Donald Lawrence

Verizon Wireless’ How Sweet the Sound competition will makes its stop in Detroit on Sept. 20, for area church choirs to compete for a chance to participate in the national grand finale and win a cash prize of $25,000 and the title of the Best Church Choir in the US.

The competition launched last year in Memphis, but expanded this year to 11-cities in the U.S.

“We recognize music unites communities and is often a cornerstone element of how people celebrate life,” said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “How Sweet The Sound is much more than a singing competition – it is an opportunity to celebrate the unique ways that music connects people within the community. It is also an opportunity for Verizon Wireless to support the work that churches and other religious organizations do in their communities every day and to give back in a way that will help them expand their ministries.”

Award-winning gospel artist Donald Lawrence is among the judges in the contest.

“More than the competition, I am excited to see that we are at a place where we are celebrating church choirs,” said Lawrence. The industry has become so commercialized that you forget about the people that sacrifice and don’t get the time on stage or the publicity for what they are doing. It’s good to see the people who work tirelessly being honored and saluted.”

Lawrence added that contest celebrates the grassroots effort of each choir.

“I want to (the contestants) know that their hard work has not gone unnoticed and that their sacrifices will be rewarded. Verizon is pulling out all the stops and there are all kinds of prizes – not just the ones that are being read about – everyone comes out as a winner.”

The four choirs in each category per region who receive the highest number of votes will be invited to participate on stage at the event in their community. The choirs will compete in front of local celebrity judges, who will then vote to determine the finalist choirs that will be awarded the $10,000 cash prize. There will be two finalists – one from each category. The two winning choirs from each region will then head to the grand finale to compete against choirs from across the country for the $25,000 prize in November.