(NEW YORK, NY) – August 19, 2019 –After making a triumphant return from its four-year hiatus earlier this summer, BET’s inspirational singing competition, “Sunday Best,” moves closer to crowning a new gospel superstar. Last night, the Grammy Award-winning songstress, Fantasia heated up the stage with a debut performance of “Looking For You,” from her forthcoming album Sketchbook. She later joined the judge’s panel, kicking off an emotional night full of surprises which ended with Joshua Copeland and Melvin Crispell, III moving forward to the finale episode airing on August 25, 2019 at 8PM ET/PT. Fans are now encouraged to vote for their favorite contestant at: BET.com/VoteSundayBest.
Joshua Copeland is a loving family man. The PK (Pastor/Preacher’s kid) and married father of two puts his love for family at the forefront of everything he does. A preacher himself, Joshua is known for his ability to masterfully blend both of his callings to literally preach the gospel while singing it. Having unsuccessfully auditioned for the show in past seasons, he is extremely grateful to have made it this far in the competition. Joshua humbly acknowledges that being on Sunday Best isn’t just about him. He hopes that winning Sunday Best will not only make his parents proud but will also inspire his children and others like him that anything is possible.
Melvin Crispell III hails from a rich musical legacy. His father, world-renowned musician Melvin Crispell, Jr. composed and played on award-winning songs for some of gospel music’s biggest artists. His mother, Tunesha Crispell was a celebrated gospel singer whose voice was featured on several well-known choir recordings along with a critically acclaimed solo project. With the sudden death of his father at 16 followed by the untimely demise of his mother at 18, Melvin was able to overcome through his relationship with God and music and that the trauma was not the end of his story. Melvin hopes that winning Sunday Best will allow him to use his dynamic voice to lead others to a closer relationship with God and to carry on his family’s legacy while also creating his own.
Challenged with connecting with their inner selves this week, each contestant had to perform twice. For the first performance, the contestants chose a personal song and Kirk surprised them with a close family member for motivation. Joshua selected Tasha Cobbs’ “I’m getting Ready,” while Melvin, performed Hezekiah Walker’s “Wonderful Is Your Name,” which was written by his late father Melvin Crispell II.
For their second performance of the night, the competitors performed original songs created by a team of heavy hitters, including GRAMMY®-nominated mega-hit wonder Makeba Riddick-Woods (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Tamar Braxton, Koryn Hawthorne) and six-time GRAMMY®-winning powerhouse Aaron Lindsey (Israel Houghton, Marvin Sapp, Kenny Lattimore, Smokie Norful). What resulted was two awe-inspiring gospel singles “Anything is Possible” by Joshua Copeland and “Not The End of Your Story,” by Melvin Crispell III; both songs featured production by Lindsey and were co-produced by GRAMMY®-winner Myron Butler.
Today, RCA Inspiration releases these two new songs, as the first installment of their partnership with BET to spotlight new music from the hit gospel competition series. Both songs are now available at digital music providers.
The season 9 winner will receive a recording contract with RCA Inspiration, a cash prize of $50,000 and the title “Sunday Best.” BET will crown the season 9 Sunday Best winner on Sunday, August 25th at 8:00PM ET/PT. The finale episode will feature special performances from GRAMMY Award®-winner Tasha Cobbs Leonard, multiple Stellar Award-winner VaShawn Mitchell. Fans will also see soul stirring performances from judges Jonathan McReynolds, Kelly Price, and Erica Campbell debuting her new single “Praying & Believing.”
For updates and more information about “SUNDAY BEST”, please visit BET.com/SundayBest. Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag: #BETSundayBest.
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