THE RECAPS
STORMSEEKER.COM RECAPS! Reality writer Gordon Pepper provides
recaps of each show.
January 17, 2004 January 24, 2004 January 31, 2004 February 7, 2004 February 14, 2004 February 21, 2004 February 28, 2004 March 6, 2004 March 13, 2004
Star Search is back! Arsenio has returned, with a new twist - instead of the 4 categories from the last season, there will be 3 categories. Junior Singing, Dancing, and Adult Singing has returned, and thankfully, the comedy, which was worse than Dat Phan with a comic license, has been eliminated. They have brought back the feel of the 'returning contestant', as whoever wins the preliminaries will be able to challenge one of the teams in the 'winner's circle' (think the Entertainment version of Iron Chef), and the winners get to return to next week's show. I like that idea - now let's see if I like the rest of the show...
Arsenio is back live - and he's back for more in 2004. Also coming for more is Naomi Judd - but the new judge is Matti Lesham and the guest star for this episode is MC Lyte.
We start with the preliminaries in the 8-14 junior singer category. The first singer for the 2004 season is Spensha Baker. She has a nice powerful voice, but she doesn't show off her vocal range and she could have used a better song to display her full talent. Here come the judges - and we don't see the indidivudal ranking - but we do see that she has 13 stars - and after the results, we saa their rankings (Naoim 5, Matt 4, MC Lyte, 4).
Her opponent is Bianca Ryan - and she sings 'Impossible Dream' from Man of La Mancha. It's a much more ambitious song than Spensha, but that only works if you are on pitch - which she wasn't all of the time. I'd have to give this one to Spensha, but I am not the person who gives ou the numbers. Matti agrees with me in terms o flack of passion, but Naomi accuses Matti's inner child of having a diaper rash. What Naomi didn't say, though, was that she had the same rash, as she also marks Bianca lower than she does Spensha, which gives Bianca a total of 12 (Naoimi - 4. Matt 3 - MC Lyte - 5). Spensha moves on.
Let me get on the podium for a second. I hate it when the judges lie or are deceiving on how they judged people. This goes directly to you, Naomi. Matti may be the heavy, but at least he was honest. You made it seem like you liked Bianca better, but you were the deciding vote that gave Spensha the win. If you continue to do this sort of judging, then it's going to be a very long season between you and I...
Time to get off of the soap box and back to the show. Spensha gets to select one of the three people in the Winner's Circle - all adorned with tack gold medals. The people are - David Archuleta, Mark Mejia, and Molly Bouchard. Spensha challenges Molly, and it's on. Spensha doesn't perform again - but Molly has to beat Spensha's score of 13. Huh? Well that's not very fair in terms of performance. And no audience participation this time around? Lame, lame, lame - which I will not say about Molly's singing, but her song was lifeless and flat. Spensha should win this one easily. Naomi votes for Spenahs and so does Matti, who says that Molly started badly. The audience boos Matti, but he's right and MC Lyte agrees. Well, this knocks out all of the suspense from this one, as Molly, who needs a 13 to win - and gets an 8 (Naomi - 3, Matti - 2, MC Lyte - 3).
Well, that didn't come across too good the first time around. Hopefully, the Dance category will come around better - until we see All That, who has already shown up in both Dance Fever and 30 Seconds to Fame. They were doing clogging the first time around - this time around they do tap dancing, and I think that they were much better as cloggers. The music was off, and they picked the wrong song. In addition, they did not come off as being in sync at all. Yuck. It didn't do much for Matti either, and he gets greeted by more boos. I have to agree with Matti, and no one will probably want me on a talent show. MC Lyte liked it, and so did Naoimi - but they only get 11, which means that unless Matti gave them a 1, then one of the women didn't give out a 5 - in this case. MC Lyte (Naomi - 5, Matti - 2, MC Lyte - 4).
Their opponents are Rashan and Rashard, 2 African Americans who dance in sync. They don't do anything for me either, but they were better in time than All That. Matti likes them much better, and this should also have the lack of suspense quotient - and they do = (14). (Naomi - 5, Matti - 4, MC Lyte - 5).
The 14 spells trouble for someone in the Winner's Circle - but the incumbents do have some wiggle room - and the rule that a tie goes to the incumbents certainly helps them. The incumbents are arguably the three best - Candace and Brandon, Jon Cruz and Legend and Tempo. Rashan and Rashard challenge Legend and Tempo - but I probably would have gone after Jon Cruz, since he did win the tournament last time, and this would be the best time to knock him off.
I guess, however, that it would be a good challenge if you wanted to do a compare and contrast - especially if you think that Legend and Tempo aren't as good - which L and T aren't, according to Matti. 'You're not just old school - you're just old' says Matti, and MC Lyte wants the hair stylists who worked on All That to come back for them. Legend and Tempo are now Legends, as they only get a 6 (Yep - 2 points from each judge).
We now have 2 new people in the Winner's Circle. Will there be a Trifecta? Nadia Turner hopes so, as she sings 'I'm A Woman.' Now she has soul and energy - nice. The women liked it - but Matti didn't and me and him finally disagree on something. Matti gets boos, but the 11 means that the women weren't a s excited as they say that they were (Naomi - 4, Matt 3, MC Lyte - 4).
Nadia's opponent, Josh Strickland sings 'Against All Odds'. He sounds more like Maria Collins than Phil Collins, and he picked the wrong song for his voice and he wasn't clear in the lyrics. Matti thought that Josh had a narcissistic performance, which gets more boos, but once again, I agree with Matti, and once again, my choice wins as Josh only gets an 8 (Naomi - 3, Matt 2, MC Lyte - 3).
It's time to go into the Winner's Circle for Nadia - and the opponents for Nadia are Freedom Brenner, Jake Simpson and Vickie Natale. Let's see - you have the Grand Champion, the second place finalist - and a scrub who didn't get to the finals. Who does Nadia pick? The second placed finalist. Wha? With a score that low, you don't go after the finalist, but Nadia does, and I think that Jake, who sings 'I Wish' is going to make her pay for it. Running out of time, we see that Jake gets 13 stars (Naomi - 5, Matt 4, MC Lyte - 4) and he gets to remain in the Winner's Circle. Arsenioo is yelling that they have to go, go, go, and we;re gone.
We find out when we come back that the stars will be doing a public concert - and we also find out that the audience will be playing a role - but as the audience, we won't know what that role is until we go to the website. We get more drama next week.
My take? I do like the changes - but I think that you could save the announcement of both sets of numbers until both singers are done performing. That would add a little suspense to it. Naoimi is being nicer while Matti is playing the role of the evil Simon Cowell, but like Simon, I agree with Matti most of the time, and I don't think his comments are over the line, so I'm happy with him so far. I'm waiting for the drama and the audience participation, so the jury is still out on it, but there is more action, which is nice. We'll see if this translate to a better show next week.
Last week, I held out judgement for the show, just to see if they can better the format - or at least smooth out the rough spots. For example, they promised that there would be more drama as we were left hanging on a public concert - with the fellow Winner Circle players judging them. Instead of reminding us about that, Arsenio reminds all of us about the Winner's Circle. 'I'm glad that they don't have a Winner's Circle for hosts, because then next week, I'd be working at a Yuk Yuk's.'
Off we go with the first Winner Circle category as Karina Pasian starts us off with the Junior Vocalists. She sings one of the most worn out songs - 'I'll Be There', and she isn't bad, but she is too strong and I don't think that she selected a good song to showcase off her vocal talents. She does better once she gets back to the main theme in the middle of the song, but will her weak start doom her? Naomi has a good tone but bad pitch, and Matti agrees in terms of inconsistency, but she has heart. MC Lyte thought she was fabulous as Karina gets a total of 10 - not very good. (NJ-3, ML-3, MCL-4)
Scott Hoyne is Karina's competitor as he sing 'There's A Hero', which isn't nearly as worn out - and is a much better choice of song. This is an interesting contrast - Karina had more power and energy, but Scott is much more on pitch and I think he'll get the win here because of it. He shows off his vocal range at the end and I think that seals the deal. Naomi loved him, while Matti thought that he didn't have as much heart as Karina and MC Lyte thinks that he needs more practice. The results come out - and Scott only has 9 stars (NJ-4, ML-2, MCL-3), which really surprised me. I guess the judges find heart more of a factor than consistency and pitch, and that's something to remember on down the road.
Arsenio takes Karina to the Winner's Circle - and then he reminds us about last week's public concert. Well, I'm glad that he didn't forget it as the kids judged each other. The kids were tough on their own performances, but they gave their competitors all 5 stars. AwwwwBarf. Based on their performance - and that Karina only has 10 stars, I think that Karina has no shot against any of them, but she has to challenge someone, and she challenges Spensha.
Arsenio calls it a battle of the 2 midget divas (thanks, Arsenio), a Spensha sings 'When You Believe'. The look on Karina's face says it all - even before Spensha sings, Karina thinks that she has lost. This wasn't Spensha's best effort, and she came out flat, and I think Karina may actually have a shot against the off-pitch Spensha. She'll probably advance because Karina only scored 10 points, but Spensha Baker did not impress me tonight. The judges once again disagree with me as they love her, and give Spensha a perfect score of 15 (NJ-5, ML-5, MCL-5), and this is what I was concerned about when this format was announced - it seemed to me that the score was based more on past effort and reputation that the present performance, which really gives the challengers a huge disadvantage.
Will the same theme come through in the dance competition? We'll see as we see Salsa Sure', which is the combination of Liz Lira and Rico Brave. There is a lots of spinning, and wow, is Liz flexible with her back, as she has the poise to stay in mid arched form. That was nice - but Matti hasn't seen sexuality in it. MC Lyte disagrees, thinking that it was powerful and Naomi likes it too. The salsa gets a score of 11, (N-5, M-2, MCL-4). which leaves Matti shaking his head. What was Matti watching?
Their opponents, Brand New Old School, are old school dancers who are not very synchronatic. If Mattl wanted to stay non-hypocritical, based on his judging from last week, he would hate this group - and I am right. He didn't think it was in sync - and MC Lyte agrees. Naomi didn't think that they were enjoying themselves, and this seems like the Salsa group will be advancing. They will, as BNOS only gets 7 stars (N-2, M-2, MCL-3).
Unlike the young kids, the dancers were more critical when it came to the public concert, and they gave each other 3-4 stars. If the salsa people are smart, they would go after Jon Cruz, since it seems like Matti has on obvious dislike of that sort of dancing - and that's what Liz wanted, but Rico says Candace and Brandon, and that's who they go up against. I think Rico made a horrible error in judgement, because Candace and Brandon show them exactly what being in sync is. Matti thought it was a masterpiece, MC Lyte thought it was a masterpiece and Naomi thinks that they have musical bodies. Their score is a 14 (N-5, M-4. MCL-5), and Brandon and Candace stay on. If only they challenged Jon Cruz...
Cruz will not be challenged in the adult vocalist categories, but Jessica Silera would love to be a challenger. She sings 'Independence Day', and she sings pretty well. She's in tune, passionate, and she's in sync with the audience. MC Lyte thought it was good and Naomi loves her tone. Matti disagreed and thought that she was unoriginal and unimpressed - and Jessica talks back, saying that she expected that from Matti. She gets...9 stars? Wha? (N-4, M-2, MC L-3). MC Lyte gives her a glowing review, and only 3 stars? That's lame...
...but not as lame as Rachel Serta. She is off-pitch to start, and she doesn't come anywhere near the vocal force or passion that Mary J. Blige does in her song 'No More Drama'. If Matti liked her better than Jessica, I will be sick. Rachel holds a decent high note, but she doesn't make it past the first round in American Idol. MC Lyte agrees with me, as she wasn't thrilled, while Naomi agrees with me on the pitch. Matti? 'I thought there was some really interesting attempt at some interesting rhythms' adding that heart is just as much for him as technicality. Wha? Fortunately, cooler heads prevail - in the forms of the female judges, as Rachel only gets 8 stars (N-3, M-3, MC L-2).
Jessica advances to the challenge round - but the happiness may be very short lives as she brings her meager 9 stars to the Winner Circle. The singers were probably the most constructive group, as they seem like they have gotten a real bond with each other. For the second straight week, Jake is challenged, and he sings George Benson's 'Turn Your Love Around'. I don't think that this was his best effort, but it was solid and I think it will be good enough to stick around against Jessica. MC Lyte says that he was up for the challenge, Naomi says like Pavlov, he sings, she smiles, and Matti, not liking him in the beginning, thinks that he is growing on him - but still doesn't think that his singing career will go far. Now was that really necessary? Matti gives him a 3, but Naomi's 5 and MC Lyte's 4 gives Jake a 12, which lets him keep his spot.
I don't know what's scarier, Matti's critiquing or me agreeing with him. Anyways, there are no extra special projects this time around, but I'm sure we will get some type of drama as we tune in next week.
Last week, the inner Circle successfully defended their status. Will that happen again this week? Or will the Arsenio described 'Superbowl of Talent Shows' find someone better to go after the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers than the college teams that showed up last week?
We'll start with the JV squad - which is the Junior Singers. Forrest Lipton (when will CBS get graphics with the correct spelling of the singer's names?) will be singing first with 'Proud Mary'. That is a very hard song to sing, and I don't thing it's the correct song for her. She has voice potential, but she was all over the place in the song and I think she could have done much better with a better song. Naomi tells her to not have the teachers coach her to let her singing ability shine through while a toned-down Matti says that he liked it and MC Lyte called her sassy. Her score? a respectable, but not unbeatable, 11 (N-4. M-4. MCL - 3).
Her opponent, Britney Green, does a rendition of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' that I wish they left in Oz. If you want to talk about being coached, that was it. She has an excellent vocal range, but it's just too overboard and as much as people talk about heart, there has to be something said about hitting your pitch and making the tune sound more like a melody-line and less of a Karaoke 'Can You Top This' session. Naomi says that she needs more experience, while Matti and MC Lyte thought it was mixed. Brittany sees her score - 8 (N-3. M-3. MCL-2) - and as the audience groans when they saw the score, she immediately turns tail and runs backstage.
But is Forrest just fodder for the Winner's Circle? All of the singers got interviewed - but only the best interviews make the column. There really wasn't much differentiation on the quality of interview - but it's given to Mark Mejia (although all 3 of them got equal screen time, so that didn't really matter in terms of the show). Forrest challenges David Archuletta, who sings 'A House is Not A Home'. Britney should be taking notes from David, who shows us the right way to use trills and pitch bending. He's not as loud or emotionally as vocal as Forrest, but he technically nails the song and that would get a 5 from me. That was beautiful. Arsenio calls him 'Little Luther' and the judges gush on him - but he only gets a 12 (N-5, M-4, MCL - 3). He does advance, but only a 12? Hmmm...that should tell something to future challengers...
We are up to the future dancers, and the first one out of the box is beat boxer Daniel Rodriguez. He does some cool breakdancing - but I don't expect him to get very far with Matti, the king of anti-break-dancing. I'm right. 'I think you're very athletic, but that doesn't make you a dancer, my friend.' MC Lite thinks that he was very good and loved his elbows. Naomi agrees with....Matti, saying that she wasn't feeling him enjoying it out there. Uh oh - that gets him an 8, and he's toast. (N-2, M-2, MCL-4)
His opponent is John Bond, who just came out of the Alvin Ainley dance school. He looks sharp - and this is a serious threat to take someone out of the Winner's Circle. It was a refreshing combination of classical dancing, yoga and contemporary twirling and he should score with everyone. He does, and the 13 (N-4, M-4, MCL-5), makes him a credible threat to knock someone out.
We get much more drama from the interviewing section. Jon is accused of being a 'sell-out' for his community, Candace and Brandon's parents have been withdrawing from the Performing Arts School, and Rashan and Rashard overcame physical impairities to be able to dance. The interview goes to Rashan and Rashard.
Back to the competition - Is Jon as smart with his brain as he is with his feet? If he has watched the show, he should know that Matti doesn't like Jon Cruz and he is the perfect target to knock out. John Bond goes after... Rashahn and Rashard, who I guess isn't too bad, since Matti isn't in love with them either, but Mr Cruz would have been a knock-out win. In terms of synchronicity, this is their best effort yet, but in terms of technical performance, John Bond beats them. This ought to be a really close battle. Matti says that they were sloppy and that he wanted more - and Naomi agrees, which means that we could have a changing of the guard. Their score is....10 (N-3. M-3. MCL-4), which wasn't as close as I thought, and we do get a changing of the guard.
We have had one upsurgence - will she have 2? We will find out in the Adult Singing category, as we start with Nina Sol singing 'Summertime', which is sort of half-singing, half scatting, half-slurring effort. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't awful - it's just a different style that I'm used to hearing. I did enjoy it - did the judges? Judging on the look on Matti's face when she hits the high notes, the answer is....no. 'In the words of Kafka, Hopefulness is infinite - but not for you...it's caterwauling as it's worst.' Will Nina at least get higher than Britney's 8? No - she gets a 4 - the worst score so far in the series. (N-2, M-1, MCL-1). A 4? Now it wasn't the best that I've heard, but it didn't deserve a 4.
Melissa Montgomery has the closest thing that you can consider a walk on this show, as she sings 'On the Side of Angels'. She sounded very off pitch and generic to me, and at least Nina tried to do something different. Just me even seriously thinking that I like Nina, Miss 4 points, better than I'm liking this, is good enough to say that without even looking at the scores or hearing from the judges that it will be a victory for the Winner's Circle. Matti 'Not good enough for this Winner's Circle. Next.' Not that we really need to see the score - but she gets an 8 (N-3, M-2, MCL-3), and this seems to be an afterthought for the Winner's Circle - just like the interview segment and victory for Freedom Brenner was an afterthought.
It doesn't really matter who she picks, but she chooses to go up against...Vicky Natale. We could see the biggest point disparity in Star Search history as she belts out 'Never Loved a Man'. To any one who is going to go on Star Search, take a page out of her performance - she is technically excellent, she has lots of emotion, and you can read the song on her face. She 'gets into' the song, and her and Freedom are the only singers on this show that I've seen do that. Jake needs to do that if he wants to step up his game.
How did ther judges like Vicky? Arsenio - 'What was Melissa thinking?' and the judges testify to her greatness. Vicky gets 14 stars (N-5, M-5, MCL-4) as we get the greatest disparity between Winner Circle and Challenger, in both the winning (6) and losing (10) capacity. Note to future challengers - don't challenge Vicky.
We've had a lot of firsts on this show, and Arsenio is ready to give the contestant's one more little surprise - they will be in a non-tv competition, and the winner gets to go to the Grammys! Well, that's nice, but I'm still waiting to see how the audience will get involved - and I don't want to be waiting until the finals to have my voice heard. We'll see who gets to be heard at the Grammys next week.
The Grammys are tomorrow - but tonight we'll see who wins their interpersonal competition as they compete to be seen at the Grammys. But will their trip there be their final consolation gift, or can they hold on to their spot at the Winner's Circle?
Arsenio talks to us about he is glad that Justin is doing the duet with Janet instead of Rosie O'Donnell. That's cold. The only thing he wants to expose is the talent for tonight.
We get ready for the junior vocalists - and we hear 'Get Ready' by Parrell Holmes. The singing is decent - but he has some very sweet swivelling moves. Will the dancing overlap the sort of on, sort of off vocals? The judges seem to think so, as they give him a 12 (N-4, M-4, MCL-4), which I think is a fair score - and certainly good enough to knock a Winner's Circle person off if they have an off-night.
Charlene Cippolo will be singing from a completely different genre, as she sings 'Craze' from Patsy Cline's collection, Unfortunately, she does not bring Patsy Cline's sense of pitch, as she is consistently sharp throughout the piece. The vocal power is there, but the pitch is not, and I expect her (who would not have gotten past Simon) to get hammered. Naomi tells her to work on her posture, pitch and performance and Matti thought it was a weak performance, while MC Lyte thought she should be happier. Unfortunately, when you go up against what Parrell did, it's tough to match it - and her 7 (N-2, M-2, MCL-3)
The competition for the vocals is about...fashion???? Yes, in a rotten page taken from America's Next Top Model, the contestants have to get a fashion make over, and the person who creates the best outfit wins the trip. This segment is so pathetically lame and the person who created this should be stuck wearing J. Manuel's goofy wardrobe.
To make a long recap short, Spensha wins and goes to the grammys, and Parrell challenges...David. I probably would have gone after Mark, just simply because no one else has, but David did get a low score last week, and he could be vulnerable. Will he be? He sings 'Climb Every Mountain' and he is not as good as he was last week. This pops up another question - David has the better vocals - but Parrell has the better moves and flash. Which person will win this clash of styles? Naomi is in love with him and can't shut up. Matti and MCL agree, and the score of 14 (N-5, M-4, MCL-5) means that Parrell made the wrong choice. David sticks around, and I wonder what would have happened if Mark was picked...
Just like I wonder if anyone will pick Jon Cruz in the dance category. Lady Jewels is first - and she is a breakdancer. Listen, to everyone who will be going on - STOP BREAKDANCING!!!! She is acrobatic, but I liked Daniel Rodriguez better, and Matti savaged him. He is very unimpressed with this one too - and even though MC Lyte thought it was fantastic and Naomi overrules Matti, Jewels gets a rather tarnished 11 (N-4, M-3, MCL-4).
She goes up against Kayla Colflesh, who does some classical ballet with a chair. I found her unimpressive, bordering on generic, and if there is any shot that a breakdance will win, it would have to be on this one. Matti - 'If you wanted to see a powerful woman dance, there she is. Thank you very much.' I'll take that as a no, but we have a tie (N-3, M-4, MCL-4). In the case of a tie, it's 2 out of 3 judges who decide. Matti and MC Lyte vote for Kayla, and she gets to challenge one of the incumbent dancers.
I think that the only shot that she has to stick around is to challenge Jon Cruz, as she will already get a vote from the anti-breaker Matti. Candace and Brandon win the dancers version of the silly wardrobe contest, and Jon Cruz, who gets panned by their fashion consultant, is just itching to challenge someone. I think that Jon Cruz is in trouble, as Kayla challenges Jon...Bond. Sighhhhh....she obviously didn't see last week's show, and she deserves to lose - especially as he beats her at her own game in terms of finesse and contemporary creativity. John does slip while dancing, but that won't hurt him as he gets 14 stars (N-5, M-4, MCL-5). Kayla goes home and she has no one to blame but herself.
The only category where it has been elimination by talent squad is adult contemporary singing. The first singer is someone names 'Es', who sings 'What Kind of Man Would I Be?'. He sounds very good, and polished to boot - and he could spell trouble to one of the incumbents tonight. He is easily the best sounding contestant so far this season, and the women agreed - but then,. there's Matti, who chimes in with this - 'I was thinking of my laundry list while you were singing'. Ouch - that's painful - and so is his 10 (N-4, M-2, MCL-4) that he gets.
His opponent is Erin Baine, who sing 'Don't Know Why' - and promptly mangles the lyrics at the beginning of the song. This looks like we will have a clean sweep by the winners yet again, and I am writing this as Erin is singing. The judges are missing originality - and we have another tie with 10 stars. The women go with Es (N-4, M-3, MCL-3), but his low score puts him in trouble.
Since he doesn't really have enough stars to go after Jake and hope he had a bad night, I think that his only shot is to go after the person that hasn't been challenged - Freedom, who gets trashed by the fashion consultant. Vicky gets selected to go to the Grammys, but Es challenges (or shall I say sings to) Freedom, and he may have seen this show as he plays his cards correctly.
But was the right move right enough? Freedom sings 'Let's Get Serious', and he sings it well - but he's not as emotional as the other two, and if Es doesn't win, he's done a good job to show the other potential singers which one of the singers is the weak link. Then again, Jon Cruz is the blatant weak link in the dance competition, and no one has been selecting him...
Is Freedom the weak link? I think so, but the judges disagree, saying that he has elevated his game - and he did, with a perfect score of 15. So i seems that according to the judges, the challengers have been doing the right thing by going after Jake Simpson. It still doesn't do them any good, as the Winners retain.
Arsenio now has a new twist for the Winner's Circle. Next week - it's a Winner Circle Playoff - and whoever wins will automatically go to the finals and can't be voted off! That sounds great for them - and good for the audience, as they will have a hand in voting for the winner, but my reaction is...huh? Why are we going to tip our hand this early to see who win? Or is this a 2 week respite for the casting crew to find people who would be worthy enough to challenge the Winner's Circle?
We'll see if the talent scouts do their job in 2 weeks. We'll see who gets the huge advantage next week.
We get our first halftime ceremony, so to speak, as the Winner's Circle players compete against each other and the top performers will automatically advance to the finals. SO how does this work? Well, the same way as the old season worked. Each judge gives out 1-5 stars, and you, the over, can give as many as 15 stars, for a maximum of 30 stars. Arsenio reminds us that you have 3 weeks left until the finals, which causes me to say, why are we even doing this, where this could just be a repeat of what's going to happen in 3 weeks?
But before we get to the competition, we get a - sigh - collaboration - with all of the singers involved. Didn't ANYONE learn from FAME that you can't do a performance with choreography and expect it to sound good? It started VERY shaky at the beginning, but they composed themselves and it sounded very good at the end. Still, the beginning of it sounded very Fame-esque (and not in a good way) and the only people who held their own throughout the whole time were Freedom and Spensha. Will it give them an edge?
Well, we will find out by starting with the junior vocalists - starting with
Mark Mejia, who sings 'Someone left the cake out in the rain'. It seems like the performance took his toll on him, because although he was good, he started off very flat at the beginning and he was off-pitch throughout the performance. He could have been in serious trouble if it was an elimination week - but it wasn't and he did hit the high notes well. The judges disagree with me and called him magnificent - and they give him a perfect score of 15.
Well, that's going to be tough to beat. Will Spensha Baker be able to come close to it? She sings 'I believe in you' from Whitney Houston. I always find it interesting in a challenge of styles - she wasn't as high-hitting as Mark was - but she did hit the notes much better than Mark did and I think she had a much better performance form the technical side. So how will the judges compare that? Matti thought that Mark was better, but a 13 (N-4, M-4, MCL-5) keeps her in range to beat Mark in the audience selection.
Finally, it's David Archaletta, singing 'Ain't no Sunshine', and he easily sounds like the most polished of the three. He sings the more challenging songs, with a very mature sense of pitch and challenging R&B flavor for it. The judges loved it too and see David as a star - and a 14 (N-5, M-4, MCL-5) will make this a very very close competition for the audience to decide.
So for the first time this season, the audience will be voting. The audience decides that the person with the exemption will be...Mark Mejia (Mark-13=28 total, Spensha = 10 = 23 total, David = 10, 23 total). Mark moves on to the finals. My take? This was not his best performance tonight, and with such a margin like that, he will be almost impossible to stop in the finals.
Next time up - it's the dancers tun to be voted on, and unlike the junior vocalists who have much love to spread, the dancers are talking smack to each other. Jon Cruz is first - and for him to get into the finals, it's almost essential that he wins this, because Matti, 1/3rd of the judges, is guaranteed to deep six him against almost any challenger. Jon dances like he wants the exemption, and as can be expected, Matti wasn't pleased with the performance. The women disagreed and he gets a total of 13 (N-5, M-4, MCL-4).
Candace and Brandon are next, and they believe that they can use Valentine's Day to their advantage. I thought Candace was very synchromatic to the music, but I didn't fell Brandon in time with her and he could have rushed it a little. MCL felt it like I did, but Matti liked it better - but he's the only one as they get a 12 (N-5. M-4, MCL-3).
This leaves the door wide open for Jon Bond, and I see the strategy is to OutCruz Jon Cruz. The problem here is that he takes too much of a page out of Mr. Cruz's playbook, and he didn't wow me like he wowed me the first 2 times I saw him - a sentiment shared by Matti. He gets an equilateral 12 (N-4, M4, MCL- 4) and I think that it's anyone's ball game - but I think the edge will go to Jon Cruz. I am right - Cruz wins by an even bigger margin than Mark did (J Cruz - 12=25, C&B - 9=21, JBond - 10=22). and One of the other dancers may need Mr Gilooly to club Mr. Cruz in the leg to have any shot of stopping him.
Finally, it's the Adult Singers. First up, it's Freedom, who certainly (based on last week), seems to be taking steps to improving his voice - and he impresses me this week with 'King of Pain'. The judges agree with me as he gets the second 15 of the night. He's got the total package, and unless Vicki improves her game, Freedom will be getting the free(dom) pass to the finals.
I say vicki better be ready, because I don't think Jake is in his league. He tries to prove me wrong with 'Lately', but it's real tough to follow Freedom, and he seems bordering on lightweight with his choice of song. He sings it very well, and he's really into the song, but he doesn't have the total package like Freedom, who was galavanting all over the stage. Still, I expect Jake Simpson to score with the judges. He scores with the ladies with a 13 (N-5, M-4, MCL-4), but I still think it's a 2 person race between Freedom...
...and Vicky Natale, who sings 'At This Moment'. She bares out her soul for the song, and I think she's technically better than Freedom. Freedom did have more flash than she did, though, and flash was what won the junior vocalist competition. This ought to be VERY close - if the judges comply with their ratings. They do - but she only gets a 14 (N-5. M-5, MCL-4), which gives Freedom the edge. In the battle of the 3 musical heavyweights, the winner of Round 1...is...Freedom - and the 1 point was truly the difference (Freedom - 10=25, Jake-11=24, Vicky-10=24). He gets the win - BUT he comes in third in the audience's polling. Hmmmm....
My take? well, the adult singer category was close, and I would love to see another 3 person showdown. As for the junior and the dancers, it's going to be a rout unless they get some new talent. Mark my words - CBS will somehow will get someone new in there to take out one of the 2 Winner's Circle incumbents.
Will that happen next week? We'll all find out together...live....
On last week's show, we have one third of the final battle all set up in the winner's circle, as Freedom Brenner, Jon Cruz and Mark Mejia received last week's byes. We now need two more people in each group. Will the finals be a rematch of this past week - or will my prediction be correct and will CBS, who does not want to see some blowouts for their finale, get some new blood in there?
We'll see what changes in the Winner Circle there are, of any, as we see Jacob Boyd start off the junior vocalists. He sings 'Good Cowboy'. I will say this - he is definitely better than most of the junior talent that they have had = but I don't know if he's good enough to knock off David or Spensha. Matti agrees with me, as he didn't understand the words. Once again, the women say that they liked him better than Matti - but MC Lyte rates him the same way as Matti does (N-4, M-3, MCL-3) and Jacob only gets 10 stars.
Alexandrea counters and sings 'My Little Valentine'. She sings like a young Anita Baker and I like her voice. I don't think that she's good enough to get into the Winner's Circle either, but she could give them a run for their money - especially if the incumbent is not on their game and especially if the CBS people want some new blood there. Indeed, that is the case, as Alex gets 13 stars (N-5,M-4,MCL-4) and will be posing a threat to someone.
But who? As Alexandrea thinks about it, we have a montage of the singers going home. Mark Mejia gets surprised with a party supplied from the school, Spensha spends some time with her family, and David misses his brothers and sisters. So only the winner of last week's competition gets to go home? That's lame.
Who will Alexandrea pick? I would select David if I was her, because she shouldn't go after someone who sings in the exact same style as she does - and she agrees with me as she challenges David. He sings Oleta Adam's 'Get Here', which I thought was strange, because I don't think that's a good song for him. He also isn't as vocally strong as he usually is - and that , combined with his pitch being a little off (unlike other weeks) leaves him very vulnerable to be knocked off this week. Matti noted that he is a little hoarse this week - and is it because he's sick? He will still be home sick, because David gets....14 stars (N-5, M-4, MCL-5).
Hmmm. I don't know about this one. If you based it on this one performance, Alexandrea should have knocked David off. David's previous experiences in the Winner's Circle was definitely the difference, because he never should have earned 14 stars for that - and if they bring back the winner's circle, they should not be using the same judges. One of the fun things about the original Star Search was that they kept rotating the judges - and they may need to bring that back into the foray if we are to see some real unbiased competition.
We start off the dance competition with Billy Larson, who is a nationally ranked Tap Dancer. He didn't do anything for me, since he was off rhythm in terms of a few spots, but he was impressive in others. The judges disagreed with me, as they really liked his effort - but he only gets 12 stars (N-4,M-4,MCL-4).
Arsenio starts reading copy that says 'the winner, and New Member in the Winner Circle...'. Huh? Foreshadowing? Fixed competition? Well, it won't be with this ballerina, Ashley, who was ok and who Matti savaged. The savaging was a difference, as Ashley only got a 10 (N-4, M-2, MCL-4) - which gives Billy the win.
We now get to see Jon Cruz's homecoming. He gets a party in his local dance club, while Candace gets tears and Jon Bond misses his friends. Candace may be seeing her friends sooner than later, as Billy challenges them. Candace and Brandon start out disjunctive, but thy really smoothed it out and really put it together at the end. Matti says that they continue to amaze him, MC Lyte said that they did much better than last week and Naomi loved them. It seems like the copy goof was just that, as they get 14 stars (N-5, M-4, MCL-5).
So despite the hoopla of the tougher competition, we are still at status quo. Will we say the same thing for the Adult Singers competition? After seeing Heather Elkin, my answer is yes. People - if you want to sing, just being technically clean isn't enough. You have to bring some passion and fire to the party - and Heather, who sings 'A House is not a Home', seemed to leave her passion at home. The judges say that she needs more work - while Matti says that she isn't a star (was that really necessary?) as she gets 8 stars. (N-4, M-2, MCL-2).
Heather's opponent is Jacklynn, who sings 'Take Me For What i AM'. I'll take her passion, which she has, but leave her pitchless range on the high notes. This seems to be another walk for the incumbents, as Naomi tells her to stick to Karaoke and Matti calls her mean. Wha? We get another score of 8 (N-3, M-3, MCL-2) and we need to break the tie.
Who does MC Lyte pick? 'Neither , I didn't like either of them, You two select one.' OUCH! We have a severe case of meanness through all three judges. Naomi selects Heather, and Matti selects Jacklynn, which means that MC Lyte has to pick someone. In an almost eeney, meeny, miney, mo, fashion, MC Lyte picks Jacklynn, and she signifies what we all know - it's not going to matter because the Winner's Circle singer will blow out whoever Jacklynn chooses.
Before we see who Jacklynn does pick. We see another montage. Freedom Brenner gets to go home - and he's feeling recharged, much to the chagrin of Vicky (who wants to see mom) and Jake (who also wants to see mom). Freedom gets to see mom - and grandma and the rest of his friends as they throw a party for him.
Going back to the live competition, it's not really going to matter who Jacklynn picks, but I would like to hear Vicky sing again. I don't get my wish as she challenges Jake, who sings 'Let's Stay Together' and accompanies himself on the keyboard. He is, as can be expected, and as can be expected, he makes mincemeat out of Jacklynn with 14 stars (N-5, M-4, MCL-5).
So much for the supposedly new wave of talent revolution. Could this new surprise form Arsenio make any waves? The surprise is...they will be doing a concert for the armed forces. Well, that's cool - but it's not going to do much in terms of the competition. We'll see if new talent does anything for the competition as we see you next week.
As we head towards the ending in 2 weeks, I have to wonder if there will be any sort of changes. I mean, it's possible that someone could walk in there in the last week and win everything. Could it happen? Will the judges let that happen? It seems like they won't - and we'll see for the next 60 minutes if they stay firm with that.
With 2 weeks left, Star Search will either be presenting the challengers out - and they will either bring out the heavy hitters - or we will be getting dogs. Kevin Francis, who sings 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' isn't a dog, per se, but he's not in pitch to start off the song. He recovers big time, and shows a lot of performance aspects, galavanting around the stage and waving his hand as he hits the high notes. He finishes off very well - but did the slow start cost him? Naomi was impressed, Matti thinks that he has a shot at the Winner's Circle and MC Lyte thinks that he was great. Do they scores agree? Apparently, with a total of 14, they do (N-5, M-5, MCl-4).
His opponent, who can sing 6 different languages, will settle on Italian as Luisa Lebon will be singing from Puccini. I have no clue why she selected that - but it is a nice song to define a vocal range. I think that she selected the wrong song, however, and that will doom her against Kevin's much flashier show. Naomi loves the diversity and her voice and Matti thought she was amazing and MC Lyte felt the compassion. This could be a VERY close match-up - but my instinct was right and Luisa's 13 (N-5, M-4, MCL-4) falls a little short against Kevin.
The montage of the week was the singers performing for the armed forces - but they have to pick a leader. None of the kids wanted to be the leader - so they were happy when Spensha Baker volunteered. They all sing Amazing Grace and it came out very well. It's so much easier when the kids combine than the adults, isn't it?
Kevin has to challenge someone - and he should probably challenge David Archuletta, since he was clearly off for the last 2 weeks. But should he? The judges clearly favor him to stick around, and that stays in my mind as Kevin does indeed challenge David, who sings 'Wind Beneath My Wings' - and was much better than what he did last week. That being said, Kevin did do a better job in terms of pitch and Kevin had the better performance. The judges agree and David's score - 10 (N-4, M-3, MCl - 3) - is not good enough to keep Kevin in.
My take? Well, Kevin did deserve the spot - but it was apparent that after last week's debacle, the producers gave the judges a talking-to, as they all thought (as did we) that David should have been knocked off. It was even implied when they were speaking, as they were told to have them judged like they were never seen by those judges before. Methinks that this will be a running theme for the rest of the show...
The dance competition features the national Beat Box champions - Ground Zero. Why must every other act be a breakdancing spectacle? It was cute, but it didn't seem to me like there was any dancing - just a bunch of people twisting their body parts together. Matti completely disagreed with me and he loved it - as did MC Lyte - but Naomi agreed with me and called it very sophomoric. Their total is 11 (N-3. M-4, MCl-4), which gives their opponents lots of leeway.
Those opponents, Stacy and Joseph, look like a more mature Candace and Brandon. Their synchronicity was sweet and they really outclassed the Beat Boys. Matti was blown away, MC Lyte thought that the power moves were awesome and Naomi was also blown away. They should win this one easily, and with 14 stars (N-4, M-5, MCL-5), they do.
It's time to see how the dancers did in their leadership skills. They picked Jon Cruz, because they thought that he was the 'mature' one, but according to Brandon, they weren't prepared. They did get a group dance going, but it did see more improv, and they are still staring daggers at Mr Cruz. He can't be challenged - but the other two can, which brings up an interesting question - do they make this into a us vs. them (Candace and Brandon) better of synchronicity - or do they go after the probably less mature Jon Bond?
They go after Candace and Brandon, which is an interesting strategy - and one that I would not have necessarily done. In this performance, they bring a lot more passion that Stacy and Joseph - but the lack of technical grace is evident here. Naomi favors the incumbents - but everyone else doesn't, and with a score of 12 (N-5, M-4, MCL-3), we have our second changing of the guard.
Will we have the same surge of talent in the Adult Singing Category? Janice Unger hopes so as she shows us her pipes. She is on with the voice - but off with the timing of the band. Still, she is the best that's been across the stage - which considering that, isn't saying much, but Naomi loves her originality. Matti says that it's a mediocre performance, and once again, he overrules everyone as Janice gets 10 (N-4, M-3, MCl-3).
Gabreiele Sturbins sings 'Have you ever Fell in Love', She also has a shaky start, but she recovers and she sounds very nice. She is nice, but she doesn't hit the passion of the other singer - nor does either singer come close to matching the talent of the talent that was produced as contenders for the first 2 competition. You'll hear mote of that from me later - but we see that the judges do put her up as a credible threat with 14 stars (N-5, M-4, MCl-5).
How credible were the singers attempts to put a performance for the Armed Forces? Freedom was the captain, and he relished the idea. Despite Jake Simpson's hesitation, it went off without a hitch and everyone was happy.
Will Gabriele be happy? She will be if she goes after the right opponent, and there is no question in my mind that she will go after the same person that everyone has gone after - Mr. Simpson. She goes after...Vicki?? Wha??? VIcky sings 'Giving him something he can feel' - and she completely outclasses her emotionally. She delivers a sweet pitch too, and I expect her to retain her position. She does, with a perfect score of 15.
