BET Sunday Best Season IV finalists Andrea Helms (left) and Amber Bullock (right).

Quickly becoming one of America’s favorite new voices and one of Gospel music’s most underrated talents, Amber Bullock just took home the grand prize on Sunday evening’s two-hour, star-studded finale of the hit singing competition and worldwide franchise BET Sunday Best. Now headed toward it’s fifth consecutive season, the show takes the world’s best, brightest and unheard of voices in Gospel music and gives them the platform to sing everything from the classics to the contemporary tunes heard around the globe.

Tonight’s finale wouldn’t have been entirely complete without a plethora of guest appearances, special performances, musical tributes and on-air surprises. Opening the show with a bang, urban Gospel’s Lecrae gave the show street credibility with his current brand of “Holy Hip Hop.” Also appearing on stage were all three of the Sunday Best prior seasons’ winners – Crystal Aikin (Season I), Y’Anna Crawley (Season II) & LeAndria Johnson (Season III) – each of whom took on the massive musical tribute in the form of a stellar medley honoring Mahalia Jackson’s legacy. Following the new leading ladies of Gospel were legends Pastor Shirley Caesar plus Rance Allen & The Rance Allen Group. Former BET Sunday Best judge Yolanda Adams premiered her new single from her long-awaited new project and both VaShawn Mitchell and Trinitee 5:7 duo Chanel & Angel also performed. Surprise guest Angie Stone (R&B/soul singer/songwriter) was also given the mic for a brief moment to perform her hit “Brotha” dedicated to men of color everywhere.

Now, in the two-hour runtime of the Season IV finale, we really only heard Amber Bullock and runner-up Andrea Helms (37, of Dallas, TX) sing “live” three times before the end of the show. Each performed a medley of perfectly arranged songs of praise and worship. Early into Bullock’s opening set, which included the new worship anthem “How Great is Our God” and a stunning rendition of Kurt Carr’s choir classic “For Every Mountain,” many knew the competition was officially over. Helms’ featured set was full of the anointing as well, with “Because of Who You Are” and “The Heavens are Telling” shining throughout the medley. Coming together for one of the season’s only featured duets, the ladies gave an awesome acoustic and sonically superb performance of the contemporary Gospel hit “Moving Forward.”

Just before the big announcement came introspective interview segments featuring the touching testimony from LeAndria Johnson who later premiered the new single “Jesus” from her debut album “The Awakening of LeAndria Johnson” (in stores now). If you missed the interview, the testimony and the live performance, trust us when we say it ministered to millions and let us all know that even when we fall short of the glory of God, redemption and forgiveness is still possible even for those we lay claim to be “stars.”

BET Sunday Best judges (from left) Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin (host) and Tina & Erica Campbell (of MaryMary).

As for the big moment when Amber Bullock was announced as the winner, we were reminded once again of the prizes including a national recording contract with Music World Gospel, a cash prize and a brand new Ford Explorer – North America’s car of the year. Congratulations once again to our new winner Amber Bullock (we can’t wait to hear your debut album) and to the other contestants who brought their “Sunday Best” all season long! See you next year!

So now that you know who the winner is, we’ve got a few questions to ask you.

• Did you vote at any point during Season IV of BET Sunday Best? If so, when and for whom? If not, why?
• Are you satisfied with the winner/finalists results?
• What was your favorite moment on the big finale show?
• Were you following BET Sunday Best on Twitter or Facebook during the show at any point for live commentary & fan updates?
• What did you think of this year’s surprise guests – Jill Scott, Angie Stone, Chrisette Michele, Kierra Sheard, Smokie Norful, etc.?
• What would you do differently in Season V?
• Will you or have you auditioned for the show?
• Do you plan to purchase or have you purchased any of the BET Sunday Best winners’ albums, including the forthcoming release from this year’s winner Amber Bullock?

Feel free to share your thoughts on any or all of these hot topics related to the BET Sunday Best show, finale and winners. Do so below on the message board using your Twitter or Facebook profile to log in and leave us a comment to get the discussions started.

OFFICIAL RELATED LINKS:

BET Sunday Best – Official Website

Follow Amber Bullock on Twitter – @singamber (click image or link)

Follow BET Sunday Best on Twitter – @BETSundayBest (click image or link)

MORE RELATED LINKS:

BET Sunday Best Finale Falls on September 11th Tenth Anniversary

St. Louis Singer Amber Bullock Wins “Sunday Best” Contest

MaryMary Responds to Fans Concerning Cancellation of BET Sunday Best

Faith Evans, Kelly Price & Jessica Reedy Sing of a ‘Troubled World” on New Single

Light Records Signs “Sunday Best” Runner-up Jessica Reedy

Y’Anna Crawley on What Inspires Her to Sing (Exclusive Interview)

Y’Anna Crawley Making Moves Since “Sunday Best”

BET Sunday Best in Full Swing

BET SUNDAY BEST SEASON IV – EXCLUSIVES

The Voting Episode

Go behind the scenes with BET.com media sensation TorrenceG as he gets the scoop on the show from this year’s finalists, a few gospel legends and one gospel singer whom he predicts would win if she ever auditioned for the show.

