::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

The first 10 of 20 contestants on BET’s Idol-styled Gospel singing contest, Sunday Best came out like winners during the first week of competition. The judges mainly lauded their performances only offering minimal corrective advice. With the exception of Nigerian singer Fumni Oduyemi whose nervousness was apparent vocally, the other nine contestants came off as confident and semi-professional as they sang selections by Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams. This season’s top 20 vocalists were chosen from auditions in Nigeria, Philadelphia, Detroit and New Orleans and are vying for the title in New Orleans. They are: Bethany Devine - Little Rock, AR Brian Smith - Chicago, IL Brittney J. Dear - Madison, MS David E. Wilford - Millsboro, DL Davon Fleming - Baltimore, MD Dathan Thigpen - Ridgeland, MS Durward Davis - Tulsa, OK Fumni Oduyemi - Lagos, Nigeria Franklin Davis, IV - New Orleans, LA Goldwire McLendon - Philadelphia, PA Jonte Thomas - New Orleans, LA Lamesha "Mesie" Augu...

BET took the search for Sunday Best to Africa for its Easter Sunday premiere. After watching the Nigerian auditions, while I appreciate seeing the global influence of gospel music, I seriously doubt the winner will come from the Motherland. Droves of singing hopefuls displayed lots of spirit, but gospel talent was scarce. Many of the voices were suitable for corporate worship rather than potential professional gospel acts. After a long day of grueling deliberation, hard-to-impress judges Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell and UK-based Christian artist Muyiwa Olarewaju only selected 7 singers. (Just one of them will be chosen to compete in the U.S. Tune in to Sunday best airing on Bet on Sundays at 8 pm to see who it’ll be!) The sole judge on the panel from Nigeria, Olarewaju was the most rigid of the 3 and clearly was looking for someone to make his country proud. Nearly every person to try-out was not good enough to represent Nigeria on a world stage in his doubtful opinion. Howeve...