–as ABC’s stars continue to rise

ALL Guyana waited with bated breath for home-girl Lisa Punch to steal the deal in her faceoff against Alice Lee in the ABC’s ‘Rising Star Reality Show’ last Sunday night.

Being the first contestants in the duet rounds of the show, one has to agree that Alice Lee had certainly taken the advice of the judges and had upped her game in terms of performance and stage presentation. Sadly she missed managing to ‘bring down that wall’, falling short by one point, netting sixty-nine. She, however, had the advantage of all three judges voting on her side in the competition.
Lisa Punch’s performance in the second round (where she sang Whitney Houston’s ‘How will I know) was a better act, but all must agree her presentation and vocals on stage last Sunday were far better than Lee’s. The judges certainly did not share these sentiments since Ludacris voted ‘No’ with the explanation that he had seen her singing better. While Bratt Pasley strangely failed to vote at the conclusion of Lisa’s performance, the captivating judge ‘Kesha’ was her loyal self and cast in those much needed points which, however, only propelled Punch to sixty-six, needing three more votes to bring down that wall.

West Coast shows mercy

When the show starts at 21:00 hrs, only the US East Coast sees it live, and therefore votes for their favourite performers.

Let’s take into consideration that the West Coast was not allowed to vote until 12 midnight when the show was aired in that area and, as all Guyana hoped, they saved our talented Lisa, allowing her to net 67 points. Netting the highest scores in the duet round was Jesse Kinch with eight-nine points, followed by Megan Tibbits with sixty-nine. Alice Lee netted sixty-eight points, beating Punch by a single point. Not making it through was Sarah Darling and Will Roth.
According to MusicTimes.com REVIEW of the Lisa Punch/Alice Lee Battle:
“The first duet performance of the night went to Broadway singer Alice J. Lee versus soulful chanteuse Lisa Punch.
Lee began the night with a take on the Little Mix anthem “Wings”. Though this girl has the backing of a Broadway education, she really, truly lacks the power of the stage, taking on the song in a quiet manner instead of commanding it with the sass and power it deserves. That’s not to say her vocals were off – they weren’t – they were just a little bit understated. Despite a lack of panache, all three judges voted “yes” and Lee achieved 69 percent of the vote.
Which was more than Punch, who performed a take on P!nk’s empowerment anthem “Perfect.” Punch had to perform with the wall up, but she was full of pure soul and love, as she absolutely slayed “Perfect”.
Now, I’m not always the type to think reality shows are fixed, but something smelled a little off here. Lee was able to move on with 69 percent of the vote, with the backing of all three celebrity judges, but Punch barely missed that mark, only getting a ‘Yes’ vote from Kesha, despite her all-around superior singing skills. Maybe producers really like Lee or her Broadway background, but there’s no real reason she should have beaten Punch on singing power alone.”
This is why I am saying Guyanese need to come together in full force and back Lisa. Come on Guyana, tune in to NCN, Channel 11 on Sunday nights at 21:00 hrs and vote for Lisa. Stop sitting around and hating!!!! Let us unite and make this happen!!!
And it’s really easy to vote folks, so read on for easy instructions…

Download your app and vote Guyana!!!
If you are in Guyana and you have an Android Phone, here is how you can download the APP…Go to www.1mobile.com Search for Rising Star ABC and click DOWNLOAD…You may be prompted to download the 1mobile APP also… Get it done and LET’S VOTE LISA PUNCH !!!

Here is how you can download the RISING STAR APP on your Iphone/Ipad
Having trouble downloading the FREE but much needed Rising Star app to vote for our very own Lisa Punch on ABC?
For those Ipad, IPod and Iphone users you would need to change your “account location” if you are outside of the USA, that’s the only way it will work. * Open App store, click on feature ( bottom left corner), scroll down to the bottom and select your Apple ID, choose view Account (or View Apple ID), Change country/location to US, add a state and zip code and you are then able to download and register to vote. Remember you have to vote while she is performing…not before or after. NCN and HJTV will be airing the show live from 9pm tonight. Tune in to ABC if you have a cable network.
You can vote through the app and vote via Twitter, Instagram and her fan page. You can also follow her on those websites. Vote on all the sites Guyana!!! Vote for Lisa Punch and let’s create history!!!
Lisa Punch needs your votes to make it to the next round. Come on Punchers and Team Punch, we can do this. Let us raise that wall!!!
ABC’s innovative new series “Rising Star,” which opens the gate to a new era in reality competition, kicked off its nationwide search for talent on Saturday, March 29th. The U.S. series is helmed by executive producers Ken Warwick (“American Idol”) and Nicolle Yaron (“The Voice”).
“Rising Star” completely reinvents the traditional singing competition as, for the first time ever, the audience has the final say in real time. The show follows a group of aspiring singers as they perform live. During the performances, viewers vote in real time via an App to determine if the singer will advance in the competition. If the voting reaches a certain threshold, the performer moves on. In addition, the performer can see how the voting is going throughout the performance, so the feedback is immediate and dramatic.

(By Alex Wayne)