Verizon’s How Sweet The Sound Finale- Washington, DC
Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound Finale, Washington, DC
By Khare Hawkins
Long gone are the days when choirs can simply rock from side to side and expect to be winners in this choir competition. Verizon Wireless How Sweet The Sound is truly is a survival of the best church choir in the land! From crazy vocal arrangements to intense choreography by way of swing dancing , pop-locking and the old school robot to detailed props and costumes, this year’s how competition literally had it all. Every choir brought their A game and was prepared to bring the “Sound” of their city. The winning choir taking home $25,000 and a coveted spot to sing at the 2011 Stellar Awards and Super Bowl Gospel Fest, was definitely an incentive to take it to the next level. With a crowd of over 12,000 people, The Verizon Center was the place to be on November 13, 2010. The show’s opening consisted of the introduction by beautiful Co-host CeCe Winans and the debonair musical genius himself, Host, Donald Lawrence. The opening collaboration encompassed a mass of 4 members from every choir singing a Walter Hawkins classic “When the Battle Is Over”.
Over ten choirs competed from all across the country and had the privilege of being judged by gospel music royalty; Karen Clark Sheard who “appreciated “ all the talent the choirs had to offer, Fred Hammond who was appreciative of her appreciation (Had to be there as every comment Karen gave began with “I appreciate” which became the running joke all-night) and “Mr. Never Would Have Made It” himself, Pastor Marvin Sapp. The judges clearly had their work cut out for them as the night progressed. The first half favorites were: Love and Faith Community (Jacksonville, Fl) who sang a Ricky Dillard and New G favorite, “Awesome God“. Although there is ONLY one Ricky Dillard, the choirmaster himself was truly impressed and honored to hear his music done with such excellence as he looked on in “appreciation” for the job well done.
Although it was evident that the judges, nor the hosts, were not big fans of Male Choruses, this years Verizon’s Peoples Choice choir, The Greater Mount Calvary Men of Valor, sang their rendition of “Lord I’m Available to You“ with four part harmony and sounded amazing doing it.
The Showdown
Hailing from the windy city of Chicago, GFC Chorale, graced the stage looking amazing clad in a grey and purple ensemble. Singing the heartfelt song “Holy Holy Holy”, made famous by so many gospel singers, their tone, five part harmony and overall showmanship had the audience wondering what they were going to do next. After three consecutive minutes of taking the crowd into a frenzy, they took it to church and went into an up-tempo shout while still singing in full voice. It was a spectacular arrangement supported by excellent showmanship and well trained vocals. However, there can only be one winner and this years 2010 How Sweet The Sound winners hailed from the city of Compton, California. The Voices of Destiny of Greater Zion Church (who was directed by the Pastor) was initially sat on due to their “Delta Airlines” type uniforms but the audience could not sit for long, as they opened their mouths all you could hear was the sound of Verizon’s Washington DC area Vice President backstage writing the check! The choreography was flawless, their militant movements, operatic tones, in character gestures and down home good singing was just what the competition called for. In 4 minutes and 39 seconds, Voices of Destiny managed to cover almost six styles of gospel music without it being over bearing.
With performances throughout the show by the awesome judges themselves (Karen Clark-Sheard, Fred Hammond and Marvin Sapp) and a special surprise performance by the legendary BeBe and CeCe Winans, the night proved to be an evening filled with excitement down to every second. Donald Lawrence (who also served as Host and the Co- Producer of the show, rounded off with a closing performance of all the choirs and judges singing his smash hit “Back To Eden”. It was such a blessing to see how many people were touched by the competition and how the good news of the Jesus Christ was spread through out the country making the sound that much sweeter!
