BET's SUNDAY BEST to Return for Sixth Season, Today

BET Networks' award-winning and highest rated singing competition show, SUNDAY BEST, returns for a sixth season of awe-inspiring gospel performances and special guest appearances. The #1 reality competition show on cable welcomes back Grammy Award-winning music legend Kirk Franklin as host, and boasts the return of gospel greats Pastor Donnie McClurkin, Yolanda Adams and Cece Winans as judges for the auditions and stage show. Season six auditions were held in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Houston and the stage show tapes in Atlanta, GA.

Last season's finale (season five) set records for the network, delivering 2.6 million viewers, making it the #1 SUNDAY BEST telecast in BET Networks' history and highest rated season for the gospel series franchise. And after nine weeks of fierce competition, South Carolina's very own Joshua Rogers was the crowned victor of SUNDAY BEST and made history by being the first male winner in the SUNDAY BEST competition.

And season six won't disappoint with more memorable performances by the contestants and guest appearances by mainstream and gospel greats old and new including show-stopping performances by Chaka Khan, Fantasia, Kelly Price, Tamela Mann, Israel Houghton, Cece Winans, Mali Music and Kim Burrell.

In addition to the coveted SUNDAY BEST title, the winner of season six will receive a national recording contract with Fo Yo Soul / RCA Records, a brand new Ford Fusion, and a cash prize. SUNDAY BEST will run for 9 consecutive weeks and is executive produced by Marilyn Gill, Kirk Franklin, Brian Gadinsky, and Arnold Preston.

For continuous SUNDAY BEST updates, please visit http://www.bet.com/Sunday Best. Also, follow SUNDAY BEST on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BETSundayBest (hash tag: #BETSundayBest) and Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/BETSundayBest.

*All times are ET/PT.

About BET Networks
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (VIA, VIAB), 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; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and Production Company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET operates in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

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