The wide, wide field has finally been narrowed down for ABC's new singing competition Rising Star, with just 13 contestants remaining following three weeks of auditions and three weeks of duels. With a smaller selection of singers, it's finally time for some real stars to shine and develop true personalities, a true lacking feature thus far on the program.
For the third round of the show, each of the 13 contestants sang individually, trying to get as much of the vote as they could. Five of the thirteen would be sent packing, with one West Coast save on the horizon.
In a new twist, much to Ludacris' dismay, the expert's vote only counted 5 percent, giving Kesha and Brad Paisley's constant optimism a little less weight than usual.
But, how did it pan out? Better than usual, actually, with some real captivating performances from Jesse Kinch, Joshua Peavy and Austin French setting a new standard on the show, which is odd, considering they're the only three male contestants...
But let's go through a play-by-play in order of performances... Check out the best (and worst) of Rising Star below:
Macy Kate, "Who Knew": Instagram star and "surprise" Rising Star contestant Macy Kate kicked off the solo performance rounds with a performance of the pop megastar P!nk, who is simply not an easy woman to cover... I mean, she can do acrobatics during her performances and still nail every note, which is more than can be said for Macy, who warbled heavily during the intro to "Who Knew" while simply just standing there. Oh, and she was over-singing to high heaven too. It was really a truly painful opening to the show. Despite Macy's insane inability to get on key, all three judges voted "yes" for her, showing a weird type of favoritism and making excuses that even though she couldn't hit the notes, she could hit the performance (which she only kind of did). In the end, she walked away with 60 percent, which was way too high thanks to the always optimistic musical experts of the show.
Shameia Crawford, "Next To Me": It may be really stereotypical to say, but background singer Shameia Crawford really stepped into the spotlight this week with her spin on Emile Sande's "Next To Me." She injected extra layers of love and, well, soul into this neo-soul anthem establishing that she really could have a career in that world. Like basically everyone else on this show, it took Shameia a second to find her groove in the performance, but she did manage to add extra oomph to the end, garnering an acceptable 76 percent.
Joshua Peavy, "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You": It's really, truly easy to even forget that Joshua Peavy is even a person on Rising Star... Kesha more or less admitted that herself and she's on the darn staff. But, he should be someone to remember... he gave the early killer performance of Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." Giving a more tenor take on this classic love ballad, Joshua's vocals were incredibly passionate and something about him really draws you in, even if his stage energy was a little lacking. The power of a true voice prevailed, though, and he walked offstage with 85 percent, the highest point of the night up to that point.
April Lockhart, "Iris": Rising Star's favorite quirky girl April Lockhart gave her own interpretive spin on Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris." Like her audition song of Spice Girls' "Say You'll Be There," April slowed the song down, though she went for sugary sweet instead of haunting for her vibes. She messed with the arrangement, too, making the song purely her own. It wasn't good but it wasn't bad either, it was just a sort of boring song choice. But, it was enough to make Macy Kate realize she was probably going home, especially after her 71 percent vote.
Maneepat Molloy, "Stars": OK... I head this song way too many times this year on American Idol, so the choice made me roll my eyes. Yes, we know, the Grace Potter song can really show off a range and emotion without putting in too much effort, which is kind of exactly what Maneepat Molloy did. Maybe she's still just nervous on stage, but she stood perfectly still and just kind of delivered everything as is, with very few personal touches or flares or anything to make this not totally yawn-worthy. She's a pretty girl with a pretty voice, but when your red lipstick sparkles more than you do, there's a problem. And everyone knew it too, including Ludacris who gave the first down vote of the night. Maneepat walked away with 68 percent.
Dana Williams, "Latch": Dana Williams basically made the same mistakes as Maneepat Molloy, choosing the weird choice of Disclosure's hit song "Latch" and sucking out all the energy and fun of Sam Smith's original vocals. This was just so dull, a high school level performance for a major national competition. The judges are really, truly too kind. While I was on my couch trying not to fall asleep, Paisley, Ludacris and Kesha were all wondering why Dana only got 60 percent of the vote (and that includes their 15 percent). I can tell you why: a lack of any sort of personality or fun. Next.
Alice J Lee, "The Story": Alice J Lee followed Maneepat Molloy and Dana Williams, so when viewers needed a new injection of something exciting and invigortating, they actually goy the floppiest performance of the night. The real key to Brandi Carlile's brilliant track "The Story" is the build of emotion, but Alice started off over-singing and overconfident, making the entire package just feel off. The weird smiles and lack of true connection to the song mixed with some notes that were far too low for Alice's register led to the worst showing of the night and a 40 percent rating.
Jesse Kinch, "Seven Nation Army": After three boring performances, rocker Jesse Kinch was exactly what this show needed to raise the wall. (Oh yeah, with Jesse being performer number eight, the massive wall came back for contestants to raise or not to see who will be going home). As he is wont to due, Jesse absolutely killed it tonight, giving a new dose of sexual energy to this White Stripes classic, trading in Jack White's nervous energy for something far more raw and deep. Because Jesse is basically Rising Star's lone saving grace, he saved this episode and my hope for humanity, getting 88 percent of the vote.
Megan Tibbits, "Home": You know how sometimes all of the puzzle pieces may be there, but they just don't fit together? That was Megan Tibbits during her performance of Marc Broussard's "Home." Her voice was more or less good enough and her energy was there, but Megan just totally and completely failed to connect with the audience. After two stunning performances, honestly, it was weird. Maybe it was the unfamiliar song choice or the bulky wall, but she didn't show up. And neither did the votes, she only got 32 percent (with Yeses from Kesha and Paisley).
Lucy Punch, "Girl On Fire": This princess of Guyana tackled the relatively dull Alicia Keys' single "Girl On Fire," which may have made the difference in her vote. She infused her Carribbean flavor into the verses, which was a really interesting and fun spin, but she was incredibly pitchy in the choruses, failing to reach the song's high key note on the "fire" and hurting her chances with America. She only got 59 percent of the vote, 1 percent less than Macy Kate and enough to send her back to Brooklyn.
Audrey Kate Geiger, "The Big Bang": Before she became the twerk queen of 2013, there was a time when Miley Cyrus tried to be Amy Winehouse with the Rock Mafia collaborative track "The Big Bang," which Audrey Kate Geiger took on tonight. Now, maybe it's just me, but I totally forgot that Audrey was even a contestant on this show. She really did establish herself with this jazzy, snazzy song, with her own twisted vocals. It was pretty captivating but everyone was on the edge over it. In the end, Audrey was able to edge Mary Kate out of the competition with 65 percent.
Austin French, "If I Ain't Got You": Austin French got married yesterday (Aug. 2) and still managed to give one of the most captivating performances of the week. Maybe it was the newlywed dust all over him or that incessant smile, but Austin's performance of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You" was full of pure joy and emotion. His voice was on point, too. A few slightly off notes aside, his brand of tenor played in well with the bluesy original, giving a bit of an alt-rock spin on this modern love classic. A+, Austin. Go celebrate with your 85 percent.
Sonnet Simmons, "Young and Beautiful": Shouldn't this show know how to start strong and end strong? It's something American Idol is pretty good at and even The Voice, but man, Rising Star ended with the worst performance of the night. Taking on Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" should be a pretty simple task, but Sonnet Simmons messed with the key way too much, taking it up several notches and thus, making the whole thing incredibly pitchy. Add in some weird Jewel-esque inflections, and this was nothing but a flop... like, so bad that even Kesha voted no, resulting in just 30 percent of the vote.
And thus, concludes another episode of Rising Star, with one West Coast save on the line for Macy Kate, Maneepat Molloy, Dana Williams, Megan Tibbits, Lisa Punch or Sonnet Simmons.
[Photo from: Twitter @RisingStarABC]