Chicago Stands and Delivers
Chi-towwwwwwnnnnnnnnn!!!!!! Whoa!!! I am thoroughly impressed, I must say. I was so excited about tonight’s show that I was in place and ready to go way before my normal call time. I don’t know; there’s just something about Chicago. Plus, it’s Donald Lawrence’s city of residence and there was just an extra bit of excitement in the air. I wanted to be ready for what Chicago would bring to Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet the Sound, “The Search for the Best Church Choir in America!”
I could hear the reverberation of the 11,728 member audience as they waited for the start of the show. There was no last minute rush to the seats tonight. Chicago was packed into The United Center and ready to get it started! A completely sold out show!
The anticipation was thick as the opening video montage began and when host Donald Lawrence took to the stage, the crowd erupted in a deafening roar. Oh, Donald was so on point tonight! You could tell that he was happy to be home and the crowd was loving it. “Let the Word Do the Work” proved to be another electrifying opening! The crowd remained hyped through my welcome and when Donald introduced the judges, the energy built even more. Tonight we had resident judge Marvin Sapp, guest judges included, the incredible Dorinda Clark Cole and a crowd favorite, host of Chicago’s No. 1 Gospel radio show, John Hannah.
Ok, so Chicago is no joke. Not to be played with. The first choir in the small choir category, J.A.M., from Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church made that evident. Their unique arrangement of “It is Well With My Soul” thoroughly showed off their vocal ability, control and stage presence, causing Marvin Sapp to call the whole presentation “unbelievable.” Pastor John Hannah said, “You took me through different emotional changes. You were smiley, then you went deep, then you [the director] broke out in the robot.” It’s true, she did! They were so great.
The next choir, Praise Unlimited, from the Youth Center Church of God in Christ brought more than just youthful energy - they could sing! They performed “Souled Out” and did a fantastic job. The young choir director had so much energy, that guest Judge John Hannah said he needed medication! Dorinda loved their enthusiasm and Marvin thought they were very creative.
Third was Redeem Voices of Victory from Redeem Church of God in Christ, singing “Oh How I Love Jesus”. This choir had such a rich full sound. The choir and the arrangement had such soul and the band was stinking incredible. The soloist could really sing and we were told during judging that she had just been released from the hospital today after a ten day long stint. Praise God! Pastor Marvin said “I love that you all came with one purpose and one purpose only - to have church.”
The last performance was from God’s House of All Nations Church Choir singing “For Every Mountain”. Rather than open with a soloist, they opened with all the ladies and the arrangement was so pretty! They had such an amazing blend and such control. They sounded like a CD! They broke out in sign language, went from operatic to jazzy with ease causing Dorinda Clark Cole to ask the director how much time they spent together, and when told “hours”, she said that she could tell.
Tonight we had a special treat. The one and only Ricky Dillard brought two gifted groups of young people from his church. The Sweet Holy Spirit Youth Choir and the Sweet Holy Spirit Praise Dancers performed in the concourse at the Youth Gospel Showcase. This is the show before the show! The lobby is jumping with all the festivities. There’s the Youth Showcase, an original art exhibit with pieces commissioned exclusively by Verizon Wireless and Gospel Karaoke, which I’m a fan of. You never know who from Gospel Karaoke will be put on the big screen during the main event.
What you can bet on seeing, however, is an amazing Marvin Sapp experience. I’m over calling it a performance, it’s an experience. As one of the show’s producers, James said “He grabs the song, puts it in a headlock, drops the people’s elbow and makes it.” I think he means Marvin is the man.
Dorinda Clark Cole opened the second half of the show and once again had the entire audience on their feet. Her voice and ability is just ridiculous! She never runs out of things to do vocally and she’s such a minister! Plus, she’s really sweet, so I can’t hate on her for being SO AWESOME!
New Covenant International Choir from New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church opened the large choir category. They sang “God Blocked It” and wore gold kimonos and fans with dramatic choreography to match. They even sang in Chinese! This had Marvin Sapp saying, “I thought it was excellent and you all did something that was unique to this competition.” Of course guest Judge John Hannah had jokes about the Asian theme, but ended by saying that they looked good and did well.
The Voices from Greater St. John Bible Church sang “Faithful is Our God” and they opened strong! They had such lovely smiles as they sang of God’s faithfulness. Pastor Marvin gave them the thumbs up, saying “Excellent job” and Dorinda spoke of how much she enjoyed them and called the band, “off the chain.”
The next choir was from Faith Temple church, Voices of Faith singing “Available To You” They performed with the legendary Carlos Moody, who is the original writer of the song, which happens to be one of my favorites. The choir was very traditional and stately in black robes and white gloves. They had two praise dancers doing sign language and the whole performance was beautifully done. Resident judge Marvin Sapp remarked, “Excellent job. Timeless song that has been like the heart of our communities and our church.” So true.
The final choir in the large choir category was Evangel Celebration Choir from Evangel World Outreach Center. They sang another timeless song, “Total Praise,” and they gave it all the power and effort that this song deserves. Wow. This choir came out with such incredible strength! Broke it down with each section singing “You are the source of my strength” and the crowd jumped to their feet! Then on the “Amen” part they went into this R&B, trip-hop feel and it was so hot! Can you even use “hot” to describe “Total Praise?” It was though! They killed it! They took that song to new places and the United Center was going crazy! Needless to say, we got out praise on after that. They left John Hannah speechless as he declared “I ain’t got nothin to say” a true rarity for him!
Evangel was the audience favorite, earning them the V CAST People’s Choice Award and a check for $5,000. God’s House of All Nations took home a check for $10,000 and the title of best small choir. Evangel was also best large choir and received check for $10,000, plus they edged out God’s House to become Overall Regional Winner and will represent Chicago in the finale. The choirs collected 1,005 phones tonight for Verizon Wireless’ charity initiative HopeLine and the funds from the sale of these refurbished and recycled phones will go to assist victims of domestic violence. You can help be a blessing to this cause by taking your old cell phones and accessories to any Verizon Wireless store. Tonight’s choirs definitely worked hard and to celebrate them Verizon Wireless is giving each choir a minimum of $3,000!
I am definitely with Donald in saying that his city represented tonight. I can’t see what Atl is going to offer! Friday, Oct 2nd at Phillips Arena is going to be jumping! Get your tickets now! Also, the finale tickets have gone on sale and are selling like crazy so be sure to get yours so that you can be in Detroit on Nov 7th to see who is crowned “The Best Church Choir in America!”
