MELVIN CRISPELL, III DECLARED SEASON 9 WINNER OF BET NETWORK’S HIT INSPIRATIONAL SINGING COMPETITION SUNDAY BEST
DEBUT SINGLES “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE” AND “NOT THE END OF YOUR STORY” FROM SEASON 9 WINNER MELVIN CRISPELL, III & FINALIST JOSHUA COPELANDNOW AVAILABLE THROUGH RCA INSPIRATION AT ALL MAJOR DIGITAL RETAILERS
SEASON 9 FINALE FEATURED PERFORMANCES BY TASHA COBBS LEONARD, VASHAWN MITCHELL, KELLY PRICE, AND JONATHAN MCREYNOLDS +
BRAND NEW MUSIC FROM ERICA CAMPBELL “PRAYING & BELIEVING”
(NEW YORK, NY) – August 26, 2019 – BET crowned Melvin Crispell, III winner of its ninth season of Sunday Best – BET’s inspirational singing competition. The season nine winner will receive a recording contract with RCA Inspiration, a cash prize of $50,000 and the title “Sunday Best.” In partnership with BET, Crispell’s debut single, “Not The End of Your Story” is available now via RCA Inspiration at all major digital retailers.
Melvin Crispell III hails from a rich musical legacy. His father, world-renowned musician Melvin Crispell, Jr. composed and played on award-winning songs for some of gospel music’s biggest artists. His mother, Tunesha Crispell was a celebrated gospel singer whose voice was featured on several well-known choir recordings along with a critically acclaimed solo project. With the sudden death of his father at 16 followed by the untimely demise of his mother at 18, Melvin was able to overcome through his relationship with God and music and that the trauma was not the end of his story. Melvin hopes that winning Sunday Best will allow him to use his dynamic voice to lead others to a closer relationship with God and to carry on his family’s legacy while also creating his own.
Last night’s finale episode featured special performances from GRAMMY Award®-winner Tasha Cobbs Leonard performing “You Know My Name,” multiple Stellar Award-winner Vashawn Mitchell performing “Nothing But The Blood/Son Of God.” Viewers also saw soul stirring performances from judges Jonathan McReynolds with “Make Room”, Kelly Price performing “I’m Still Here”, and Erica Campbell debuting her new single “Praying & Believing.”
During season nine two original songs were performed by Joshua Copeland and Melvin Crispell, III – created by a team of heavy hitters, including GRAMMY®-nominated mega-hit wonder MakebaRiddick-Woods (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Tamar Braxton, Koryn Hawthorne) and six-time GRAMMY®-winning powerhouse Aaron Lindsey (Israel Houghton, Marvin Sapp, Kenny Lattimore, SmokieNorful). Available now via RCA Inspiration at all major digital retailers are two awe-inspiring gospel singles “Anything is Possible” by Joshua Copeland and “Not The End of Your Story,” by MelvinCrispell III; both songs featured production by Lindsey and were co-produced by GRAMMY®-winner Myron Butler.
For updates and more information about Sunday Best, please visit BET.com/SundayBest. Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag: #BETSundayBest.
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ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), 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 reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: 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 Jesse Collins. For more than a decade, Collins has played an integral role in producing some of television’s most memorable moments in music entertainment. Collins has produced groundbreaking and award winning television programming including the BET Awards, the Grammy Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Honors, UNCF An Evening of Stars, ABFF Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Collins was an executive producer of the hit TV series, Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart, the critically-acclaimed The New Edition Story, a biopic on the boy band that aired as a 3-part mini-series on BET in January 2017, posted record ratings for the network and attracted nearly 30 million viewers. He is also the executive producer of VH1 shows Dear Mama and Hip Hop Squares with Ice Cube. He has appeared on the cover of Vibe magazine and has been featured in numerous publications including Billboard and Ebony magazine. Most recently JCE executive produced The Bobby Brown Story. The mini-series picked up where The New Edition Story mini-series left off and chronicled the talented but troubled singer’s exit from the popular ’80s boy band through his solo success. It debuted on BET in September 2018 ad was the highest rated non-tentpole program on the network since The New Edition Story. Next for JCE is the second season of American Soul on BET and Netflix’s upcoming series Rhythm and Flow.
