Sunday Best (Season 1)
Encyclopedia
Sunday Best
is a reality television series on Black Entertainment Television
.
The first season was filmed in Los Angeles, California and the winner was Crystal Aikin
.
Starting in Week 4 of the competition, the contestants complete performances in one week; however, the eliminated finalist(s) are not announced until the following episode.
The two contestants that will compete in the season's finale will be determined by the results of a vote by the at home viewers.
Approximately 1.5 Million Votes were cast in the final vote.
Jermaine Sellers was also a contestant on American Idol season 9
. He made it to the top 24, but was eliminated in the second week of the semifinal rounds alongside John Park, Michelle Delamor, Haeley Vaughn.
Sunday Best (show)
Sunday Best is a reality television Gospel singing competition series which airs on BET.Each season the show and its judges set out to find the best undiscovered gospel talent in America. Finalist compete each week until a winner is crowned...
is a reality television series on Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
.
The first season was filmed in Los Angeles, California and the winner was Crystal Aikin
Crystal Aikin
Crystal Aikin is an American gospel singer-songwriter from Tacoma, Washington, and the winner of the first season of Sunday Best. Her eponymous debut album was released on January 13, 2009, through Verity Records.- Early life and career :...
.
The Competition
During the second and third weeks of competition, the 20 finalists were divided into two groups of ten. All ten contestants in their respective groups performed one song, and five of the ten were eliminated the night of their performance.| Singing in Week 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevon Davis | Jermaine Sellers | Kenya Glover | Shari Addison | Janice Collins |
| Melody Betts | Saudia Mills | Daniel Parra | Christal Garrick | Tamara Thomas |
| Singing in Week 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queensley Felix | Corey Webb | Emily Gomez | Crystal Aikin Crystal Aikin Crystal Aikin is an American gospel singer-songwriter from Tacoma, Washington, and the winner of the first season of Sunday Best. Her eponymous debut album was released on January 13, 2009, through Verity Records.- Early life and career :... |
Tasha Collins |
| Deanna Dixon | Lawrence Williams | Juanell Johnson | Yvonne Cobbs-Bey | Charisma Sweat |
Starting in Week 4 of the competition, the contestants complete performances in one week; however, the eliminated finalist(s) are not announced until the following episode.
The two contestants that will compete in the season's finale will be determined by the results of a vote by the at home viewers.
Approximately 1.5 Million Votes were cast in the final vote.
Jermaine Sellers was also a contestant on American Idol season 9
American Idol (season 9)
The ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010 and concluded on May 26, 2010 on Fox. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi all returned as judges, and Ellen DeGeneres permanently replaced Paula Abdul as the fourth judge. Idol Gives Back also returned for the season and was...
. He made it to the top 24, but was eliminated in the second week of the semifinal rounds alongside John Park, Michelle Delamor, Haeley Vaughn.
The 20 Finalists Season 1
| Contestants | Weeks 2-3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Aikin Crystal Aikin Crystal Aikin is an American gospel singer-songwriter from Tacoma, Washington, and the winner of the first season of Sunday Best. Her eponymous debut album was released on January 13, 2009, through Verity Records.- Early life and career :... |
Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | WINNER |
| Shari Addison | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Runner up |
| Jermaine Sellers | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Eliminated | |
| Emily Gomez | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Eliminated | ||
| Tasha Collins | Moving On | Moving On | Moving On | Eliminated | |||
| Janice Collins | Moving On | Moving On | Eliminated | ||||
| Trevon Davis | Moving On | Moving On | Eliminated | ||||
| Queensley Felix | Moving On | Eliminated | |||||
| Kenya Glover | Moving On | Eliminated | |||||
| Corey Webb | Moving On | Eliminated | |||||
| Melody Betts | Eliminated | ||||||
| Yvonne Cobbs-Bey | Eliminated | ||||||
| Deanna Dixon | Eliminated | ||||||
| Christal Garrick | Eliminated | ||||||
| Juanell Johnson | Eliminated | ||||||
| Saudia Mills | Eliminated | ||||||
| Daniel Parra | Eliminated | ||||||
| Charisma Sweat | Eliminated | ||||||
| Tamara Thomas | Eliminated | ||||||
| Billy Walls | Eliminated | ||||||
Contestants songs
| Contestants | Week 2–3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevon | "Sweeping Through the City" by Shirley Caesar Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades... |
"Mary Don't You Weep" | "That's the Way God Planned It" | ||||
| Tamara | "I Need You Now" by Smokie Norful Smokie Norful Rev. W.R. "Smokie" Norful, Jr. is an American gospel singer and pianist, best known for his 2002 album, I Need You Now and his 2004 release, Nothing Without You, which won a Grammy at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 2004.-Early life:Norful, a minister who... |
||||||
| Janice | "Glorious" by Martha Munizzi | "Blessed Like That" | "Merce Mercy Me" | ||||
| Saudia | "Stand" by Donnie McClurkin Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew McClurkin, Jr. is an American gospel music singer and minister. He has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work.... |
||||||
| Shari | "You Brought the Sunshine" by The Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of four sisters:Jacky Clark Chisholm, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. A fifth sister, Denise Clark Bradford, no longer performs with the group. The Clark Sisters are the daughters of legendary... |
