Gospel Greats Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams Join the All-Star Team of Judges for the Third Season of BET's 'Sunday Best' Premiering Easter Sunday, April 4, at 9:00 P.M.*

First-Ever International Auditions in Lagos, Nigeria Raise the Stakes in the Search for the Next Great Gospel Star

PASADENA, Calif., Jan 14, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Premiering on Easter Sunday, April 4 at 9:00 p.m.* BET's hit singing competition, SUNDAY BEST returns for a third season of higher praise and tougher competition. Hosted by gospel legend Kirk Franklin, the new season welcomes gospel recording artists, Pastor Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams to the stellar team of judges including returning multi-award winning siblings Erica and Tina Campbell of Mary Mary. And if the U.S. talent pool wasn't enough, SUNDAY BEST kicks off the 10-week competition by venturing to Lagos, Nigeria in West Africa for the first ever international auditions. U.S. auditions will begin in February 2010. In addition to the coveted title of SUNDAY BEST, the winner of season three will receive prizes from the Ford Motor Company, General Mills, Nationwide Insurance and Walgreens.

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Season two of SUNDAY BEST ended on a high note with 1.7 million viewers tuning in to the excitement as Y'anna Crawley, a single mother from Washington, D.C. took home the title, a national record contract and a 2009 Lincoln MKS. Many of the finalists from season two are also in high demand, traveling the country and living out their music career dreams. And the good news doesn't stop there. Third runner-up Latice Crawford and top 10 finalist Jeff Spain are madly in love and will be featured in a new reality series, ALMOST MARRIED, scheduled to premiere on BET this summer. The series will follow the two during the course of their relationship, their desire to get engaged and perhaps married.

Season three of SUNDAY BEST will tape in April. Each week during the hour-long contest viewers will be treated to musical performances from the remaining SUNDAY BEST hopefuls along with candid feedback from the all-star team of judges and surprise visits from an array of celebrity mentors.

The current season of SUNDAY BEST is executive produced by D'Angela Proctor Steed and Nia T. Hill of Strange Fruit Media, Kirk Franklin and Erica and Tina Campbell.

The Ford Motor Company, General Mills, Nationwide and Walgreens are returning sponsors of the third season of SUNDAY BEST.

For up-to-the-minute information, footage and photos on SUNDAY BEST, please visit www.bet.com.

*All times ET/PT

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: 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 87 million households according to Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, a leading internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which offers ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

SOURCE BET Networks