Rising Star - Week 6 - Live Blog and Recap - Live Duels, Pt. 3
Welcome to the live blog and recap of Rising Star Week 6! Last week featured some close live duels as three singers were eliminated and four advanced after Sonnet Simmons was rescued by the West Coast.
Tonight is the final night of the live duels! Who will complete the top 13? Will your favorites make it through? And which singer will the West Coast save? Keep it locked right here, as Rickey will be adding videos as the night rolls on, and I'll be updating with my running commentary!
Credit: ABC
Let's get this show on the road!
RECAP
-So we open with the usual rambling from the judges, and what had seemed charming in the early weeks just feels like a case of "trying too hard" now. But we don't waste a whole lot of time getting to our first duel of the night...
MORGAN HIGGINS VS. MANEEPAT MOLLOY
MORGAN HIGGINS is up first!
-Morgan wants to know why Brad voted no, and he explains that he didn't feel Morgan was ready to win it. For her part, Morgan is bummed she's going to have to face Maneepat, whom she loves. However, Kesha tells her she needs to be less sweet and more assertive. Her song is "The Edge of Glory," which has me nervous since it's one of those songs that takes a while to actually build to a crescendo, which could be a problem for her when she only gets such a short amount of time.
-Then again, I'm thinking maybe this just wasn't the right song for Megan. The show once again does the thing it forces more than half of its contestants to do every week, which is start the song with the chorus and then go into the verse, which probably sounds good in theory, but just hardly ever works in practice. It isn't bad, per se, but I just didn't see any huge star quality from Morgan in this. Yes, she's a good singer, but "The Edge of Glory" is just one of those insurmountable songs that you shouldn't try unless you're one of those towering, powerhouse vocalists. Megan ends the performance with just 45%, which has to be considered a disappointment.
-Brad talks about how Morgan really gave it everything she had. Ludacris, meanwhile, feels she was holding back, and ultimately wasn't all that impressed. "I think it needs more work," he said, being the only judge to vote "no." Kesha, meanwhile, saw "conviction" in Morgan's eyes and says it was very convincing. As much as I might hate to say it, I'm with Ludacris on this one. It just wasn't up to par. But she could still advance, provided Maneepat bombs.
VIDEO: Morgan Higgins sings "The Edge of Glory"
MANEEPAT MOLLOY is up next!
-For those not in the know, Maneepat is the former winner of Thailand’s Got Talent Season 1, where she competed under the name Myra Molloy. Here, she's going to tackle "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, which is one of those deceptively difficult songs that seem easy, but are actually a nightmare of vocal complexities. Maneepat talks a bit about how sometimes, even her family has discouraged her from going for her dreams, and that breaks her heart (one would think it would light an even bigger fire under her, but I can see how that would be demoralizing). In the mentoring session, Ludacris warns Maneepat that the performance is boring, with Kesha adding that she needs to add some personality to it. I mean, they're not exactly wrong, but I thought the vocal sounded perfectly lovely. At least nicer than Morgan's, anyway.
-The performance is pretty good, I thought. I didn't feel it was the knockout it probably should have been, but Maneepat has serious talent (even if her lower register isn't as strong as it could be), and this was easily better than Morgan's performance. Ludacris and Kesha don't take long to vote "yes" for Maneepat, and it takes America even less time to get her up to 66%. This is one of the lower scoring battles of the duel rounds, but that's not really all that surprising considering the Warm Glass of Milk Before Bedtime nature of the two vocalists.
-Kesha talks about wanting both girls to succeed, but adding that only one can. However, she says that both girls are amazingly talented, a sentiment somewhat echoed by Brad, who admits that while he felt Maneepat's vocal was fairly pitchy outside of her glory note at the end, still thinks both girls are talented.
VIDEO: Maneepat Malloy sings "Gravity"
-With a final score of 66% to 45%...
MANEEPAT MALLOY WINS THE DUEL AND ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!
-This was the right result, even if I did see potential in both singers. Unless one of the next acts bomb, however, I can't imagine the West Coast would save Morgan.
SHAMEIA CRAWFORD VS. UNSELFISH
SHAMEIA CRAWFORD is up first!
-Shameia talks about how she and her husband are full-time musicians, which means they never know where their next paycheck is going to come from, necessarily. She was wracked with nerves waiting on the West Coast results, and her reaction to being saved is fantastic, and makes me like her all the more. But even more than that, she talks about being glad the Wall is up this time, since it didn't raise for her the first time. (Awwwww.) This is kind of a strange battle, but I guess somebody had to face the four-man group, and Shameia is as good a competitor for them as any. Shameia is going to be bringing her R&B/Soul stylings to "Cry Me A River" by Ella Fitzgerald which is a pretty solid song selection, and not something I would have immediately guessed for her. Not everyone can do Ella Fitzgerald like that, but the rehearsal footage suggests maybe Shameia can.
-The performance is more or less what I expected it to be, which is tremendous. However, despite all three experts voting yes for Shameia, her vote totals climb slowly. It's far from a meteoric rise. That said, it still ends up being the highest score of the night so far (which, admittedly, isn't saying all that much when we're only two performances in). All things considered, I don't think there was a single bum note in this entire vocal. She'd do well on The Voice, I think. That show caters to her soulful brand of singing far more than this show likely will, I would imagine. Shameia finishes the performance with 70%.
-We learn that Shameia and her husband arranged her song tonight, which is all the more impressive. Ludacris calls it "damn near flawless," while Kesha tells Shameia she looks like a goddess and sounded "unparalleled". In lieu of criticism, Brad reads tweets from fans talking about Shameia's flawless vocal control and her wonderful tone. Gotta earn that paycheck! Groban even calls him out on reading tweets instead of talking about the performance from his own perspective, since this kind of implies he was surfing Twitter on his phone during Shameia's performance. Ah well, I doubt Shameia is that bothered, since 70% is going to be a hard number to top.
VIDEO: Shameia Crawford sings "Cry Me A River"
UNSELFISH is up next!
-Seeing Unselfish do their thing makes Ludacris want to be a singer, so he gets in on a note with them, in an amusing little moment. Ludacris, however, says that the four guys need to be "one voice, one sound," and says that they didn't raise the Wall last time, meaning they have something to prove this time. The guys compare losing again to getting beat up by someone you already got beat up by before, adding that while Shameia is a great competitor, they're not going to let themselves fail.
-Unfortunately, as they say, words are wind. They sing "Payphone" and it's kind of a mess. Their harmonies are nice, but the individual portions (particularly the opening) just don't do it for me at all. I don't think groups are happening on this show...like, at all. Only Kesha votes yes (because of course), and the guys ultimately top out at 33%.
-Kesha notes that while that wasn't the best performance, she's not a "dream crusher," and that she gave them a blue arrow as a show of support. Yeah, Kesha is really not cut out for this at ALL. Ludacris, for his part, says that he's not a dream crusher either, but that no one can stand in the way of a person's destiny, and that if they're meant to get there, they'll get there with hard work. He simply feels Shameia crushed it, while Unselfish still needs to work on their harmonies. Hard, but fair. I like Ludacris quite a bit on this show.
VIDEO: Unselfish sings "Payphone"
-With a final score of 70% to 33%...
SHAMEIA CRAWFORD WINS THE DUEL AND ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!
-Yeah, this was a no-brainer. Shameia destroyed Unselfish there.
DANA WILLIAMS VS. AUDREY KATE GEIGER
-Dana brings her guitar and talks about how it reminds her of her late father. When the experts ask what genre she fits into, she says something more like folk or soul, although she's not sure of a specific category. Ludacris laughs and says she just did categorize herself, since not many people sing soul mixed with folk music. (Brad calls it "soulk.") Dana talks about bringing everything she's got to beat Audrey, who has a wonderful voice and tone.
-Dana sings "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and while it's not the best performance of the night -- and while it has, unquestionably, the corniest friggin' arrangement I've heard on a singing competition in at least three years -- it's my favorite vocal of the night so far. Her runs are lovely, if imperfect, and her big note at the end is fantastic. Also: she totally looks like a star to boot. She finishes with 67%.
-Brad, who voted no, explains that while he likes Dana, he feels like she was rehearsing the song as opposed to performing it for real. This gets Brad a bunch of boos, and rightfully so, according to Kesha. She talks about how Dana has a unique voice she's never heard before, and adds that girls with guitars give her "lady boners." She can't believe Brad voted no, and Josh notes that this is the only no Dana has gotten in the competition so far. Still, it's not like she has a bad score or anything, considering how the duels tonight have gone so far.
VIDEO: Dana Williams sings "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"
AUDREY KATE GEIGER is up next!
