THIS week the tremendous three put on some of their most memorable performances to date.

If you missed this Sunday’s show then you missed the naming of the Top 3 contestants! In a decision based solely on your votes, the final four became the final three, as Nekorah’s journey to being the next Digicel Rising Star ended. Usually a sad moment, the bubbly, vivacious Nekorah was purely overjoyed to have made it so far. And as a true lady, she gave her own royal send-off, a memorable and fun-filled performance of We’ve Got The Love with popular Reggae artiste, Turbulance.

Also, you would have missed the second-to-last performance show of the season, where the remaining three contestants gave a Redemption performance of any song from any genre that showed off their voice, as well as duets with an artiste of their choice.

This week there was also a change to the line-up of the weekly judges. Sitting contentedly between judges Anthony “Killer” Miller and Clyde McKenzie was Miss World 1976 and the mother of Grammy-winning Reggae artiste Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley, Cindy Breakspeare, filling in for judge Nadine Sutherland for the night.

And holding down the Chill Room this week was the Intense Chica, Pepita, along with dancehall group TOK. And while DJ Rush held down the ones and threes, the foxy Kimone brought us the Word on the Streets from Portmore City.

Outstanding Performances

Though Camaley’s first performance didn’t quite break ground, her duet with the funloving and conscious Cherine Anderson got the judges and the crowd rocking. Singing Cherine’s You and Me Against the World, Camaley finally redeemed herself. “In your first song you were way out of your vocal comfort range, but I think you returned to it with this song. You guys gelled, you look nice, you sounded good.” said Anthony honestly.

While Cindy, agreeing, added “You rocked it, you looked great and the energy was there!”

While Jermaine’s first performance of Enrique Eglasia’s Hero was substantial, it was his second performance with dancehall artiste Khago that showed him as a true star. Performing Khago’s We Nah Sell Out, these young men had the audience jumping up and down and singing along at the top of their voices, and still found time to impress the judges. “That was very exciting, could have heard a little bit more of you in it, but I don’t think the purpose of that was to showcase your voice, it was about performance, and you handled it to the max!” was Cindy’s comment. And as Anthony joked that someone should have told Khago he wasn’t the Rising Star, he then said more seriously “He went out with a really popular song, latching on to the moment… That’s what people will remember.”

While Clyde concluded, “It’s not that your performance vocally was exceptional, but the energy you created there tonight was unbelievable.”

Dalton’s first performance of the oldies hit The One That You Love was, one word, breathtaking. Giving a goosebump-inducing performance of this sweet and sensuous song, he was greeted by a standing ovation from the audience, and only positive comments from the beaming judges. Cindy congratulated him saying “Well done. You chose a big tune, and you handled it well.” Miller who thought he did “way better than last week” called it a “good performance”, commending him on singing with real pleading and emotion.

While Clyde stated jovially, “You seem to have big plans for that $1 million, cause trust me, my friend, somewhere in your genes you have a rock stone, cause yuh tough!”

Fashion

The two remaining guys, who have been the only two gentlemen in the competition from the Top 7, came out again this week looking as dapper as always. Dressed in their Drenz suits, they were both complimented numerous times by guest judge Cindy, as well as greeted by many screams from the female members of the audience. And though Camaley is the lone female competitor, she held her own, fashion-wise, in her strapless A-line, fuchsia chiffon dress with the floral design from her first performance, with her black and white cheetah print skirt and rainbow accessories from her second. And though Nekorah is no longer a contestant, the purple patent leather zip-up booties she wore during the elimination show and her very last performance were still very noticeable.

Judges’ Comments

Maybe it was because it was the top three, or maybe because the judges saw that the contestants put out real effort on Sunday night, but even Killer Miller had a hard time making a really negative comment, not that he didn’t try.

After Camaley’s first performance of Mariah Carey’s Vision of Love, the underwhelmed judges let her down easy, for the most part, with Clyde saying, “Well I’m happy that you are in the Top 3, I think it is consistent with expectations. This song coming in the wake of what you had before, may not have done you as well as you would have under normal circumstances,” but tried to boost her spirits with: “What you have here tonight was like a tsunami, a really strong, good performance”.

Miller too tried to be gentle, but failed when he said, “I think you are the epitome of grace under pressure: I like the fact that you are so well expressed, but I have not really, in the competition, admired your performances very much. I thought that was just the screechiest you have ever sounded, and I didn’t enjoy it at all.”

Tune in to TVJ next Sunday at 8pm to find out who goes home and who makes the final two, and don’t forget to vote!