BET’s Sunday Best returned this summer after a four-year hiatus and is set to crown the next gospel superstar.
Last Sunday, Grammy-Award winning singer Fantasia performed her new single “Looking For You,” from her upcoming album Sketchbook, for the first time. After the performance, she joined the judge’s panel for an evening that ended with Joshua Copeland and Melvin Crispell, III as the last two contestants standing in the series.
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Surprises in Store
As a part of the competition, both contestants performed twice. The first challenge was to choose a personal song to perform but each of them were surprised by Sunday Best host Kirk Franklin who brought a close family member motivate the singers. Joshua chose “I’m Getting Ready” by Tasha Cobbs and Melvin chose Hezekiah Walker’s “Wonderful Is Your Name,” a song that was penned by his late father.
Following that, both artists performed original songs created by a team that featured Grammy-nominated hitmaker Makeba Riddick-Woods and Grammy-winning gospel creator Aaron Lindsey. The products of the sessions were Joshua Copeland’s “Anything is Possible” and Melvin Crispell III’s “Not The End of Your Story.” Both singles were produced by Aaron Lindsey with co-production credits with Myron Butler.
Both songs are now available courtesy of RCA Inspiration who released them as a partnership with BET to spotlight the music from Sunday Best. Both can be found on popular streaming services.
The ninth season of the series will conclude as a winner is chosen between finalists Copeland and Crispell. Along with naming the winner, the season finale will have performances from Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Vashawn Mitchell, Kelly Price, and Johnathan McReynolds and Erica Campbell who will debut their new single “Praying & Believing.”
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The winner will receive a recording contract with RCA Inspiration and a cash prize of $50,000 as well as the “Sunday Best” title.
The finale episode of Sunday Best airs on BET Sunday, August 25 at 8:00 ET/PT. More updates regarding the series can be found on BET.com/SundayBest.