Why in the world did Gabriele not go after Jake? Well, let's start by going back to what I said on the February 14th airing -
My take? well, the adult singer category was close, and I would love to see another 3 person showdown. As for the junior and the dancers, it's going to be a rout unless they get some new talent. Mark my words - CBS will somehow will get someone new in there to take out one of the 2 Winner's Circle incumbents.
- Only two weeks later, that does indeed happen. What makes it interesting is 2 things - 1. The challengers go completely against the grain in terms of strategy, and they go after the person that's arguably been the stronger of the pair...but that leads up to 2. - The stronger of the pair hasn't been the favorites of the audience, as the one thing that ALL of the people challenged tonight had in common was that they all had the LOWEST score in terms of the Wild Card Challenge - including Vicky, who has been the judges pet, whereas Jake has constantly been on the outs with the judges - specifically Matti. It would almost seem that certain people are being targeted just to make the final competition closer and not a rout - but the producers would never do anything like that, would they?
This isn't an accusation - just an observation.
The observation for next week is that everyone will be getting critiqued - the singers by A&M Records big wig Ron Fair, and the dancers by a 'big wig' choreographer. As for the Winner's Circle people - they did indeed get a change in 2 of the categories. We'll see next week if they get any more changes.
The finals are next week - but will we have the same cast? Not if the same events happen from last week, as David Archuletta and Candace and Brandon have been booted. We open the show as Jon Bond and Mark Mejia shed tears for their departed comrades - but there isn't enough time to cry - as we are starting the competition for next weeks finale.
If the first challenge, Casey Schuber, wins, she wants to buy a horse. AwwwwBarf. She sings 'On Broken Wings' - and the song is very far from Barrrrf. She sounds very solid and I am wondering where was this talent at the beginning of this season. The women agreed, but Matti doesn't think that he'll get her horse tonight. She gets 11 stars (N-4, M-3, MCL-4), and I think the horse has left the stable.
Her opponent is Ashley Keating, who sings 'Happy Days Are Here Again'. She is on pitch, but the song sounds very heavy and well-rehearsed. I don't like it as it sounds too Broadwayish for me. Holding a note for a long time doesn't make you a singer and Naomi sounds too much like a drama queen, Matti doesn't agree with Naomi and we have a tie with 11 stars (N-3, M-4, MCL-4). Mc Lyte doesn't agree with Naomi either, as she votes for Ashley to win the tiebreaker.
As Casey and Ashley are being judged, the kids in the Winner's Circle are being judges by Ron Fair. He warns Mark to worry about his voice, tells Spensha that people will be jealous about her voice and tells Kevin that he needs to have a thick skin. Who's skin will Ashley be going after? Ashley goes after Kevin, which I think is a smart choice, since she wants to see if Kevin Francis can do it again.
Kevin performs 'My Girl' and he isn't as good as he was last week. He stops singing to sing runs and trills, and I hate it when singers do that sort of stuff. That being said, he should still be good enough to defeat Ashley - and he does, but barely, as MC Lyte's pan only gives him 12 stars (N-4, M-5, MCL-3). Still, 12 stars is good enough to get him to the grand finale next week.
Will a new dancer be moving into the group? Robbie Nicholson hopes so, and I think he is solid. He is almost perfect in terms of synchronicity with his song 'I Miss You', and he impressed my with his technicality. Matti agrees - but he didn't see the passion. Although MC Lyte disagreed, Naomi agreed, and didn't like Robbie's choice of clothing - but he gets 12 stars (N-4, M-3, MCL-5).
His opponent is Moy Rivas, a Beat Boy who temporarily lost feeling in one of his legs. Beat boys, beat boys, everywhere, and like most of them, he seems like a watered down weaker version of Jon Cruz - which is not a good thing. I expect Matti to go after him - but he loved the jazz improvisation off of the dance. MC Lyte thought that he was struggling and Naomi agrees with me, saying that Jon Cruz has a corner on this market. Moy gets a 10 (N-3, M-4, MCL-3) and Robbie advances to see...
...the dance critiques. She thinks that Jon Cruz was good and could get him an audition, he tells Joseph and Stacy that they can be successful as a group - as well as individuals - and she thinks that Jon Bond, if he took ballet classes, could do well, and she offers him an audition for a show in Vegas. Robbie gets to select - and I think he is much better off going after Jon Bond - which he does.
Jon Bond performs through 'Gotta Get Through This', and this is a very interesting contrast. Bond is the more passionate dancer, but Robbie was much better technically. Matti always go for passion over technicality, and the women liked it. I think that Matti's rating will make the difference - and it does as Jon gets a 14 (N-5, M-4, MCL-4). He will advance to the finals.
The only circle that hasn't been broken are the singers - and I don't think it will get broken tonight either. Singer #1 is Natalie Caprano, who sings 'When the Lights Go Down.' I may need to change that first sentence about not breaking the circle. She is good enough to do it, as her pitch is solid and I like the emotion in her voice. That was a nice solid effort - but will the judged agree with me? No, as the judges seem on the borderline side of bored. I think that they have they have their mind made up of those three singers, because she sang much better than the score of 9 that she got. (N-4, M-2, MCL-3).
Melissa Walton, who made the cut for the first Star Search, but who couldn't afford the trip, sing 'I Still Believe'. She should have saved the plane trip money - she was off-pitch and the Circle will stay solid for the year. She picks it up at the end, but Naomi said it was 'Decent but derivative' She gets a just as bland 9 stars, and it really doesn't matter who advances, but Melissa (N-3, M-3, MCl-3) does and she challenges Jake, not that it matters.
We see Ron Fair giving the singers advice. He says that Freedom is consistent, that Vicky should pick choose when to be vocally intensive and that Jake needs to pick a song that he can connect with. All Jake has to do is to beat 9 stars, and he can show up with a frog on his head and do that. He sings 'Just Once', and he only has to sing 3 minutes worth before knowing that he is a shoo-in for the stars. Even Matti has fallen in love with him, as Jake receives 13 (N-5, M-4, MCL-4).
So right after we get the most exciting star Search of the year, we follow it up with another ho-hum mediocre contestants episode. We get a few twists for the group. The first twist is that the winner of the adult singers will get the bonus of singing their new singles in front of everyone. The second twist is that the judges will not score at all - all of the scores will be from the audience - which I personally think should have happened all along, but who am I to judge? I guess next week, I am the one to judge - as are the rest of you, as we head to the finale.
What's the best part about an NCAA-intruded on finale of Star Search? It means that there's only 40 minutes worth covering, which means that all of the filler which goes into a finale show will be gone! Yay! Since the show is live, there is not a lot of filler to go around - and host Arsenio acknowledges this.
