Best Choirs from 11 U.S. Cities Compete for $45,000 in Prizes and Title
of Best Church Choir in America; Hezekiah Walker, Marvin Sapp and Gabrielle
Union Join Donald Lawrence at the Finale

    BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless will name
the best church choir in America on Nov. 8 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta
during the grand finale of How Sweet The Sound(SM). The best choirs, culled
from an 11-city How Sweet The Sound competition, will go head to head for
$45,000 in cash prizes in the finale concert, emceed by GRAMMY(R)-winning
songwriter, producer, arranger and music director, Donald Lawrence.
GRAMMY-winning legends Marvin Sapp and Hezekiah Walker will both have
special performances and serve as judges during the show along with
award-winning actress, Gabrielle Union.

    To participate in the regional competition, choirs from each city
submitted audition videos that were reviewed by a panel of local judges,
who posted the top videos from each city on the official How Sweet The
Sound Web site (http://www.howsweetthesound.com) where the public could vote for
their favorite choir. The choirs with the most votes from each city were
invited to perform in concert at some of the hottest venues across the
country, including the United Center in Chicago; the Verizon Center in
Washington, D.C.; and the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

    More than 70,000 people attended the regional competitions across the
country to cheer for and support their local choirs. Following are the
winners from each regional competition that will compete in the Atlanta
finale:



    --  Atlanta -- Atlanta West Pentecostal Church (Lithia Springs, Ga.)
    --  Chicago -- Acme Missionary Baptist Church (Chicago)
    --  Detroit -- Burning Bush International Ministries (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
    --  Houston -- The Church of Bethel's Family (Houston)
    --  Los Angeles -- Mt. Rubidoux SDA Church (Riverside, Calif.)
    --  Memphis, Tenn. -- New Direction Christian Church (Memphis, Tenn.)
    --  Newark, N.J. -- Grace Baptist Church (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.)
    --  Oakland, Calif. -- Jubilee Christian Center (San Jose, Calif.)
    --  Philadelphia -- Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (Twin Oaks, Pa.)
    --  St. Louis -- New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church (St. Louis)
    --  Washington, D.C. -- Southern Baptist Church Praise and Worship Center
        (Washington)

    Based on the judges' scoring, the overall winner of How Sweet The Sound
will receive $25,000 and the runner-up will receive $15,000. In addition,
members of the audience will decide the Verizon Wireless V CAST People's
Choice Award winner by texting their votes for their favorite choir during
the finale. The Verizon Wireless V CAST People's Choice Award winner will
receive $5,000, meaning one choir could win up to $30,000 in prizes if
awarded both the overall prize and the V CAST People's Choice Award.

    Doors to the Philips Arena will open at 5:00 p.m. ET on Nov. 8, and the
show will start at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are available for $7 for floor
seats and $5 for lower and upper tier seats at the Philips Arena Box
Office, Ticketmaster outlets, http://www.ticketmaster.com, http://www.PhilipsArena.com or
Ticketmaster charge by phone at 404-249-6400. For more information, visit
http://www.howsweetthesound.com.

    About Verizon Wireless

    Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and
data network, serving 70.8 million customers. Headquartered in Basking
Ridge, N.J., with 71,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint
venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE:
VOD). For more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com . To preview and
request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of
Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia
Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.