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Mary Mary stopped into the Radio Room at the 2011 BET Awards the day before the LIVE show and talked to Baltimore’s Konan about their upcoming projects and more. Now if you know Konan like I know Konan, you know that once the cameras roll, expect the unexpected! The interview was going as normal as it could go when all of a sudden Konan asked “when did you have your last argument/fight?” Watch what happened next. You can’t help but to love and admire their sheer honesty. That’s why I love Mary Mary!

Mary Mary Responds to Fans About Cancellation of BET’s Sunday Best

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The fans had alot to ask and the Marys had even more to say. We had a great time in chat with Mary Mary and their fans from all over the world. Filled with comments and questions (that were coming in at a super fast pace) about everything from their hairstyles, to their new music, to their writing process and everything in between. Trust us when we say, it’s absolutely hilarious and refreshing to see two of gospel’s most beloved vocalists literally let their hair down and let it all hang out while having fun making great music.

One of the fans asked a question of the girls to find out if they were going to be doing Sunday Best again this year. We expected to hear details of the new season of the hit BET singing competition which has launched the careers of gospel superstars such as Crystal Aikin, Shari Addison, Y’Anna Crawley, Jessica Reedy and quite a few others.

Instead, Mary Mary said that BET would not be bringing Sunday Best back. (Cue collective gasp.)

We’ll let them give you the news if you haven’t heard yet. You can see the entire Mary Mary chat video below. They mention Sunday Best after they got into details of the new record and a few hilarious moments along the way so be sure to watch the entire video. Let us know what you think about Sunday Best being cancelled. Are you upset or did you not care for it anyway?

Also, are you excited about the return of Mary Mary? Let us know how you feel about that one, too.

MARY MARY EXCLUSIVE LIVE FAN CHAT

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Official reports are continuing to stream in this morning with additional details, but we do know the new addition to the family has been the talk of the town since we’ve seen Erica and her sister Tina alternating turns judging the current season of BET’s Sunday Best.

Erica, a three time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, and her husband, Warryn (responsible for hits by rapper/producer Kanye West, contemporary gospel vocalist Kierra Sheard, Brooklyn lyricist Mos Def, R&B music’s Brandy, and, of course, the ladies of MaryMary) also have a daughter Krista Nicole. Warryn is also a founding member of the modern quartet-styled traditional gospel group The Soul Seekers.

Erica’s most recent pregnancy has indeed been a successful one with a healthy baby boy. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing her back in action whether its singing, performing or fulfilling her duties as a key judge on the show.

Congratulations once again and may God continue to bless Warryn, Erica and the entire Campbell family.

Gospel singer/songwriter duo MaryMary are some of the hardest working young ladies in the industry and today, more of that hard work is paying off with their latest business endeavors. You may have heard the buzz that Erica & Tina Campbell (more affectionately known as “The Marys”) have a new book entitled “Be U” which hit stores over the weekend. These two are also hard at work raising growing families while simultaneously creating their followup to their Stellar and Grammy Award-winning album The Sound (Sony/Columbia, 2008).

More than just a faith-based self-help book, together MaryMary has created a very special collection of important antidotes and life lessons for any young Christian (male or female) striving to keep it real and live their life based on the principles of the word of God. The book talks about everything from relationships to dealing with self-esteem issues and embracing the gifts God has placed within you. Everything inside “Be U” has a spirit-led consciousness without being too preachy. Readers and fans of all ages and lifestyles are sure to find something to connect with. We’re sure you’ll be inspired once you get your hands on your own copy, but how about picking up an extra one for someone special in your life, too?

Check out the video below to hear what the ladies have to say about their new book release and how you, too, can simply “Be U.” For more information on MaryMary or to view additional interview footage, visit www.mary-mary.com or check out their YouTube page by visiting YouTube.com/MaryMaryTV.

If you followed the 2009 American Music Awards last night, tucked away between the revealing costumes, the bleeped lyrics, and the colossal embarrassment that was Adam Lambert, gospel duo Mary Mary unobtrusively won Favorite Artist in the Contemporary Inspirational category.

Second AMA for Mary Mary

This is the second time the sisters have won an American Music Award – they also won the Favorite Inspirational/Christian Contemporary Artist Award in 2005. That’s an award each for sisters Erica and Tina Campbell who are Mary Mary.

Mary Mary’s AMA Award One Honor Among Many in 2009

Their latest American Music Award win helps Mary Mary close out 2009 in style. They have already won a Grammy® Award, a Dove Award, an NAACP Image Award and a BET Award for their latest album, The Sound, which has spent 52 weeks on a Billboard chart and is still #10. This is the highest rank for a song that has spent 52 weeks on a chart in the Nielson SoundScan era (since 1992). The Sound peaked at #1 on several of Billboard Christian and Gospel albums charts and was #1 on the Billboard Gospel Album chart for 19 consecutive weeks after its release in October 2008, spending four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.

The 2009 American Music Awards took place at the NOKIA Theatre L.A. on Sunday, November 22nd on ABC. Gospel artists Jeremy Camp, Brandon Heath, and Mary Mary received nominations for Contemporary Inspirational, while Mary Mary was also nominated for Soul/R&B. Other artists nominated who have been covered in this column include: Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson.