The Sunday Service Choir is an American gospel group led by rapper and producer Kanye West and conducted by choir director Jason White. Beginning in January 2019, the group has performed every Sunday, as well as Friday, September 27, when West's album Jesus Is King was announced for release. Their debut album, Jesus Is Born, was released three months later on Christmas Day, 2019.
Background
In September 2018, West announced that his ninth studio albumYandhi would be releasing later in the month. West later postponed the date to November 2018 in order to record in Uganda. The album was postponed a second time in November with no set release date. On the first Sunday of 2019, West began the first "Sunday Service" rehearsal, where he performed gospel iterations of his discography and other songs with choir group The Samples and frequent collaborators such as Tony Williams, Francis and the Lights, and Ant Clemons. During Sunday Service, several songs from Yandhi have been performed. On January 12, 2019, it was reported that West was replaced by Ariana Grande as a headliner for Coachella. West pulled out since a giant dome could not be constructed for him. On March 31, 2019, West announced a Sunday Service performance for Easter would take place at Coachella. The first public Sunday Service performance occurred at Coachella for Easter on April 21, 2019. On October 5, 2019, West brought Sunday Service to The Gateway in Salt Lake City, UT. His performance occurred on an already busier than usual weekend with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holding their semi-annual General Conference that weekend as well. West collaborated with pastor Joel Osteen, who hosted West at Lakewood Church located in Houston, Texas on November 17, 2019. Although the tickets were free for this event as well, those who were lucky to obtain tickets began to sell them online for up to $500 USD. On November 21, 2019, Sunday Service announced that they will be a part of the youth Strength to Stand Conference, which will be held at LeConte Center, located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.The event will be held from January 18 - 20, 2020, and groups of four are able to make reservations to attend, with kids who are under 12 years old. West's performance was added, after comedian John Crist, was suspected of sexual misconduct, and Crist's performance was cancelled.
Members
List of members adapted from GQ Italia and The Fader.
