

In the meantime, peep the artwork for the first single, “Grandma’s Hands.”  The track will be available for purchase on iTunes on May 4th!

More comin’ soon…

The second week of BET’s Sunday Best continued with auditions in Detroit.  I dunno if they simply chose to edit out the incredible performances, but… I don’t think I saw much that excited me.

At the judges table, Erica & Tina Campbell (Mary Mary) joined Donnie McClurkin this week.  They were not giving any freebies, and I’m glad about it.  Just cuz you can sing doesn’t mean you can be an artist.

Tina had some GREAT one-liners… my favorite was probably, to the woman who sang ”I Know I’ve Been Changed,” Tina responded “DEFINITELY take that to the Black History Program.”

I have two favorites from the night.  One was Missy, the soft-spoken, but confidently sung young lady from the UK.  The second was Brian Smith (the last contestant).  He and I used to sing together (along with Jermaine Sellers) in Walt Whitman & The Soul Children Of Chicago.  I wonder if this means that I’ve gotta audition for Sunday Best next year…

Anyway, I’m already excited for the episodes with the finalists in New Orleans (they’re taping now and some of the guest performers include Y’Anna Crawley and J Moss).  That’s when the gettin’ gets good.

What did you think of the show?

Word has it that Y’Anna Crawley, last season’s winner of BET’s Sunday Best, will be releasing her debut album on July 13th.

Her first single will be “Grandma’s Hands,” the same tune that many say solidified her title on Sunday Best last year, and will be released on May 4th.

Who’s lookin’ forward to the album from Y’Anna???

*waving my own hand, emphatically*

Tonight, The Mo’Nique Show on BET will feature Tina Campbell of Mary Mary (Erica’s due any day and can’t be travelin’ all willy nilly), Y’Anna Crawley and Christian funny-man Jonathan Slocumb.

Should be a grrrrrreat show.  I’m grateful to Mo’Nique (and her producers) for providing so many mainstream opps for gospel folks.  Even Shirley Caesar will be on soon…

The show airs at 11pm ET/10pm CST on BET.

Who’s tuning in tonight???