Rising Star advanced three singers to next week's finale and cut three artists in the process during Sunday night's broadcast of the new ABC reality singing competition.
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Rising Star's eighth episode featured the Top 6 semifinalists performing live in the hopes of receiving a high enough percentage of America's votes to continue on to the next round.
Three artists first took the stage one by one and sang with the wall up already. America had to vote "yes" or "no" via the Rising Star phone application for whether they'd like to see that person advance in the competition. Kesha, Ludacris and Brad Paisley's votes only counted for one percent each, so home viewers' votes have never been more crucial.
Austin French, a 20-year-old from Tifton, GA, first took the stage with "Love Runs Out" and earned a score of 81%.
Maneepat Molloy, a 16-year-old from Los Angeles, CA, performed "Chandelier" and earned a low score of 27%.
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Jesse Kinch, a 20-year-old from Seaford, NY, sang "Billie Jean" and received an 83% vote.
The first three contestants each set a score to beat. Since Maneepat finished with the lowest percentage of the bunch, she was dubbed the "hot seat" contestant. If one of the remaining three contestants -- who had yet to perform -- received a score higher than 27%, he or she would take Maneepat's spot and join the group of contestants advancing to the finals.
The remaining three artists then performed one by one with the wall down. Each singer attempted to beat Maneepat's low "hot seat" score to raise the wall and move forward in the competition. If the wall raised, the next lowest vote-getter would become the "hot seat" person.
Dana Williams, a 25-year-old from Los Angeles, CA, sang "Sunday Morning" and racked in a 75% "yes" vote, which booted Maneepat from the competition.
Audrey Kate Geiger, a 24-year-old from New York, NY, sang "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and received a 69% vote, which did not raise the wall. Audrey was therefore eliminated.
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Joshua Peavy, a 28-year-old from Soperton, GA, took the stage with "What Hurts the Most" and earned a 72% vote to advance. Joshua also failed to raise the wall and was ousted from the show as a result.
Although three singers appeared to get cut from Rising Star's finale, one of them will be saved based upon the West Coast's voting totals. The Top 3 will therefore become a Top 4. According to multiple reports, Audrey Kate will become a Top 4 finalist with Austin, Jesse and Dana.
Rising Star's finale broadcast will air next Sunday night at 9PM ET/PT on ABC.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski