The new season kicks off for the first time ever with in-person auditions in front of the judges, with no audience.
The contestants have to show their true talent, with no smoke and mirrors, by performing acapella with no band support, as they narrow the field from 20 to the top 10. For the first time the contestants were able to use an online submissions process, after which the team lead a global search for this year’s contestants, leading up to the much-anticipated live auditions in Dallas, TX, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, GA, and Detroit, MI, Lagos, Nigeria and for the first time-ever London, England and Johannesburg, South Africa, which were open to select international contestants.
The top 20 contestants are:
- Antonio Santora, 31, Durham, North Carolina
- Ashley Barnes, 24, Memphis, Tennessee
- Brielle Frage, 21, Avenel, New Jersey
- Cornelius Edwards, 33, West Palm Beach, Florida
- Chelsey Barnes, 22, Memphis, TN
- Emorja Roberson, 27, South Bend, Indiana
- Jamal Roberts, 22, Meridian, Mississippi
- James Thompson, 23, Derby UK
- Jason Warrior, 23, Chicago, IL
- Joshua Copeland, 37, Salisbury, Maryland
- Kayva Offord, 27, Orange, Texas
- Keyla Richardson, 22, Pensacola, Florida
- Lakeesha Rice, 36, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Linda Williams, 52, University Heights, OH
- Melvin Crispell III, 21, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Opal Staples, 38, Chicago, IL
- Roy Moye, 26, Wichita, Kansas
- Tiffany Andrews, 35, Newark, New Jersey
- Tiffany Moore, 35, Augusta, Georgia
- Yoonjung Park, 32, South Korea
Sunday Best airs Sunday June 30th in the United States and Sunday, July 7th Internationally.
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Sunday Best Announces The Top 20 Contestants For Season 9 was originally published on praisedc.com
