With each passing week, it seems as though ABC's new attempt at a musical reality competition Rising Star improves. Week one was a messy, advertisement-filled blob and week two was solid though it felt highly manipulated by producers for ultimate drama and promotion. Now, with the final round of auditions, it seems like the show has found its groove... and its first real powerhouse performer.
This week began with a quick rehashing of last week's auditions, and the update that singers Shamela Crawford and Megan Tibbits were saved from elimination thanks to the West Coast viewers. This revelation was an obvious one, as the talented ladies got 69 and 68 percent of the vote, respectively. Last week's ploy felt like some sort of promotional gimmick from the producers to get better West Coast ratings and responses, but if it worked, it worked... so whatever. What about tonight?
It's shocking that Rising Star doesn't bookend its timeslot with the big performances... for the last three weeks the first and last singers have been okay but nothing particularly memorable. And any producer/performer should know you need to start strong and end strong...
So, we began with Dana Williams, who comes from a high pedigree of musical artistry (her deceased father was one of Michael Jackson's touring guitarists). Because music is in her blood, she of course wants to be a singer and took on the Rihanna ballad "Stay."
Despite her 24 years, Williams sounded a little too youthful for this serious single, and her naiveté and slight sharpness made this performance awkward at the beginning. Williams, however, was able to build up the performance and get to 87 percent of the vote. Judge Kesha noted she could win the competition with her "beautiful spirit," but that was a bit of an overstatement.
Speaking of which... Kesha's judging and overstatements were a running theme for episode three of Rising Star, where she literally voted yes on every contestant - even the truly awful ones. Brotherly boy band TX3, who couldn't find a note or harmony to save their lives? Yes from Kesha. Sharp Rihanna wannabe Skye Griffin? A yes from Kesha.
Kesha really and truly seems like a nice woman and a nice judge, which makes her probably a great friend to have but more or less ineffective on Rising Star. A judge's vote counts for seven percent, which really can make or break someone's chances. Even when performers are shaky and it's clear they won't make it through, Kesha will still vote yes just in order to come across as kind, it seems. This habit is making her really feel more like a comic relief plant with glorious pastel hair than a serious judge like Brad Paisley and Ludacris, both of whom put a lot of thought into their decisions...
Regardless of Kesha's unwavering support for these rising musicians/stars, night three of auditions seemed to have the biggest mixed bag to date. Ten singers/groups auditioned and the range in quality was so vast that it was hard to believe some acts even made it to this point in the competition.
This could not have been more true for the three groups of the night: TX3, Unselfish and OhMG. Ridiculously stupid names aside, the two boy bands and boy-girl duo (respectively) could just not make their harmonies gel.
TX3 were more known for their abs and faux-Jonas Brothers looks than their same-sounding voice on the L.A. boardwark, and it was clear why. Their performance of "Keep Your Head Up" was the floppiest of the bight, with notes all over the place and a complete lack of stage presence. Really... it was eerie.
Similarly, Unselfish seem to have made it this far on Rising Star thanks to their ridiculously good looks and status as an all African-American boy band. Though they claim to have all met in a dance studio, their moves during a take on fun.'s "Some Nights" was beyond awkward. Mix that with too much harmonizing and not enough individual personality, and this was doomed.
A personality in a duo could be really overwhelming, as Gabby of OhMG proved during the duo's performance of "Lights." Her voice so overpowered her partner Michael's that it was a true wonder why she dragged him along to auditions... sometimes ya just gotta drop your friends if you wanna make it big, girl.
The underwhelming performances of the groups on Rising Star this week should have been no surprise... Despite multiple duo and group auditions per week, none made it on to the next round of the competition.
But plenty of performers did, including the long true breakout of this season of Rising Star... Gabrielle Nicole. The 20-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, declared herself a gospel-inspired diva from the start, which can be a hard thing to live up to. However, she exceeded expectations right from the get-go with her nearly flawless performance of "My Man." Though she started small, it was clear she had weight to her voice, which she built and built throughout her 90 seconds, culminating in a diva-licious belt at the end of the song.
Later, though, Nicole set herself up for a little bit of haterade. When asked who she thought was the best in the competition thus far by Groban, she sort of nervously declared that she was the frontrunner. That is no way to gain friends or fans... people like their singers to come along with a slice of humble pie, unless you get to Kanye West levels of fame, which Nicole is quite a ways away from.
Though Nicole was clearly the favorite performance of the night, with an astonishing 90 percent of voter support, she wasn't the only one to move on. Williams will be performing next week, too, with 87 percent of the vote pushing her forward. Those two join New Jersey resident Audrey Kate Geiger, mother Karen Hornsby and 17-year-old Morgan Higgins.
Performers who make it to the next round will perform in Voice-like duel rounds (which Groban joked would include actual muskets, though they probably and unfortunately actually will not). And luckily for recappers of Rising Star like myself... the show will be trimmed down to just 60 minutes. Yay!
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