"Good Time" | "Sing a Song" | ||||
| Jermaine | "Tis so Sweet" by Alan Jackson | "Tomorrow" | "Keep Your Head to the Sky" | ||||
| Melody | "Reason Why We Sing" by Kirk Franklin Kirk Franklin Kirk Dwayne Franklin is an American Gospel music musician, choir director, and author, and is most notably known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew .- Early years :... |
||||||
| Kenya | "Can't Give Up Now" by Mary Mary Mary Mary Mary Mary is an American gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Tina Atkins-Campbell . The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz... |
"For Every Mountain" | |||||
| Daniel | "Mighty High" by The Mighty Clouds of Joy | ||||||
| Christal | "He Cares" Luther Barnes & The Red Budd Gospel Choir | ||||||
| Deanna | "Jesus be a fence" by Fred Hammond Fred Hammond Fred Hammond is a gospel music singer, bass guitar player, and record producer.-Musical career:Hammond has been active both as a member of the gospel performing group Commissioned, and as a solo artist... |
||||||
| Charisma | "We Fall Down" by Donnie McClurkin Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew McClurkin, Jr. is an American gospel music singer and minister. He has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work.... |
||||||
| Queensley | "Going up Yonder" | "Silver and Gold" | |||||
| Corey | "Jesus Can Work It Out" | "Look at Me" | |||||
| Yvonne | "Spirit of the Lord" by Fred Hammond Fred Hammond Fred Hammond is a gospel music singer, bass guitar player, and record producer.-Musical career:Hammond has been active both as a member of the gospel performing group Commissioned, and as a solo artist... |
||||||
| Juanell | "Coming Out of the Dark" | ||||||
| Emily | "Excellent Lord" | "Presence of the Lord is Here" | "Jesus is Love" | ||||
| Crystal | "Alabaster Box" | "Running Back to You" | "What's Going On" | ||||
| Lawrence | "Changed" | ||||||
| Tasha | "I Love the Lord" | "For Once in My Life" | "You Bring Out the Best in Me" |
Episode guide
| October 2, 2007 | In the first episode, judges held auditions in three cities: Chicago, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. They selected six finalists from each city. The nineteenth contestant was selected by voters at BET.com, and the twentieth was a Wild Card selection of the judges. The BET.com selection was Yvonne Cobbs-Bey and the Wild Card pick was Shari Addison. |
| October 9, 2007 | Episode Two opened with a group performance from all twenty contestants followed by individual performances by ten of the contestants. Moving forward from this round were Trevon Davis, Jermaine Sellers, Kenya Glover, Shari Addison, and Janice Collins. |
| October 16, 2007 | Episode Three opened with a recap of the previous episode, followed by individual performances by the last ten contestants. Moving forward from this round were Queensley Felix, Corey Webb, Emily Gomez, Crystal Aikin, and Tasha Collins. |
| October 23, 2007 | In Episode Four the top ten performers from the two previous weeks came together to compete against each other. Each performed one selection, and the seven moving forward from this round were Trevon Davis, Jermaine Sellers, Shari Addison, Janice Collins, Emily Gomez, Crystal Aikin, and Tasha Collins. |
| October 30, 2007 | In Episode Five the remaining seven finalists performed a mix of R&B and gospel hits. The five moving forward from this round were Jermaine Sellers, Shari Addison, Emily Gomez, Crystal Aikin, and Tasha Collins. |
| November 6, 2007 | In Episode Six the remaining five contestants performed classic gospel anthems. The contestants were mentored by gospel singer Tye Tribbett for this episode. The four moving forward from this round were Jermaine Sellers, Shari Addison, Emily Gomez, and Crystal Aikin. |
| November 13, 2007 | In Episode Seven the remaining contestants were coached by gospel artist Martha Munizzi Martha Munizzi -Award wins:-Award nominations:Munizzi has been nominated for Grammy, Dove, Stellar and Soul Train Awards as both a performer and songwriter. In 2006, Munizzi was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album... . Each contestant performed one selection. The three moving forward from this round were Jermaine Sellers, Shari Addison, and Crystal Aikin. |
| November 20, 2007 | Episode Eight opened with a group performance from Gospel legend Pastor Shirley Caesar Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades... and the final three hopefuls. The contestants then went on to perform two selections of their choosing. The two moving forward in this round will be determined by the voting of the home viewers. |
| November 27, 2007 | Episode Nine began with a performance from Gospel and R&B singer Stephanie Mills Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.-Career:Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times... and the three remaining contestants. Afterward, it was revealed that the eliminated contestant was Jermaine Sellers, who then performed one final selection. Later the final two contestants sang two selections of the judges choice. Finally, Stephanie Mills returned to sing another selection to close the show. |
| December 4, 2007 | The Live Season Finale opened with a performance from Kirk Franklin during which all ten finalist reunited on stage, the performance was then followed by a Video recap of the entire season. Next, Shari Addison performed her final solo selection, after which Crystal Aikin performed a solo selection. Following the finalist’s performances, gospel sensation Yolanda Adams Yolanda Adams Yolanda Adams is an American Grammy- and Dove-award-winning Yolanda Adams is an American [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]]- and [[Dove Awards|Dove]]-award-winning... performed a selection. Later, the two finalists then returned to the stage to perform a duet. Finally, the show closed with the announcement that the winner was Crystal Aikin. |