Austin French sings 'House of the Rising Sun' on Rising Star (VIDEO)

Austin French sang 'House of the Rising Sun' on Rising Star Top 8 on Sunday, August 10, 2014.

In the pre-performance video, the contestants talk about how cute Austin and his wife are, and we're reminded once again why Austin is one of the easier guys to remember, since his progress has gone from "Engaged Guy" to "Married Guy". Still, engaged or married, he's "Can Definitely SING Guy," so hopefully he can bring it tonight. The experts all talk about how happy Austin is, although Kesha worries about what kind of record Austin would make, since she still doesn't know. You know, that's a pretty good point. I have no idea what an Austin French album would be like. Then again, I kind of like that you never really know what you're going to get with him. Keeps things interesting.

And he does, singing "House of the Rising Sun" and absolutely slaying it, in my opinion. He just has such a soulful, vibrant quality to his voice, as if he's possessed. I loved this far more than I thought I would. Right now, he's neck-and-neck with Audrey for best of the night. And, apparently, America agrees, as he surpasses Audrey's score by earning a whopping 89%!

Surprisingly, Brad admits he's never loved that song, and finds himself wishing Austin would belt out a country tune sometime, maybe Rascal Flatts or Hunter Hayes or -- as Kesha suggests he really meant -- Brad Paisley. That said, Brad does like Austin, so that's a plus. Kesha likes both Austin and the song, and admits she used to cover this song herself. Meanwhile, Ludacris loved that Austin changed some of the vocal arrangements of the song, and says that's what earned his "yes" vote.

Watch the performance video here: