ABC's new singing reality competition program Rising Star seems to be little more than an experiment from week to week. Though the scrambling antics of host Josh Groban and judges Kesha, Brad Paisley and Ludacris are mostly in line by now, the singers themselves continue to be a source of elusion and mixed bag-gedness. Week four of Rising Star marks the first week of "duels..." a The Voice-like side-by-side where performers try to out-sing each other for the vote.
Three pairs of contestants took the stage this week... the first with the wall raised and the second with the wall down... until they potentially match the judges' praises of the first performers.
Right off the bat, there seems like there's something inherently unfair about this performance set-up, though I'm not so sure who gets the advantage. Performer #1, who sings sans massive wall, has the advantage of playing off the audience, a key factor in being a true captivating performer instead of just a singer. However, performer #2 has something to truly fight for.... They have to sing to raise the wall instead of gliding on whatever vibes the audience sends their way.
So maybe things really are relatively equal...
Regardless, the first duel performance of the night went to Broadway singer Alice J. Lee versus soulful chanteuse Lisa Punch.
Lee began the night with a take on the Little Mix anthem "Wings." Though this girl has the backing of a Broadway education, she really, truly lacks the power of the stage, taking on the song in a quiet manner instead of commanding it with the sass and power it deserves. That's not to say her vocals were off - they weren't - they were just a little bit understated. Despite a lack of panache, all three judges voted "yes" and Lee achieved 69 percent of the vote.
Which was more than Punch, who performed a take on P!nk's empowerment anthem "Perfect." Punch had to perform with the wall up, but she was full of pure soul and love, as she absolutely slayed "Perfect."
Now, I'm not always the type to think reality shows are fixed, but something smelled a little off here. Lee was able to move on with 69 percent of the vote, with the backing of all three celebrity judges, but Punch barely missed that mark, only getting a Yes vote from Kesha, despite her all-around superior singing skills. Maybe producers really like Lee or her Broadway background, but there's no real reason she should have beaten Punch on singing power alone. Maybe everyone is hoping for a big ol' West Coast save...
The other two duels of the evening seemed far fairer than Lee vs. Punch.
Megan Tibbits, best known for her harp playing and West Coast save, took on country hopeful Sarah Darling in duel No. 2. Tibbits took on the Paul McCartney classic "Summertime," and her sweet tone really complimented the old school jazzy vibes of the single. There was nothing really standout or insane about Tibbits' performance, but it was enough to give her a bit of an edge over Darling.
She, for instance, took on the modern country classic "I Hope You Dance..." a song so full of hope and raw emotion that one really needs to feel something to pull it off correctly, and Darling never emotionally connected. Sure, her vocals were always basically on point, but she fell a little flat when it came to the love of the song. She only ended up with 69 percent of the fan vote, two percent below Tibbits' 71 mark... and thus, now she's gone without a West Coast save (the very came concept that has kept Tibbits around... how the tables have turned!).
It's always said that a show should start strong and end strong.... A concept Rising Star has struggled with since week one, but the final bookend of this week's show was a big one.
The final duel took place between male classically inspired rockers Will Roth and Jesse Kinch, who took vastly different approaches to their songs.
Roth took on a modern pop hit, performing Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" with a few little twists. He's a naturally good singer of course, but there's not much going on in his performance besides his little twist of song choice... but giving a little rock 'n' roll twist to a new pop classic isn't enticing enough... and Roth got just 57 percent of voters on board.
That was nothing compared to Kinch, who played to his classic rock strengths with a take on the Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post." As with his initial performance three weeks ago, Kinch was the skinny, long-haired boy with all this soul and grit in his voice, and he absolutely slayed "Whipping Post," giving the show a massively strong ending point and a strong enough performance to get an astounding 90 percent of the vote.
And that is how one becomes a Rising Star... show 'em how it's done, Jesse... we're rooting for you.
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