THIS week, Reggae Night brought out the shine in most of the stars, but it also showed up the lacklustre in a few.

Of the original 10, only nine remained, as this week saw the top eight contestants take their place amongst the stars, while the bottom two were subject to a sing-off for the judges. Both Nekorah Phillips and Dorane McNee sang their hearts out for that final ninth spot, but when the smoke cleared, it was unanimous amongst the judges, Nekorah had earned it, while it was time for Dorane to go home.

And joining Kimone in the Chill Room this week was Pepita, host of the local entertainment show Intense, while DJ Rush held it down on the ones and threes.

OutstandingPerformances

This week’s show had no shortage of outstanding performances, but some contestants did make more of an impression on the judges than others. While Latoya’s performance of Tami Chynn’s Hyperventilating got her a nod from the judges and left smiles in the audience, Phylea really brought it home with Alaine’s Rise in Love. Her performance led judge Nadine Sutherland to comment on her growth in the competition and the fact that her performances get better every week while Clyde Mckenzie simply said, “I think you just found your voice.”

Taking it a step further was Dalton who got a solid ‘yes’ from judges Anthony Miller and Clyde Mckenzie and a ‘not quite’ from Nadine. Though she thought that a better song would have brought out a better performance from Dalton, his rendition of Chris Martin’s Love is All We Need had the opposite effect on Miller and McKenzie. Miller said his performance went perfectly with his voice. “I’ll remember that performance, and I’ve forgotten all the rest.”

Then making mention to the fact that this was the third week Dalton had made an impression, Clyde said “If that was a court, he would be a triple offender by now!”

The top performances of the night went to Jermaine Michael and Camaley. Jermaine’s unique voice was complemented by his medley of Zamunda’s Jah Love Surround and Junior X’s Plead My Cause oh Jah.

While Clyde made mention of the fact that Jermaine had proven him right about his way with Jamaican music, Nadine said she liked “the steady builders in this competition”.

Anthony concluded with, “When you choose the right songs the public is going to like that, and he’s getting better every week.”

Camaley’s performance of Free by Etana can easily be thought of as the best this season. Seated on a wooden stool, she reached deep within herself and belted out her emotions as she helped the audience and the judges to connect with the song. The applause and shouts of approval were overwhelming.

According to Miller, “We have two more performances to go but I think that is the best standup performance… It must have had some special resonance with you for some reason. It’s a grown up song and finally we’re hearing grown up material.”

Fashion

This week’s fashion saw a mix of the laid-back and the chic. Dressed by Western Sports and CY Clothing, all the gentlemen donned a relaxed look, with most of them rocking reggae graphic tees and jeans. The ladies, however, really brought the Miami Heat with their stand-out pieces. Mentionable are Phylea’s sky high rhine-stoned strappy sandals; Toni’s ultra mini black sequined top dress with feathered skirt and Camaley’s brown fedora and cream off shoulder blouse and flared leg dark jeans. Also eye-catching was Nekorah’s wannabe dancehall queen get-up, complete with green studded belt, black mini skirt, floral fishnets and black booties.

Lady Rennae also got some whistles from the audience in her cheetah print blouse and black blazer with black studded belt and black leggings and her purple and green snake skin pumps.

Judges’ Comments

This week’s most notable judge’s comment went to Toni Blair and Trevaune Ming, who, though they tried, didn’t quite reach the stars.

Though Toni is known each week for showing off her vocal talent, her selection of D’Angel’s Blaze showed that she had some versatility but really did not make for her usual impressive performance.

Killer Miller said brashly “It might have worked for D’Angel but it didn’t work for you… Boooring!”

But after Trevaune’s less than impressive rendition of Gyptian’s Beautiful Lady, even Clyde the usual optimist didn’t have a lot of positive to say. “Especially when you’re doing reggae there is a disconnect… it’s like giving an altar boy a Vybz Kartel.”

Killer Miller, finally given an opportunity to revel in a truly sub-par performance said with a smile: “Throughout this competition you’ve shown as much personality as a plank of wood, that performance floods the decks of awfulness.”