The votes are in! Y’Anna Crawley has been named BET’s SUNDAY BEST! The 32-year-old Washington, DC resident won America’s hearts over Jessica Reedy, 20, in the gospel singing competition during last night’s season finale. Over a 10-week season, Crawley’s bubbly personality and bravado voice captured the hearts of viewers, bringing in the larger percentage of the more than one million total votes. Along with the title of SUNDAY BEST, Crawley brings home a national recording contract and a 2009 Lincoln MKS.
The one-hour season finale concluded with Y’Anna performing “The Promise,” a song written by Lou “Buster” Brown, Scott “Shavoni” Parker and Ryan Sims. “The Promise” will be the first single on Y’Anna’s debut project as this season’s SUNDAY BEST. Lou “Buster” Brown’s vast list of credits include projects for Kirk Franklin & the Family, Yolanda Adams, Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams and soundtracks for the DreamWorks animated feature “Prince of Egypt,” Pastor Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life” and the Zondervan and Inspired By Media Group audiobook “Inspired By…The Bible Experience.”
“I feel like I have been preparing for this moment my entire life,” says Crawley. “Through the ups and downs and highs and lows, God has truly been faithful and I owe it all to Him.”
Crawley has been successful at every job she’s tried — from banking to make-up artistry — nothing has ever stopped her from achieving her goals. In 2000, the single mother of two decided to quit a bank job to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a professional singer. Singing has always been her passion, even at the early age of seven when she first began to sing at church. From the beginning of the competition, Crawley immediately grabbed the attention of the judges and viewers at home with her powerhouse voice.
For more on SUNDAY BEST and this season’s winner Y’Anna Crawley, visit www.BET.com/sundaybest.