Brandon McClure started singing when he was in daycare and heard a nursery rhyme put to music. He’s never stopped.

“I love music,” McClure said. “I love to sing and I love to play the piano and organ. And, I love to hear others sing. Music is my world.”

McClure is a native of Troy and a 2005 graduate of Charles Henderson High School. He owns and operates a business on Butter and Egg Road that specializes in music and photography but he is hoping to expand his “world” beyond the place he calls home.

McClure is auditioning for a Top 100 spot on Black Entertainment Television’s “Sunday Best” and he needs the votes of homefolks if he’s going to “break in.”

“B.E.T.’s ‘Sunday Best’ is a gospel program similar to ‘American Idol,’” McClure said. “The television audience votes on their favorite singer. They can go on-line and vote for me through Nov. 7.”

If McClure is among the top 100, he will automatically earn a spot before the judges when “Sunday Best” comes to Atlanta.

“They will have a huge number of people wanting to audition for the show but the 100 that get the most votes on-line will get to audition ahead of all the others,” he said. “I really would like to get a chance to do this.”

Voters may cast a vote for their favorite ‘Sunday Best” gospel singer every 24 hours by logging onto www.sundaybestcasting.com/people/brandonmcclure.

For his audition, McClure chose, “Amazing Grace.”

“We had a list of songs to choose from and I chose ‘Amazing Grace,’” he said and added with a smile.

“You can’t go wrong with it.”

And, too, McClure knows a lot about God’s amazing grace.

He has never had a singing lesson or a piano or organ lesson but he can sing and he can play.

He plays by ear and that, he said, is a gift from God.

“I don’t know how it works, but I can hear a song and, in about 10 minutes, I can play it,” he said. “It’s a blessing that I received through the grace of God. Once I start playing, I don’t ever want to stop.”

Music sets the tone for every day in McClure’s life.

“Music is such a part of my life,” he said. “If I’m having a bad day, I sit down at the piano and play or sing. It has a calming, uplifting effect on me.”

McClure recommends a song in the heart as a stress reliever.

“I believe that anyone can sing – at least good enough to carry a tune,” he said. “If you can talk, you can sing.”

McClure’s hopes are that his audition for B.E.T.’s “Sunday Best” will be successful and that other opportunities will be available to him in the field of music.

But, if not, he will continue doing what he is doing, playing music and taking photographs, with the assurance that he will always find contentment in doing what he loves to do.