Joshua Rogers (born March 22, 1994) is an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

singer who rose to prominence in 2012 when he became the first male and youngest winner of Black Entertainment Television's '' Sunday Best'' during the show's fifth season.

Early life and education

A native of

Greeleyville, South Carolina Greeleyville is a town in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 438 at the 2010 census. The town was originally chartered on December 20, 1893. Greeleyville's seal and flag feature a depiction of the first Town Ha ...

, Rogers grew up singing and playing the drums in the

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church pastored by his grandmother. He graduated from C.E. Murray High School in 2012.

''Sunday Best''

Rogers auditioned for the fifth season of ''Sunday Best'' in

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, and was immediately a favorite of fans and the celebrity judging panel of

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums ...

Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew "Donnie" McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. ...

, and

CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been ...

. ''Sunday Best'' host

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...

gave Rogers the nickname "Young Buck". After weeks of consistent performances of songs such as Vanessa Bell Armstrong's "Peace Be Still", Deitrick Haddon's "Well Done", and Andrae Crouch's "We Expect You", Rogers landed in the finals of ''Sunday Best'' alongside another teen singer,

Alexis Spight Alexis Spight (born July 3, 1993) is an American urban contemporary gospel musician, and runner-up on season five of the BET singing competition, ''Sunday Best''. She started her music career, in 2012, with the single, "Imagine Me", and the so ...

, with Rogers ultimately going on to win. He became the show's first male and youngest champion. With his win, Rogers received a cash prize, a 2013

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, and a recording contract with

Music World Entertainment Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé an ...

After Sunday Best

Rogers released his first album, ''Well Done'', on December 4, 2012. The album featured songs performed by Rogers on ''Sunday Best''. ''Well Done'' debuted at #1 on the ''Billboard'' Gospel Album Charts with 5,917 sales in its first week. Rogers released his second album, ''Unconditional'', on October 29, 2013. This is his first album of original music and he co-wrote some of the songs. It debuted at #2 on the ''Billboard'' Gospel Album charts.

Discography

*''Well Done'' (2012) *''Unconditional'' (2013) *''Returning (2018)''

References

External links

Official websiteMusic World Entertainment profileFacebook fan page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Joshua 21st-century African-American male singers Living people American gospel singers American performers of Christian music American child singers Singers from South Carolina 1994 births People from Williamsburg County, South Carolina 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers