Tonight on ABC’s new reality singing competition RISING STAR premieres with its first episode beginning with auditions. On tonight’s show The series premiere of the reality show in which aspiring singers perform and are judged by TV viewers, who use an app to vote on the performances in real time.
For those who haven’t heard about the show, Rising Star completely reinvents the traditional singing competition as–for the first time ever–the audience has the final say in real time. The show follows a group of aspiring singers as they audition in live performances. During the performances, viewers vote via an App in real time to determine if the singer will advance in the competition. If the voting reaches a certain threshold, the performer moves on, and the performer can see how the voting is going during the performance, so the feedback is immediate and dramatic.
On tonight’s show we’ll be introduced to the Rising Star along with the expert panelist that consists of Brad Paisley, Josh Groban, Ludacris and Ke$ha; though the votes are based on the viewers, the panelist will also influence the vote.
Tonight’s Rising Star is going to be exciting, and you won’t want to miss it. So be sure to tune in for our live coverage of the show — tonight at 9 PM EST! While you wait for our recap, hit the comments and let us know how excited you are about this new show.
RECAP:
Josh Groban says tonight we will do what no show has ever done before by putting control of the next music superstar in our hands. He shows us the wall that stands between the singer and their dreams. He says we can raise the wall at the touch of a button. Ludacris says it’s a lot of pressure and they are making history. If the meter doesn’t hit 70% the wall won’t move. Brad Paisley says this will be instantly life changing. They get one song, one chance.
Brad Paisley, Kesha and Ludacris will offer their input. Their votes each add 7% to the performers’ votes. Josh Groban comes out to greet the cheering crowd and welcomes them. He says we have no idea what will happen over the next two hours but says there is a lot of talent backstage. The wall comes down and he says it’s what stands between the performers and their dreams.
To vote, you have to download the free Rising Star ABC app through the Windows, Apple or Google app store. The panel comes out – Ludacris, Kesha and Brad. Josh asks if he can call Ludacris Luda or Cris and then he tells the crowd that Josh Groban has sold 20 million albums. He says to call him Luda and then says he’s looking for individuality in the perfomers – the intangible WOW factor.
Josh says that Kesha wrote all her top hits plus for other artists like Britney Spears. She says she looking for a singer she believes and that she can’t keep her eyes off of them. Josh says he’s sorry she has to look at him all night. Brad is touring all over the world and went to see the troops on Memorial Day on Afghanistan.
He got to fly over on Air Force One with Obama and he told him about the show. He says he told him that you have to get 70% and Obama says he’d be happy with 40%. He asks if Kesha has met the President and she says not yet. Brad cracks that Bill Clinton is probably more her type.
You need the App and have to register with your Facebook or Twitter account. You check in before each performance and then you swipe to vote. Your profile pic may be on the wall and you can download the songs performed through the app. You can vote no matter where you live.
Joshua Peavy is the first performer. He’s a 28 year old from Georgia and is a music pastor. He has two sons. We seem him meet Josh to prepare for his performance. He says he works with kids and Josh says he leads them to go the right way in life. Joshua says he tells the kids he works with to fight for what you want and hopes the wall goes up for him.
Josh is back behind the wall with Joshua and tells him to knock em dead. He sings Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do, I Do It for You. Brad votes for him. His votes are steadily climbing. He tells Kesha to vote for him and she does. He’s up to 50% and Luda finally does it to give Joshua the 70% he needed. The wall comes up and as he finishes his song, we see his votes are at 87%.
Joshua thanks everyone. Brad says he sounds like he should be making moonshine in the hills and then BAM that voice. He says he has heart. Kesha says it was an amazing start and says she felt the sincerity and that’s what she’s looking for. She says it was touching. Luda says he gets props for going first and says he seized the moment and fed off the crowd. He gives a shout out to GA since that’s where Luda is from as well.
Next up is Lisa Punch from Brookly, NY. She’s 21 and is from Guyana originally. She says it took her family seven years to get their green cards to come to America. There are thirteen of them sharing a two bedroom apartment. She says America is the land of opportunity and this is hers to change her life and change her family’s life. She says she’s really happy and is ready to go out and have fun. Josh says if you check in and don’t vote it counts as a no. WOW. Good to know.
Lisa steps to the light and there’s a countdown. She sings Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know. She sings it slow and ballady and her voice is AMAZING. It’s insanely good nad her numbers rapidly climb even without the celebrities. At 48%, Luda votes. She’s at 60% when Kesha chimes in and then Brad follows. She breaks 70% and ends up with 80% even though she was actually better (IMHO) than the first guy.
