THIS second episode of Digicel Rising Stars, Season 7, started with the vivacious host, Lady Rennae, announcing the five finalists from last week who made it into the top ten. Jamaica voted, and Latoya Chambers, Toni Blair, Jermaine Michael, Travaune Ming and Camalay had won the island over with their performances the previous week.

Making their appearance this week, was the final eight vying for the last five Top Ten spots: Nekorah Phillips, Dalton Harris, Beres Brown, Carla Brandon, Dwayne ‘Mellow Wayne’ Dyer, Dorane McNee, and Phylea Carly and Nicholas Gordon, judge Anthony Miller’s Wild Card, and The Producer’s Pick, respectively.

Outstanding Performances:

Last week the females dominated, but this week, it was the guys’ turn. However, there was one lady, the vibrant Nekorah, who had the voice, personality and stage presence to make the audience and all three judges sing her praise. Singing Whitney Houston’s Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Nekorah’s soulful yet lively performance gave some in the audience goose bumps, and most something to talk about after the show.

The judges were also on her side, with Anthony briefly stating: “Yeah, I think you’ll get some votes for that one.”

Sixteen-year-old Dalton Harris was the next contestant to cause a stir, as he had the audience rocking away with him to Romain Virgo’s hit song Rain is Falling. ‘Bussin’ what Nadine called the ‘Dalton Whine’, the lively young man danced and sang his way into the hearts of many voters, and with a voice that can only be considered a blessing, he shook up the judges too, even the ‘Killer Miller’ himself.

“You’re so convincing I was looking for my umbrella because I thought it was raining! You’re good, at 16, you have it!” was Clyde’s comment, but it was Anthony ‘Killer’ Miller who was the most specific, leaving him with: “Very few of the male performers I’ve seen thus far are credible, it’s just ironic that it’s taken a 16-year-old kid to kinda feed the starving.”

Although the competition has just begun, Beres Brown has already become a hit. He proves that it takes more than singing to become a Digicel Rising Star. A combination of the right song, Peter Cetera’s Glory of Love, the right voice and the right antics made for a great performance. Beres’ performance and the judges’ comments afterwards could barely be heard over the roaring of the crowd, with many patrons giving him a standing ovation, whooping loudly!

Anthony didn’t seem all that impressed, though: “Clearly you don’t have to be a great singer to be in a talent show, and clearly you are not a great singer.” And then warned him, “If you pull those gimmicks all the time, people are going to get tired of them.”

However, both Nadine and Clyde agreed with the audience, with Clyde announcing: “Tonight, in my mind, a star is born!”

Fashion:

Unlike last week’s fashion- forward set, this week’s contestants had a more relaxed look with only a few attempting to make a statement. Heard, was Dorane’s black, mini snake-skin dress with a tapered neckline, and Phylea’s hot kiss red patent leather pumps that lit the auditorium with their glow.

Lady Rennae took it to them this week with a more relaxed look chosen by the Facebook fans. She looked spunky in a silver sequined top, purple and silver vest and black distressed leggings with strappy silver pumps, which better fit her personality than last week’s red dress debacle.

And though her performance this week was a definite hit, Nekorah’s sequined neckline, off shoulder purple dress and skinny jeans ensemble was a definite miss.

Judges Comments:

As with every week, this week a few contestants got a proper upbraiding from the judges, some more harsh than others. After his unimpressive rendition of Air Supply’s All Out of Love, Mellow Wayne who got a complementary applause out of the audience, was treated the same by the judges. However, ‘Killer Miller’ completely unmoved by the performance and stated: “I don’t think anyone is going to remember that performance, it was borderline annoying.”

Nadine was a bit nicer stating: “Yeah, you did ok, but I want to see how you do as the competition progresses.”

Dorane gave a better performance, belting the words of her song, Taylor Dayne’s Love Will Lead You Back. And though the audience was impressed, the judges all concurred that they felt they were being shouted at. ‘Killer Miller’ cut her down quickly: “I felt performance wise, that was slim pickings.”

And Clyde who always tries to find something nice to say, simply said “It sounded shrill, and that for me was a little problem”, and left it at that.

Five-year Rising Stars Veteran, Nicholas Gordon, finally got his chance to make it to the big stage as the Producer’s Pick, but how much further he will go is still uncertain after his R&B Medley of Shake You Down and Rock Me Tonight. The audience didn’t seem very impressed, and ‘Killer Miller’ became the voice of the people when he said “It was a combination of good things, but you need to have that star quality and I find that generally you’re really, incredibly boring.”

Audience Comments:

The audience left the auditorium cracking up after Beres’ performance, with one member agreeing loudly with Nadine, stating “Beres a real Jamaican sample fi true!”

Meanwhile another member started imitating the “Dalton Whine” stating that she would “Put all a mi credit inna dat bwoy, he is a real Rising Star, me can see it already!”

Stay tuned to TVJ this Sunday night at 8 pm to see which finalists complete the Top Ten, and don’t forget to vote!