-Audrey restates her backstory about growing up as a surfer girl, and adding that her father gave up his dreams to give her a normal life. However, he doesn't want her to have to do the same. Ludacris likes that Audrey plays guitar but uses her voice as the real instrument. Brad thinks it's gutsy that Audrey wants to start off her song a cappella, since it's all her and she'll have no net. I've never thought of the band or accompaniment as a safety net before, although I suppose they kind of are, simply for how they can cover up shortcomings in a vocal. So yeah, props to Audrey for this. She's singing the Adele version of "Make You Feel My Love," which is a risk enough as it is. For her part, Audrey says she intends on going all the way and winning this.
-Aaaaand favorite performance of the duels. All three weeks of them. This was practically flawless, as she has this silky, soulful tone that's completely effortless. Yet it's not at all like Adele's, in that Audrey's voice has a light, whispy kind of touch that is almost like listening to someone breathing. I could listen to this all day, to the point where I want a studio version of this YESTERDAY. Naturally, Audrey raises the Wall with 88% of the vote.
-Ludacris talks about Audrey having a voice he could never get tired of listening to, and adds that it was such a risk to start off a cappella, noting that it paid off in spades. Brad says Audrey has the kind of voice he signed up for this show to find.
-With a final score of 88% to 67%...
AUDREY KATE GEIGER WINS THE DUEL AND ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!
KAREN HORNSBY VS. JOSHUA PEAVEY
KAREN HORNSBY is up first!
-Karen wasn't happy with her first performance, noting that she was thrown off by hearing her pre-performance package in which she dedicated the song to her daughter, Gabby. Karen feels she was paired with Josh because they both have very soulful voices, but she's ready to go out there and give it all she's got. Kesha feels if Karen can harness her abilities and not get shaken by emotion, she could go all the way. However, this will be the first night Gabby is in the audience for one of her mother's performances, so the pressure is pretty high.
-Karen sings "Natural Woman", and her voice breaks in several significant places during the song. So while I actually quite like her voice, and all the power it has, including all of the raw-throated runs, the performance is kind of a disappointment. In particular, her high notes don't get the job done, and I think she knows this, leading to her overcompensating with aimless runs as the song nears the end. She finishes the performance with 66% of the vote.
-Josh notes that Karen is making Gabby proud with each performance, and Kesha echoes this sentiment by saying she's proud of Karen, who looks like a "natural woman," to boot. Brad doesn't know if it was the perfect performance, but he feels Karen is the most inspiring person on the show. He asks her where she's going, and Karen responds, "All the way!" Given her backstory, it really wouldn't surprise me if she did.
VIDEO: Karen Hornsby sings "Natural Woman"
JOSHUA PEAVEY closes the show!
-So Joshua was going to sing "Life Is a Highway," which my nephew will never not think of as "Lightning McQueen's song". However, Ludacris felt it wasn't the right fit, and talked Josh into changing it. The new song? "Too Close" by Alex Clare, which is possibly the biggest change I've ever seen an artist make on a show like this after deciding to switch songs. But the real kicker is that it's really not bad. Like, at all. His voice could fit this like a glove.
-And it kinda does, honestly. I was really impressed with Josh's passion, and even more impressed his range. He goes note-for-note with the original, and even surpasses Alex Clare in some areas. It's such an intense, soulful vocal, and memorable in a way that "Life Is a Highway" absolutely would NOT have been. I was into everything Josh did here, and the experts were too...except for Kesha, WHO VOTED NO?!?! Seriously, I was not expecting that at all, but I guess she's a Karen Hornsby diehard. Not that it matters, since Josh scored 75% of the vote, which is enough to knock Karen out of the competition -- or, at the very least, leave her fate in the hands of the West Coast.
-Ludacris was happy with the song switch, and tells Josh, "You surprised me with this." Meanwhile, Kesha rationalizes her vote by basically confirming what we all thought she'd say: “I didn’t want Karen to go home. I’m sorry. I’m just in love with her.” Fair enough. I guess it's up to the West Coast to save her now.
VIDEO: Joshua Peavey sings "Too Close"
-With a final score of 75% to 66%...
JOSHUA PEAVEY WINS THE DUEL AND ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!
-And that's a wrap on the duels! The finals are kicking off with Top 13 Week, as FIVE SINGERS will go home! Madness reigns! But then, we kinda have to end this show before the new fall season begins, so we're going to get a weekly Red Wedding to knock off a bunch of these finalists in one fell swoop. Makes sense.
-So what did you think of tonight's duels? Did the right acts go through? If not, who should have advanced? And who should the West Coast save? Sound off in the comments! Until next week, thanks for hanging out with me tonight.