In Gospel...
 
Yoooooo!  What's up RocSpace?!  It's your dude, EJ Gaines from GospelPundit.com, with your weekly summary of the latest news and goings-on in the gospel industry.
 
First up: BET's Sunday Best.  The season is over and it's decided-- Y'Anna Crawley was crowned "Sunday Best" on Sunday night.  The finale featured performances from Y'Anna and Jessica Reedy, of course, but we also got to see Donald Lawrence & Co. perform their hit single, "Back II Eden."  And as if that wasn't enough, BeBe & CeCe Winans were on hand to perform their new single, "Close To You," from their long-awaited reunion album!
 
Several viewers have expressed some beef over the fact that all episodes of Sunday Best were actually pre-recorded over the course of a couple of weeks, including the finale-- they taped two different endings, one with each finalist winning, so the emotions we saw were not wholly authentic.  Still, a great show and I'm already excited for albums from BOTH of these finalists-- wonder who's signing 'em...
 
I also wanna mention The Clark Sisters real quick.  They performed on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno last week and did a great job.  They're getting a lot of attention for their re-make of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," which is featured on the recent compilation album, Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration (EMI Gospel/Vector).  They performed the same cut a few weeks ago on The View, too.  Incredible exposure!
 
Also, dunno if you've heard, but Donald Lawrence is producing Vanessa Bell Armstrong's upcoming live recording in Chicago, IL on May 21st.  Tickets to the event are free, but you'd better act FAST if you want 'em.  Call Dedry Jones at 773-493-0154 to secure tix.  It's gonna be hot, I'm sure.
 
Ok, folks, that's it 'til next time!