Kelly Price, Jonathan McReynolds and Erica Campbell behind the scenes of BET’s “Sunday Best” episode 1003. (Photo: Shaina Walker/BET)
Returning to BET for season 10 is America’s most inspirational singing competition, “Sunday Best,” on Sunday, July 5th at 8/7C. Season 10 welcomes back GRAMMY®-winning music legend Kirk Franklin as host; returning as judges are GRAMMY® winning songstress & host of “Get Up Mornings,” Erica Campbell, GRAMMY® nominated artist & star of BET’s “American Soul” Kelly Price and GRAMMY® nominated & multiple Stellar Award-winning artist Jonathan McReynolds.
Kicking off in Sunday Best fashion, the series returned from Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, the first two episodes of season 10 begin with the contestants having to show their true talent, with no smoke and mirrors, by performing acapella with no band support, as the judges narrow the field from 20 to the top 10. The top 20 contestants are:
- Armyia Bryant – Vienna, GA
- Ashling Cole – El Sobrante, CA
- Niiella Coffie – London, England
- Edward “Busta” Fields – Philadelphia, PA
- Jada Spight – Buffalo, NY
- Jamal Roberts – Meridian, MS
- John Houston Smith – Detroit, MI
- Kay Racquel – Baton Rouge, LA
- Lonnie Banks – Charlotte, NC
- MarQuis Harris – Emporia, VA
- Mikaela Brown – Austell, GA
- Nicole Gregory – Kansas City, MO
- O’Livya Walker – Millington, TN
- Roman Collins – Hawthorne, CA
- Stephanie Summers – Colorado Springs, CO
- Sterlin Hill – Greenwood, SC
- Takira Rogers – Robbins, IL
- Tonyce Hollis – Toledo, Ohio
- Tyree Miller – Philadelphia, PA
- Veronica Stephens – Groveland, FL
In light of the of COVID-19 pandemic and in an effort to keep the shows judges, contestants and crew safe – new and innovative technology, techniques and artist-generated content were used to complete production of episodes four through eight of season 10 – allowing the viewing audience to join in on weekly praise & worship during the time when America needs it most.
Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment (BET Awards, The New Edition Story), and Dionne Harmon (The Bobby Brown Story, Hip Hop Squares) serve as executive producers of season ten of Sunday Best along with executive producer and showrunner Jeannae Rouzan-Clay (Dear Mama, Black Girls Rock!), and Torrence Glenn (Celebration Of Gospel, Trumpet Awards) is co-executive producer.
Season 10 auditions were previously held earlier this year in Atlanta, GA at The House of Hope. The season 10 winner will receive a recording contract with RCA Inspiration, a cash prize of $50,000 and the title “Sunday Best.”
For updates and more information about “Sunday Best”, please visit BET.com/SundayBest. Join the conversation on social media by logging on to our social media platforms using the hashtag: #BETSundayBest.
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ABOUT BET
BET, a subsidiary of Viacom CBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks – BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.
ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT
Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran, NAACP Image® Award winner and Emmy® Award nominee Jesse Collins. For over a decade, the company has played an integral role in producing some of television’s most memorable moments in music entertainment. JCE has a multi-year overall agreement with VIACOMCBS cable networks for its television and film projects across all platforms — including BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1 on the television side. On the theatrical film side, the company also has a first look on JCE’s film development projects which could include Viacom’s film entities such as Paramount Players. The company produced the critically acclaimed biopic The New Edition Story, the story on the boy band that aired as a 3-part mini-series and posted record ratings for BET and attracted nearly 30 million viewers. It was followed by The Bobby Brown Story, which chronicled the talented but troubled singer’s exit from the popular ’80s boy band through his solo success, and was the highest rated non-tentpole program on the network since The New Edition Story. The next mini-series for JCE is Uptown, a 3-part original scripted miniseries for BET that will chronicle the story of producer Andre Harrell’s iconic record label, Uptown Records. The company’s current scripted TV series is American Soul, the story about the struggle to make the dream of Soul Train, the first nationally-syndicated Black music show, come true. It ended its first season as the #1 new cable scripted drama for African Americans 18-49 and its second season debuted in May 2020. Previously, JCE produced BET’s hit TV series Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart that ran for 5 seasons. On the unscripted side, JCE produces annual live specials — the BET Awards, Soul Train Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Past credits include Black Girls Rock!, UNCF’s An Evening of Stars, ABFF Honors, BET Honors, Love & Happiness: An Obama Farewell, VH1’s Dear Mama, HBO’s Amanda Seales I Be Knowin;’ Netflix’s Def Comedy Jam 25 and Leslie Jones: Time Machine. JCE’s game shows include VH1’s Hip Hop Squares with Ice Cube and CMT’s Nashville Squares. Its music competition series on BET, Sunday Best is now in its 10th season and Netflix’s Rhythm & Flow featuring judges Tip “T.I.” Harris, Cardi B and Chance the Rapper will soon begin production on its second season that will air in 2021. Collins is also a producer for The Grammy Awards. He was on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop 100 Power Players list, has been featured on the cover of Vibe magazine and in numerous publications including Ebony magazine’s Power 100 issue. Go to http://www.jessecollinsent.com/ for more information on the company.
ABOUT TYLER PERRY STUDIOS
Tyler Perry Studios is a state-of-the-art film and television production facility founded in 2006 by actor, producer, filmmaker, playwright, and philanthropist Tyler Perry. Located in Atlanta, Georgia on the historic grounds of the former Fort McPherson army base, the new 330-acre campus is one of the largest production studios in the country. It boasts a variety of shooting locations including 40 buildings on the national register of historic places, 12 purpose-built sound stages, 200 acres of green space and an expansive backlot.
