So here we are... at the top eight semi-finals for season one of Rising Star. Last week, the show continued to improve in its format by narrowing the field to 13, and with even less performers on stage this week, the individual flaws and strengths of each contestant (as well as their performing personalities) shined through.
Like last week, the men took the cake, with a strong begging, middle and end of the show thanks to Joshua Peavy, Austin French and Jesse Kinch. As for the females, they struggled a bit more to find comfort on stage, with some particularly wooden and frozen performances from Dana Williams, Maneepat Molloy and Shameia Crawford.
Only five could move on to next week (with one West Coast save)... so here's how the top eight from Rising Star stacked up:
Joshua Peavy, "American Woman": Before last week, Joshua Peavy was one of the more forgettable contestants on Rising Star, clearly a solid singer but something about him failed to resonate with audiences and allow him to be remembered between the weeks that he wasn't performing. Last week, Peavy gave one of the more memorable performances with "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You," so this week the program smartly kicked off with him in the lead. Peavy chose to get a little more raw than his Michael Bolton love ballad with a take on Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman" and really, truly pulled it off, almost sounding identical to the original version. Unlike many contestants on Rising Star, there were no missed notes, no lack of stage presence, just pure rock 'n' roll. And the stellar performance paid off, with an easy 71 percent of the vote.
Dana Williams, "Human": Perhaps she's just riding on the name of her famous guitar playing father, but after a particularly painful performance of Disclosure's "Latch" last week, Dana Williams was saved by the West Coast. Soo, she's back to take on Christina Perri's "Human." Perri is easily one of the pop singers today with one of the strongest voices, and there was obviously no way Williams was going to live up to the original version. Her build up in the pre-chorus was particularly painful vocally, with Williams falling flat beyond belief. Though Kesha and Josh Groban later commented that Williams has a unique tone, there's nothing particularly dazzling about her - she just sounds like any other girl. But she managed to squeak by with 57 percent of the vote (much more than deserved).
April Lockhart, "Girls Just Want To Have Fun": April Lockhart is this season's token quirky girl, so it was really just a matter of time until she performed the classic Cyndi Lauper single "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." The only issue with her song choice was, well, it was really very much the wrong one. Lockhart had a bit of trouble finding the right key and her quiet, jazzy voice just was not the right fit for this sort of feel-good anthem. Her struggles to match the strengths of this song showed, with nos from both Brad Paisley and Ludacris (though Kesha, ever the optimist, voted yes) and also reflected in the audience vote - 27 percent (or a total guarantee home).
Maneepat Molloy, "Your Song": Maneepat Molloy is really good at singing slow songs and just standing still. She did it last week with "Stars" and did it again this week with Elton John's "Your Song." Listen, it's clear that Molloy has a really strong voice; she's only 16 years old and can sing circles around her fellow contestants but she really just has no confidence or stage presence. She just stands there and sings - and it's not in a simplistically beautiful way - it's just boring. Her lack of personality on stage reflected in the judges' votes (which feel in like with April Lockhart's) and America, who only gave Molloy 46 percent. (Note: Later, she would be saved by the West Coast with 55 percent.)
Audrey Kate Geiger, "New York State of Mind": After almost missing the Top 8 last week with a performance of the little-known Miley Cyrus single "The Big Bang," this week Audrey Kate Geiger went for one of the biggest classic jazz tracks, "New York State of Mind." Looking demure on stool with her hair parted on one side and a classic little black dress, Geiger kept things sweet and simple, but the payoff was huge. You don't always have to go for the biggest, strongest notes if everything is beautiful on its own, something Geiger showed flawlessly. Paisley called her one of the biggest stars of the show, and America agreed with 85 percent of the vote.
Austin French, "House of the Rising Sun": Though the top eight on Rising Star is five girls and three guys, the men really are the stars of this program - they proved it last week and did it again this week. Joshua Peavy kicked things off strongly with "American Woman" and Austin French carried the middle with a crazy strong performance of "House of the Rising Sun." Keeping things winding, sneaky and jazzy, French sung the crap out of this Animals classic. This guy just has raw talent, a truly unique timbre and pure unadulterated soul... and it showed with a stunning 89 percent of the vote and an easy passing of April Lockhart, who was then sent home.
Shameia Crawford, "Skyscraper": It seems like the women of Rising Star really lack in stage presence, which Shameia Crawford suffered from this week with her performance of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper." Technically, she was like OK... she missed a few particularly poignant notes in a very painful way near the end but it wasn't more offensive than things seen in past weeks on this show... but her biggest performance flaw was her wooden persona. She managed to beat out Maneepat Molloy, but still only had a meh showing with 53 percent.
Jesse Kinch, "Money (That's What I Want)": Rising Star must be reading these Music Times recaps, because this week the show started and ended with two of its strongest performers. Rocker Jesse Kinch took a harder take on the classic Barrett Strong song "Money." With his head bouncing and shaking around like a mad man, Kinch blasted away all of the other competition with his nervously high energy and that soon-to-be signature raspy voice. With lights for days backing him up, Kinch was a beam of hope for the end of this show, easily sending Shameia Crawford packing with his 88 percent.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
