The end is almost near on Rising Star, as the Top 8 becomes the Top 6. The top five singers from the East Coast voting will advance, and one of the other three will move on with the West Coast vote.
There’s this somewhat annoying trend happening on the show where the performers will start off a cappella before moving on with music. It’s fine here and there, but when it feels like half the performers are doing that, the show needs to do a better job of helping the singers come up with different arrangements.
But on to the show:
Joshua Peavy (“American Woman”)
Not sure if this is the right song choice as something feels a little off. Still, I’m a fan of his voice and he allows himself to have his big moments in the song. I also love the energy to kick off the show. Result: 71%
Dana Williams (“Human”)
She’s like the cat with nine lives as she keeps getting saved. Will she finally be able to establish herself into the next round or will she need help again? It’s just okay, there’s some shouting and I’m somewhat surprised at the high score. Luda votes no. Result: 57%
April Lockhart (“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”)
I totally do not recognize the song because the arrangement is strange. It’s just unpleasant and even her cheery disposition throughout the song can’t help this somewhat-trainwreck. It’s just the worst song choice for her. A risk that doesn’t work out. Result: 27%
Maneepat Malloy (“Your Song”)
Yikes, she starts really off-key with her big note. Her energy is like a roller coaster and it’s really noticeable when she’s off-pitch throughout the song because the music is so soft. It’s apparent, though, that she worked on her performance and delivery like the judges told her to. Result: 46%
Audrey Kate Geiger (“New York State of Mind”)
Everything about this is spot-on: the look, the sitting on a stool in front of the piano, her look. It all comes together for a cohesive performance that takes us back to the jazz era. She is someone who seems to have figured out the power of song choice and what fits her voice. She’s soft where she needs to be but then turns up the power in other parts, and it’s touching to see her get choked up near the end of her performance. Result: 85%
The Top 5 to Beat
Now it’s up to the rest of the singers to raise the wall by getting a score higher than the person in the “hot seat” (the contestant with the lowest percentage). Here’s how they stand now:
Audrey Kate
Joshua Peavy
Dana Williams
Maneepat Malloy
April Lockhart
Austin French (“House of the Rising Sun”)
Brad wants him to take on a country song, and I think I kind of agree. I’m hot and cold with his voice, and this one isn’t doing it for me, but no one seems to agree with me on that. But he’s on his notes and, like always, he is like the energizer bunny and his performances are always fun to watch. Result: 89%; April Lockhart out.
Shameia Crawford (“Skyscraper”)
There’s a unique arrangement to the song that I’m digging, but she needs to learn a bit more control. It’s all at one energy level, that of singing at maximum capacity through the entire song. It’s surprising we’ve come this far, and she doesn’t know when to pull back and soften to give the performance a bit more dynamic. Result: 54%; the wall rises, Maneepat Malloy is out.
Jesse Kinch (“Money (That’s What I Want)”)
Jesse’s at a point where we’re all familiar with his talent level and what he can do. His challenge now is to surprise us, and he did not accomplish that with this performance. It’s more of the same of what he can do, and dare I say I’m even a little bored. Brad seems to agree as he calls it a “cliche cover song,” and he’s the only one who votes no (which is kind of shocking, it’s not like it was bad), but maybe it’s the reality check that Jesse needs moving forward. Result: 88%; the wall rises, booting Shameia out of the Top 5.
WEST COAST UPDATE
Like last week, one extra singer will advance thanks to the West Coast viewers. Here are the West Coast percentages of the Bottom 3:
April Lockhart: 30%
Maneepat Molloy: 55%
Shameia Crawford: 54%
Maneepat Molloy will move on to the Semifinals. That’s a huge swing from the East Coast viewers, as she went up 9% while Shameia stayed the same on both coasts.
Rising Star airs Sundays at 9pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
