Star Search, Episode 5: The Second Round Begins

In this third week of Star Search we being anew with eight more contestants vying for the chance to move on to the semi finals. Our guest judge this week is a ventriloquist and his lap dummy, oops sorry no it is Back Street Boy Nick Carter with his lil brother Aaron. They share the same chair and their combined vote will equal one.

On to the competition:

In the Junior Singer Category we are introduced to a young man who makes me think Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake's DNA were combined in a lab somewhere. CJ Johnson can dance and sing well, he is the epitome of a pop star. As Aaron Carter will say later, a few years from now this will be the next Justin Timberlake. CJ has fantastic stage presence and is working it comfortably and confidently. Great job.

Naomi - 5
Ben - 4
Carol - 5
Aaron/Nick - 4
Judges’ points - 18

CJ's competition unfortunately blows him out of the water. Lisa Tucker, also 13, sings Whitney' Houston's “One Moment In Time” and she is amazing. Her range is a little off, her stage presence is boring, but the girl simply sparkles, dazzles. She is so mature, dressed like a young lady, and old enough that the cute factor is not getting in the way of her true talent.

Naomi - 5
Ben - 4
Carol - 5
Aaron/Nick - 4
Judges’ points - 18

The Audience breaks the judges tie and gives Lisa a three-point victory over CJ with the total score of 35 to 32.

On to the Supermodel competition:

Candace Campfield looks like she is a wax museum version of a brunette Heather Graham. You can see her underwear through her dress.

Naomi - 4
Ben - 5
Carol - 4
Aaron/Nick - 3
Judges’ points - 16

Shy, who is really Chi, who is really Janet, is Asian and grew up in a protected household. She is big breasted and walks better than Candace.

Naomi – 3, she needs more polish
Ben - 3, amateurish
Carol - 3, agrees with Ben but says she has a wholesome look yet is also exotic
Aaron/Nick - 4 Beautiful
Judges’ points - 13

The audience votes exactly the way the judges did, giving 16 stars to Candace and 13 to Chi for a total score of 32 to 26. Candace wins.

My favorite part of the show should be the comedians, since I really love to laugh. Trigger Happy TV leaves me happy for hours. Unfortunately the caliber of comics Star Search gets is fairly weak. Tonight is no exception.

Jon Reep is not tight lipped, he is no lipped. He makes a few jokes about his lack of mouth area and is self-deprecating but very very unfunny. The crowd does not laugh. He scores a few points with some jokes about football mascots but it’s too little too late.

Naomi - 3, asking what is the last thing a red neck says before he dies? Hey, watch this. He reminds her of some of her pals.
Ben – 3, saying he needed to start with the jokes he ended with as he got better as he went along.
Carol – 3, pretty good.
Aaron/Nick – 4, funny stuff except they made fun of the Eagles, their favorite team.
Laugh Out Loud Factor - 1
Judges’ Score - 13

The next comedian is Ben Baily, which makes me want to sing but the lyrics would be wrong.Here is the deal with Ben. He was not the funniest guy I have ever seen, but he had this amazing delivery that is PEFECT for sitcoms. He seems like he stepped right off a Seinfeld set and I think Carol is gonna love him. He makes some jokes about applying for a job and how if you make a mistake of putting your name in the wrong box, you pretty much have already lost the job.