Bullock joins Kirk Franklin’s Fearless Tour as special guest artist, along with Isaac Carree, Deon Kipping and Jason Nelson. The tour starts on Thursday, November 3, at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, OK (see tour dates below). Bullock will perform a 15 minute set and join Franklin as one of his featured vocalists.
Thank You features new studio recordings of jazz infused and neo-soul inspired interpretations of some of Bullock’s most memorable songs performed on Sunday Best. The EP is produced by Eric Dawkins for E Flat Entertainment. The first single, Walter Hawkins’ “Thank You Lord,” will impact gospel radio in early November. Other songs on the EP include Kurt Carr’s “For Every Mountain;” J. Moss’ “We Must Praise,” Asaph A. Ward and Dorinda Clark Cole’s “If It Had Not Been For the Lord,” Chris Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God, the Negro spiritual, “A City Called Heaven,” and Richard Smallwood’s “Secret Place,” the song she performed during the finale of season 4.
“Amber is amazingly talented,” said Mathew Knowles, founder, President and CEO of Music World Entertainment. “We just heard her finished CD and it’s fantastic. She just laid the blueprint for a new sound in gospel music. The Music World team and I are looking forward to working with Amber, to bring her unique sound and style to music lovers around the globe.” As Bullock prepares for the release of her debut project and tour, she looks forward to the opportunity to promote her CD and meet the fans who have supported her on Sunday Best. “I am thankful, grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to share my passion and dream with the world,” said Bullock. “Sunday Best was a life-changing experience, and this CD, which is the result of a great team of people, just takes the blessing to the next level.”
Bullock, the St. Louis, Missouri native and single mother of two-year old Amya, topped a talented field of singers to win BET’s 2011 Sunday Best crown. Bullock is the second artist to be released on Knowles’ Music World Gospel label under the Sunday Best franchise. She also is featured in a duet performance of “Silent Night,” with labelmate and Sunday Best Season 3 winner Le’Andria Johnson on her forthcoming holiday project, Christmas Best, to be released in stores on November 21.
Bullock captured the hearts of millions on the #1 rated weekly gospel music competition show Sunday Best. Over 2 million viewers tuned in to watch the Sunday Best finale. Season 4 ranks as the #1 telecast in BET franchise history and the #1 cable competition show and Sunday’s #1 cable series among blacks in 2011.
Sunday Best mentor, Kim Burrell, said “Amber Bullock has a voice that can take her from the church to the top of the charts.” The show judges all echoed her sentiments about Bullock’s extraordinary talent. “She’s amazing from top to bottom,” say Erica Campbell of Mary Mary. “She’s the real deal…A stylist,” said Donnie McClurkin; and Tina Campbell of Mary Mary concluded, “Sunday Best ain’t never seen nothing like that.”
Prior to her Sunday Best fame, Bullock was living and working in Dallas, where she had moved to be with her mom. Shortly after moving to Dallas, Bullock and her daughter were in a bad car accident that totaled her car. After another unfortunate incident, Bullock ended up sleeping on the floor in the house of a co-worker who had six children. She was also unable to get Amya into a daycare center. Life had become so difficult for Bullock at that point that she had to send her daughter to live with her father. Once her daughter was with her father, it was difficult to see her regularly without a car, which made her life even more challenging. Praying for a blessing, Bullock decided to attend the last day of Sunday Best auditions at the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas. Near the end of the day, word had spread among the staff and other contestants that the lady with the “Red Feather Earrings” had the “most amazing voice and the slickest runs.” Bullock recalls praying “Lord let your will be done.” The rest is history.
During her earlier career, Bullock performed with a variety of recording artists, professional choirs and ensembles. She sang with Kirk Franklin, Myron Bulter & Levi, Troy Sneed and Youth for Christ, Meaghan Williams, and Oscar Williams. She performed with Perfected Praise in a Christmas theatre production in Italy. She also was a member of the gospel choir Changed, under the direction of Sean Tillery, based in Baltimore, MD.