Singers head to Atlanta for final rounds of the gospel singing competition
http://www.eurweb.com/story.cfm?id=51712

     *The top twenty contestants have been chosen to represent season 2 of BET'S Gospel singing competition Sunday Best. Thousands were turned away from 3 cities -Chicago, Atlanta and DC--before judges narrowed the pool down to an elite few who will chase their dreams of stardom to the Sunday Best stage in Atlanta.

     Now it gets real for the contestants who will face the discerning criticism of the Grammy judges (BeBe Winans and Erica and Tina Campbell of Mary Mary) and the American people. The top 5 contenders will sing for the chance to take their musical gifts to the masses with a national recording contract.

     Based on reality television trends, it's anybody's game to "win." Last year's grand prize winner Crystal Aiken and the runner up Shari Addison both received recording deals.  Making the top 5 wasn't so bad either for Jermaine Sellars who appears on BET's 106 & Gospel or Emily Gomez who is working on a solo album.

     From the new stage to the prize package including a luxury vehicle (2009 Lincoln SKX) Sunday Best strikes me as a more polished production overall And considering the droves of good singers that did not make the cut, I anticipate an intense competition. 

     These finalists are not the average church singers or talent search contestants. Among them a multilingual, classically trained tenor, a multi-octave vocalist who has sung background for Kurt Carr, Carolyn Johnson White Howard University Gospel Choir Director Clifton Ross, III and the sweet, yet soulful voice of a bible-toting Senorita named Sharon L. Gomez.

     Hosted by Kirk Franklin, Sunday Best airs at 9:00 p.m. (E/P) on Sundays.

The Sunday Best Season 2 Top 20 are:

Audrey Lewis - Chicago, Illinois
Camille Betton - Columbus, OH
Carolyn Johnson White - Valencia, CA
Cekoya Burch - Atlanta, GA
Clifton Ross III - Hyattsville, MD
Crystal Holland - University Park, IL
Dontavies Boatwright- Jacksonville, FL
Ian J. Knighton- Sacramento, CA
Jonathan Johnson - Louisville, KY
Jessica Ready - Saginaw, MI
John H. McClure, Jr - Owings Mil, MD
Kalind Haynes, Chicago, IL
Maurice Griffins- Chicago, IL
Latice Crawford- St Albans, NY
Peter Robinson- Bladensburg, MD
Sharon L. Gomez - Reislerstown, MD
Tammy Turner - Jessup, MD
Y'Anna Crawley - Mt. Rainier, MD
Zebulon Ellis - East Point, GZ
Jeff Spain - Atlanta, GA