Yesterday (Jun. 22, 2014) was the television premiere of Rising Star, a singing competition that allows the live audience and the viewers at home to vote on each performer in order to "raise the wall." If the majority of the audience like the performer, the wall will raise, and the performer will go on to the next round. If the majority of the audience didn't like the performance, the wall will stay down.
That was a game-changer when it came to music competitions. But how good was this show?
First, I will cover the performers (how they did, as a whole). Next, I will cover the experts (how they did as a whole). Then, I will cover the voting process (what that was like for me). Finally, I will give my consensus.
The Performers:
Personally, I loved hearing each performance. In fact, most of them were really good renditions to the original songs... to an extent. There was this reoccuring pet peeve on song choice- where some of the performers "didn't pick the right song." Well, to be fair, the performers chose what song they wanted to sing.
As much as I want to talk about all of the performances, I'm only going to grade them as a whole. Of all the performances, only 6 contestants made it to the next round, which was pretty awesome. However, I gotta say that Macy Kate's performance was the show-stopper.
-IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE PREMIERE EPISODE YET, DO NOT READ THIS PART!!!
Macy Kate was chosen out from the audience to perform live to "raise the wall." And, wouldn't you know it, she nailed it. Everyone was blown away by her performance, and she was guaranteed a spot in the next round.
Overall, the performances as one show would get an A-. Sure, there were some questionable performances that either worked or didn't work to the singer(s)' advantage; however, again, there were good renditions to original songs.
The Experts:
Seeing these singer celebrities come together on this show was sort of unexpected, but they were really good casting choices.
You had Brad Paisley, Kesha, and Ludacris. However, I found Ludacris questionable. I don't know; in most of the performances, he would hesitate before voting a "yes" or "no" to a performance. He's almost like the Simon Powell of the show.
-Yeah, as if the show's tagline "Make or break a star" wasn't emphasized enough...
-Besides, wasn't he from the Fast and Furious movies?
But aside from that, the experts were straightforward and honest with giving their consensus on each performance. That's what's great about all this, is that the performers get feedback from the pros.
Finally, you had the host, Josh Groban. He's very kind and respectful to each of the contestants, and he was there to support them, even if they didn't go to the next round.
-I am pro-Josh Groban as a singer and show host.
The Voting Process:
The voting process was easy to do, since I had an iPad.
-I'm pretty everyone had access to a mobile device to download the app and vote for contestants... unless you had a crappy phone... or if you were younger than 13 and you're didn't allow you to vote... or if you didn't know a mobile device...
Well, screw it. The voting process was a sinch. All you had to do was download the Rising Star app from iTunes (or something similiar to iTunes), tune into the show, check-in in the app's virtual lobby, watch the performances live on TV, and then vote blue for "yes" or red for "no" on the app. It was a good trade. It was great like viewers like me to have the power to "make or break a star" at my fingertips. Plus. there were instant results, just as advertised. They would even show the percentage of what a performer got on your mobile device.
However, just don't spend most of the voting time trying to see your profile pic on TV.
-I'm guessing that your face appearing on TV is a first-come-first-serve thing...?
Anyway, the voting process was pretty fun.
So, was Rising Star a hit?
Well, maybe I can put it this way. Of all the music-singing competitions, this show was the most enjoyable. This show did something that all the other shows didn't do: giving power to the people- letting the audience and viewers exercise their First Amendment rights, instead to listening to snobby and/or delusional judges either worship or shut down contestants in a heartbeat. This show was actually a game-changer, as promised. It promised the power to vote, and it delivered.
In fact, I'm curious about what will happen next week. Heck, I would make sure to tune in next week and exercise my right to vote on performances.
-Well, at least this show has nothing to do with politics. So... yay!
Whatsoever Critic
Source: Rising Star
Courtesy: Ken Warwick & Nicole Yaron/Keshet DCP
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