Let's go through a quick statistical recap - Of the three young singers, 1 remain (Mark Mejia), as is the dancers (Jon Cruz), while in the adult singer category, all three singers that started the series are there to end the series. One person in each category will walk out with $100,000. This time around, the judges don't vote at all - the whole decision on who wins the $100,000 is on you, the audience.
no one thought about the space-filler to the live performers, as they do a quick medley of their NEW soon-to-be released singles! Now explain to me, as a viewer, how I can be enthused about the songs when I haven't heard them before. It wasn't really a medley - more like a 30 second snippet of a song. Of the three efforts, I liked Jake Simpson's the best, as he really did find a song that he called his own. The audience seemed to like him the best too - and they showed him last, despite the fact that Freedom scored the highest and got the bye. Foreshadowing?
We'll save the foreshadowing for later - right now, we'll get to the junior vocalists. First up is Kevin Francis, who sings 'Ain't Too Proud to Beg'. He looks much better than how I've seen him previously and he looks like he's put his all into it. He can play with the crowd and he sounded great. The judges will be holding off their comments until all three singers are done (and I have a feeling that they are doing that thanks to those NCAA folks).
Next up is Spensha Baker, who sings 'There is a Child' as she takes a page from gospel. She also sounds solid, but she picked the wrong song for this and this I don't think will match up to Kevin's style and flash.
The final singer didn't get challenged at all this year - and the fact that he earned the exemption certainly helped. That person is Mark Mejia, who sings 'Last Dance'. If you were just to do this on one performance, Kevin should win this in a rout - but it's not and Mark Mejia, whenever he opens his mouth, gets the audience screaming at him. It doesn't matter if he was pitch throughout the whole song (which he was), the audience was moved by his charisma. I thought he was brutal, pitch-wise and if the judges were unbiased, they say that Kevin or Spensha would win.
Of course, the judges aren't unbiased, and Naomi supports Mark. Yick. Matti thinks that the singers there are much better singing here are better than on American Idol - which I have to agree with - but he also goes with Spensha, which surprises me, but I think that's a solid choice since she was solid as well. MC Lyte also goes with Spensha, which makes sense as well.
This will be interesting for the audience vote - if they base it on tonight's effort, Mark Mejia will be squarely in last - but the audience powered Mark to the exemption in a rout the last time that he was up there.
Don't forget to check out Freedom's Vicki's and Jake's new songs on Napster!
We are back with the audience's decision, and the maximum score is 15 stars, the winner, with 12 stars, is...Mark Mejia!!!! Spensha gets 11 and Kevin gets 9.
This shows me a few things -
1. In terms of convincing the voters, no one cares about tonight's performances.
2. Regardless of who supports them, the new people don't have a prayer.
3. Taking 1 and 2 in mind, Jon Cruz (who blew out Jon Bond earlier in the season) and Jake Simpson (who blew out Vicki and Freedom in the Voting part of the competition earlier on this season) are absolute locks to be the other 2 $100,000 winners.
Let's see if I'm right in the dance competition, as we start with Beat Boy star Jon Cruz. If there was any doubt in my mind that he was going to win, the doubt is gone as he has danced the best that I have ever seen him move. He jumps into the crowd, holds on to the bannister and even slides with his head.
There really is no reason to see the other 2 performers, but we will anyway, starting with Stacy and Joseph. They are very smooth, and I was very impressed with how they were doing. Jon Bond is also very very good, and although he wasn't as technically on as he has in the past, the more-emotional routine gives him plenty of future potential.
The only problem is that they are going against a buzzsaw by the name of Jon Cruz who has dazzled the audience and the internet crowd and who has gotten a huge throng of support - which includes Naomi. The other two judges disagree as Matti goes with Jon Bond. MC Lyte takes the wimpy way out and supports all of them. Well why don't you give out $200,000 of your own pocket to give to the other 2 non-winners? Not going to happen? Didn't think so.
It's also not going to happen for the second and third placed people, as they were tied with 10, while first place had 11. That was a lot closer than I thought - but the result is still what I thought as Jon Cruz wins the dance competition and another $100,000. Jon grabs the mike and says that through God, anything is possible. Arsenio then says that Jon is one of God's Beat Boys. Awwwwwblech.
Speaking of invoking religion on a talent show, the adult singers say that they are all blessed to be there, while Jake also adds that he's been drinking coffee and been nuts for the past 24 hours. Heh. We start it off with Freedom Brenner, who sings from the Steve Winwood collection. He is solid, but now nearly as strong or as emotional as he has been earlier and it felt like he sang a 'safe'song - which I thought I wouldn't be saying about Freedom.
Next up is Jake Simpson, who brings the emotion that Freedom left in the dressing room. He does a sweet rendition of 'One More Try' and this has to be the best that I've heard from him. I would be surprised if Jake doesn't win this...
...but if he's going to lose, he will lose to Vicky, who also brings the emotion. She brings the usual Vicky with her, which is wonderful to listen to - but I don't think that she brought anything to the table that would cause the Jake Simpson supporters to change their mind.
What do the judges think? MC Lyte thinks that Freedom shouldn't have been allowed to compete in this (ouch) but she can't choose between Vicky and Jake and we get the second waffling of the night from her. Someone get her some syrup and butter for her waffles! Naomi wants what MC Lyte ordered and she can't pick - but Matti does vote 'I can't believe that I am saying this, but you have to vote for Jake tonight!.' I can't understand that either, but I at least applaud Matti for not being biased and for having the grapefruits to have an about face.
What will the audience do? I think that Jake wins - and he does, in a surprising 2 star win over VIcky (12-10) while Freedom is far behind at 9. As advertised, Jake sings his new single and Arsenio thanks us all for watching and wishes us a good night. Fade to black.
My take? I liked the Winner's Circle idea and I really liked the 'audience only has to decide the winners' format on the last episode. That being said, this is how the format SHOULD have been from day 1, as the talent was obviously judged with a bias and certain people either stayed in the Winner's Circle or got into the Winner's Circle because of it.
I have always loved the idea of the show, but the format as they have now doesn't do it for me. Here is how it should be - you get ONE UNBIASED judge (preferably Matti, who is the only one in my mind who has stayed unbiased for the entire season) and get a rotating panel of 2 new judges EVERY WEEK. They can only make comments, but the audience votes on the winner and the Winner's Circle. Since there is never a situation where the audience votes on the Winner's Circle people against each other (except for that dumb 'winner gets a bye to the end' show), their vote at the Finale Episode will still be a surprise - as long as you eliminate the idiotic 'bye until the finale' episode. If the audience is biased and they keep the same 3 people in the Winner's Circle for the whole season, so be it, but the current format is broken and must be fixed.
Here are my final ratings - the talent, which is the best that I have seen it for the series, gets an A. The judging, which unfortunately, kept a lot of deserving talent out of the Winner's Circle dues to their bias, gets a D, and the format, which just opens it up to biased and shaky judging, also gets a D. The total with all three scores added up, is a C, with potential if they improve the format.
We'll see if they do that for the next season - which I do believe that they will get. I hope to see you around for that next season and thanks again for reading my recaps.
