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Documentary Production and Distribution News
| GMC TV and Verizon Wireless Premiere Reality Special, 'The How Sweet the Sound Road to the Finale,' on Nov. 26, and 'The How Sweet the Sound Finale' Special on Dec. 3 By StudentFilmmakers.com posted Nov 23, 2011, 15:52 |
Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child to Host Both Events, Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton Make Special Appearance
(BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and ATLANTA) GMC, America's favorite channel for uplifting music and family entertainment, announced today that it will partner with Verizon Wireless on a pair of upcoming gospel choir competition specials: "The How Sweet the Sound Road to the Finale" reality special premiering on Saturday, Nov. 26, on GMC and Verizon's "How Sweet the Sound Finale" from the Staples Center in Los Angeles premiering on Saturday, Dec. 3. Both GMC specials will be hosted by Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child.
The Nov. 26 airing of "The How Sweet the Sound Road to the Finale" reality special will chronicle the excitement, drama, triumph and struggles of choirs competing in Verizon's "How Sweet the Sound" choir competition, which was held this fall in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Oakland, Calif., Charlotte, N.C. and Washington, DC. The competition is the country's most prestigious gospel music experience, paying tribute to gospel music while providing choirs a platform to showcase their talent. Competing choirs had the chance to rejoice in song and praise, sing in front of gospel greats and fans, and win up to $50,000.
"Verizon's 'How Sweet the Sound' inspires communities across the country through the power of gospel music and celebrates the impact these choirs have on the community," said Marquett Smith, vice president, corporate communications, Verizon Wireless. "With this documentary, we wanted to capture the choirs' talent and passion and share the uplifting grand finale with viewers across the country."
"Gospel-centric programming has been and continues to be a strong ratings driver for the network," said Mary Jeanne Cavanagh, GMC's executive vice president, ad sales. "Verizon will surely benefit from the increased brand affinity with our audience and heightened levels of engagement these two specials will undoubtedly deliver."
GMC camera crews traveled from city to city to capture highlights of the choirs' public performances as well as compelling behind-the-scenes human interest stories and emotions.
The Dec. 3 airing of the finale from the Staples Center will feature a star-studded lineup of performances and presentations, including a duet from Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton from their upcoming movie, "Joyful Noise". Other celebrity talent appearing in the show includes, Donald Lawrence, CeCe Winans, Marvin Sapp, Israel Houghton, Shirley Caesar and some of the nation's best choirs.
In last year's competition, the choir Voices of Destiny won the "How Sweet the Sound" grand prize, plus an opportunity to perform at the 2011 Stellar Awards and Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. The choir is using its prize money to build a youth center.
Resources:
www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia