After 10 episodes of varying quality, tons of money invested into a wall and judges Kesha, Brad Paisley and Ludacris and a sea of musical talent, ABC's latest experiment for the musical reality competition Rising Star came to an end last night (Aug, 24).
In a show that's format has changed more times in one season than we can count (for different rounds of the competition), up until the show began, it was hard to imagine what the layout of the finale would look like, but it actually made a decent amount of sense...
Rising Star would be returning to its duel-like state, with two pairs of singers matched up based on their aggregated East Coast and West Coast votes, resulting in a duel. Then, the two winners of that will battle in a final bid for the crown (trophy? certificate?) and Capitol Records recording contract.
The big twist, however, is that the show's employed judges would have no say in tonight's vote, leaving everything up to the American public. So, there will be no more 7 percent bumps in so-so singers from Kesha! Viewers can finally feel the full power.
This is all happening so fast!
The first duel was Dana Williams versus Jesse Kinch... and I think we all knew how this one would play out.
Dana Williams, "At Last": Dana Williams' show kicking off performance of the Etta James classic "At Last" was, well, OK. It's been pretty well established that Dana isn't the strongest singer on the how, carrying through by near-misses and West Coast saves, so her thin singing and too-youthful tone wasn't the best showing. I mean, this song is performed by Beyoncé... you really gotta bring it if you're going to take it on. Williams' sweet yet lacking performance was reflected by America's vote, as she walked offstage with 30 percent... a feat that should easily be beat by Jesse Kinch, who never seemed to fall below 80 percent.
Jesse Kinch, "Fortunate Son": After his rousing performance of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," Kesha said that Jesse Kinch slayed her face... and that's pretty accurate. Both the energy and vocal tone of this classic rock hit were perfect fits for Jesse... he could unleash his musical beast, giving a great amount of rasp and guttural blasts of pure rock into this performance, and it all worked. It's clear this guy has the talent to make it into the world of music, at least on some level, and his vote tally showed that, with a sky high 87 percent, making Jesse easily knock Dana out of the competition.
Austin French, "In Love With A Girl": Like, of course Austin French would perform a Gavin DeGraw song on Rising Star...his lightly alt-rock, singer-songwriter vibes mesh perfectly with the dude from the One Tree Hill theme song... In a season where the men dominated the women vocally, Austin gave a solid performance showing that he was, more or less, the cream of the crop. He didn't stray from the pitch and was high energy enough to get the crowd moving and on its feet. There was a little "je ne sais quoi" missing from this take on "In Love With A Girl..." though it seemed like Austin always had a star quality about him, he felt a little more dim during the season finale. But, nonetheless, he walked away with a solid 70 percent vote.
Audrey Kate Geiger, "Love Me Like A Man": Last week (fortunately over Maneepat Molloy), Audrey Kate Geiger was the deserved winner of that coveted West Coast save, securing her spot in the finale. This is a girl, however, who always shines with the slow burning songs, with her take on "New York State Of Mind: becoming one of this show's easy highlight, so it's really curious why she would take on the Bonnie Raitt mid-tempo tune "Love Me Like A Man." The attitude of the song fit her unique timbre well, and she was soulful, but there just weren't enough small, special moments or any real soaring notes... it was really just a song. It's pretty nice how in line America was with the voting tonight, and proves that the judges really could throw stuff off too much, as Audrey left the competition with a slightly lacking 47 percent of the vote.
So, the finale had been narrowed down, somewhat predictably, to Austin and Jesse. The show is now throwing in a new twist: both men would be singing with that massive wall up and the vote will be kept a secret until the winner is announced.
After a coin toss, it was revealed that Jesse would be singing first, then Austin.
Jesse Kinch, "Love Reign O'er Me": This The Who classic was an amazing choice for Jesse's final song of the show, demonstrating both his tender side (a la his performance of "Billie Jean") and his signature rock 'n' roll wail. He kept the little moments tight to his chest, allowing the song to breathe, but Jesse really came alive in the chorus, with fiery bursts of throaty vocals and plenty of raw power. There's a part of me that wishes he really, really went for it. Like, with crazy thrashing and screams and yells because why not turn it up to 11 for an audience that is clearly in your favor? But, maybe I'm getting a little too reckless here... Realistically, Jesse took just the right amount of risk and playing it safe, making for a solid final showing.
Austin French, "Bless The Broken Road": It's actually kind of hilarious and I don't know how this went by unnoticed to me until now, but newlywed Austin French is totally just playing for that lovelorn guy card on Rising Star... think about it. When was the last time he didn't do a ballad for his wife? Crazy. So, of course he took on the made-for-wedding single "Bless The Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. With a tender heart and those nice nasal vocals, Austin gave up a solid performance, but once again, a certain sparkle he always had seemed to be lacking... it's hard to put a finger on it, but it seems like Austin was just singing instead of putting his everything into these performances.
So, who was the winner?
The scores were 76 percent to 61 percent, showing that without a gauge, America was a little less likely to vote "Yes" on any one performer. But, with both ranking in at over 50 percent... there's no doubting either one of these guys, feasibly, could have been a deserving winner...
But it was always going to be Jesse Kinch... let's be real here, and the young rocker took home the first-ever U.S. Rising Star recording contract and... bragging rights?
Good for Jesse Kinch.
So, Rising Star season one has come to a close... how did the teased "revolutionary" show stack up?
There were a lot of bumps... maybe more than ABC, the show's producers or Josh Groban would have expected or wanted, but it should be notable that Rising Star did really improve from week-to-week. The talent clearly benefitted from their coaching, Groban eased into his role as a host and the judges gained a bit of credibility in their roles of deciding who can and cannot sing on key.
The show was a fun watch along experience too, even if the singers sometimes played second fiddle to Kesha's hair, an interactive mobile app and a massive multi-ton video wall. Voting for shows like American Idol or The Voice is fun, but it's some next level stuff to see the numbers on TV reflect your finger swipes from the mobile app.
It's be surprising, in a way, if Rising Star got a season two. With so-so ratings and so-so reviews and overall so-so talent, this show just feels to expensive to produce for its business results... but the fate of the show really could lie in Jesse Kinch's hands now. If he somehow manages to score a No. 1 record, this show could be a viable option for ABC and Capitol Records...
I guess we just have to see.