The crowd is on their feet. Luda says she made her mama proud and everyone in Guyana. She thanks him. Brad says she’s going to get a new place to live and a tour bus. She thanks him too. He says to watch the pitch but he didn’t care about it. Kesha says she loves her attitude and she had fun watching her and would love to watch her more on #RisingStar.
Josh asks Kesha about auditioning at a young age and she says she had a lot of disasters and that she snuck under Prince’s fence and found him in house and gave him her CD then got kicked out. Next is Maneepat Malloy from LA who is originally from Thailand. She says she used to be shy but when she sings can express what she’s going through.
Maneepat was in a singing competition and her dad put the vide on YouTube and it got three million hits so the family moved to the US to help her get her career started. She’s just 16 and is singing a song in Italian. She does an opera number – can’t understand it but her voice is spectacular. Her votes start off slowly perhaps because she’s not doing a recognizable song. Kesha is the first panelist to vote for her. Brad votes for her too. She’s at 60%.
She hits some impossibly high notes. Luda votes no and she barely makes 70 and then hits an ear shattering high note. Josh asks Luda why he voted no. He says her voice is amazing but she stood there and had no presence. He says he was on the edge. Kesha says she loves her story and that presence can be learned and says she’s just 16.
She says the first time she was on stage she was so nervous that she was almost paralyzed. She says she can be a massive star. Brad says he voted for her potential but wants to see what she can do with a song he can understand. Maneepat is through to the next round and goes to sit with the others.
Next is a couple, Daniel and Olivia, that will be singing together. She saw his videos and wanted to collaborate and then they ended up together. Josh coaches them on showing more passion. They are behind the wall ready to go. Daniel has a guitar ready to play and Josh says they are adorkable. He asks about the pressure. They are doing Counting Stars by One Republic.
Daniel and Olivia are just kind of meh for me. She’s pitchy like crazy. Luda votes no and gives a thumbs down. They are getting almost no votes. It is crawling up but not going anywhere. They are still in single digits and Kesha votes no. Brad also voted no. They end up with just 6%. Josh calls them down to talk and says they gave it their all but it wasn’t enough.
Luda says that it looks like they had a lot of fun. He says it was like when people get drunk and go to karaoke. He says he just wasn’t moved by the performance. Brad says it was unpleasant but sweet. He says they could have sung a better song but this isn’t the show for them. Kesha says she has a hard time saying no because she liked their energy and tells them she’s been laughed off a stage before and so if they think this is what they should do, they should press on.
Macy Kate who was in the audience and is going to get a chance to audition tonight. Josh says she’s almost ready and they’ll see her later. Next is Jesse Kinch from New York. He says he’s always been into music but knows he’s not the typical pop singer and says a lot of music today lacks a magical, peotic quality.
His mom says he was a peaceful soul and he talks about being a loner in school and focused on music. He says he discovered the guitar and his dad introduced him to classic rock. He says he’s been stuck in his career for a while. He tells Josh that he’s totally relaxed with a live audience and hopes America is looking for something a bit different.
Jesse is doing an old song by Screaming Jay Hawkins – I Put a Spell on You. He plays his guitar and then starts the song is wailing incredibly. It’s totally cool. Luda is digging the bluesy sound. Luda and Brad botes yes and then Kesha does to. He rapidly rises to more than 70% and finishes up at an incredible 92%. All the judges are on their feet for the biggest score of the night so far.
Jesse says it felt like it was another world. Luda is still up on his feet. Josh comments on this. Luda says he had this soft spoken voice and then came out and killed it and used every single second. He says that’s what he’s talking about. Kesha says he’s a little sexy and says it was really good and reminded her of old rock that she loves and lives on. Brad says he thinks he killed someone at home. Brad wants to hear his guitar and says to get him an amp so he can hear more.
Next is Beyond 5 from Nashville, TN. We see their little place where they all live together. They share all the cleaning, cooking, shopping and more things than most married couples do. They have a ping pong table instead of a dining table and we see a game they play called sting pong where the loser gets hit hard by the balls. Josh says he likes their harmony.
They will be singing Wake Me Up. Josh wishes them luck and they are set to do their stuff. Girls are already screaming. The music starts and they sing. The votes start out slow but their voices are nice and they sound really good in harmony. The judges sit still. The votes keep going up slow and steady but then Luda votes no.
Kesha votes yes and they are at almost 30% then Brad votes yes. They may not get what they need in time. It’s moving too slow. They are at just 44% when they finish. Josh said they had moves and harmony but it wasn’t enough to win over America. Kesha says she has a soft spot in her heart for boy bands and they were so damned cute. Josh teases Brad about being a boy band fan.
Brad says they will probably outsell them all. Luda says they have a lot of potential and the harmony is great. He didn’t like the solos and said those need to be more powerful – as strong as the group parts. Josh jokes that he will join them to become Beyond 6.
Next is Sarah Darling also from Nashville. She’s 31 and says she knew she wanted to be a singer from age 14. She says she moved to Nashville right out of high school and says it was scary. She says just never had a shot to take her to the next level but has had close calls. She does make her living as a singer songwriter after waiting tables for seven years.
She says she’s older and sees Rising Star as the opportunity she’s needed. She says if the wall raises, it will fulfill a dream in her heart. She’s singing Kacey Musgrave’s Merry Go Round. She starts out nicely and her votes begin to climb pretty rapidly. Brad votes yes. Her votes climb rapidly. She shoots up to over 40% rapidly. She’s close and then Luda votes yes and she ends up at 88%.
Brad says it’s nice to meet her and he knows some people who know her and he says she picked a great song and did a fantastic job. Luda says it was hard and says he waited because he didn’t think it was the right song for her vocal capabilities and Kesha says she waited too to hear a high note and the song doesn’t have it but says her voice is beautiful.
Colin Huntley is next – he’s 16 and from Austin, Texas and says he picked up music for his dad. His granddad was a professional blues pianist and he recorded some songs with his grandpa last year a few months before he passed away. Josh says since he’s in high school he may not have had a lot of big moments but Colin says he went to prom as a freshman.
The song he’s doing is Ed Sheeran’s Sing. Colin brings his guitar out with him and gets ready to sing. He starts out acapella and then begins to play. His votes don’t move at all for a few seconds. He breaks into an amazing falsetto and then the votes start moving more. He’s moving on up and is almost to 20% when Luda votes no. The votes keep going up – he reminds me of Adam Levine.
Brad also votes no. He stops moving at about 36% and then Kesha votes no. He capped out at 38%. Josh asks Kesha her opinion and she says it was a bad song choice and that she hated voting no and that it makes her feel bad inside. She says his falsetto was pretty. Brad says there’s a maturity he’ll get over time and says he has a couple of proms to go and to come back and see them.
Luda says he agrees that he has a talent but that the falsetto was off but he has time to grow. He says he thinks good things are in is future and to keep working. Colin very nicely thanks American for watching, the judges for their feedback and for the opportunity. Aww. What a sweetie, but he’s no Ed Sheeran. Not even puppet Ed Sheeran.
There are five that have made it through and next is Summer Collins from Fayetteville, North Carolina. She’s 18, a student and a singer/songwriter. She grew up a military brat and says her mom always encouraged her musically. At 10, she lost her mom to leukemia. She said she didn’t know who she could talk to about it and kept it inside and then music was her medicine to get through it.
She says she wants her music to help people get through their tough times. She’s cute. Summer has her guitar and is ready to play – she’s going to sing Classic by MKTO. Her voice is really kind of odd and sweet. She sounds pitchy and a little flat sometimes but is so cute. Luda votes no but hates himself for doing it. Brad also votes no to audience boos. She hits 21% and then Kesha votes yes.
She’s hanging at 30% and it’s moving slow. She tops out at 40%. Josh calls her out and says they had two nos and a yes. Kesha says she has a lot of potential and she likes her energy. She tells her not to give up. Luda says he felt like the notes she was hitting just weren’t there and she likes her story and says it’s not the end for her.
Brad says she has something and has a great quirkiness and maybe she would be better as a songwriter. He says she’s more of an interpreter and writer. He very nicely didn’t tell her how poor her voice was. She was adorable, but just pitchy as all get out. Poor thing.
The last audition is Macey Kate. She auditioned via Instagram and was invited to be a guest on the show but they’re giving her a shot. She’s from St Petersburg Florida and is 16. She tells Josh that she’s really nervous and is freaking out but is hoping for votes. They show her Instagram audition and it was good – she did Radioactive.
The coach comes out and says he thinks they have her ready. He says he wanted to give her a few cue points on nailing the intro, pitch and enunciation. She’s doing Me and My Broken Heart by Rixton. She gets ready and then it’s go time. She’s killing it from the first note. Brad quickly votes yes. Kesha votes yes and then is on her feet. The votes are at almost 60% and Luda votes yes. She’s killing and the wall goes up.
Macey is over 85% and it’s still going up. She finishes at 93% – the top score of the night! Josh says she was born to come do this. Brad says no one should listen to Josh mentor anyone. He says she’s unbelievable and asks how she does it. Josh cracks on Brad. Kesha says she was blown away and is so happy for her and says she looked like she was having fun. Luda says there is a little room for improvement but her voice supersedes all that.
Six people made it through and they will be back next week. The West Coast votes will get the chance to save anyone that didn’t get voted through.