Star Search, March 14: Semifinals Round 2

It's time for the semi-finals. There is a lot to talk about including my bold predictions for the finals. So, in the immortal words of the most talented man in show business, "Let's get busy!"

The guest judge was Chris Kirkpatrick of 'NSync.

In the Category of Junior Singer:

Three very strong singers were in this category. I think Molly's choice of more age appropriate material and clothing sets (not to mention the fact that her name isn't a version of "Ashley") helps to set her apart from the other performers. Molly wins rather convincingly to move onto the finals, where she will face David, the little soul man from Utah. MY PREDICTION: This one is a coin toss. Molly will win in a squeaker.

Special note: If anyone knows Molly's family, please beg her mom not to let her wear another awful dress like she wore last night. It made the poor girl look as big as a house. Next to little tiny David it will only be worse. The sparkly green dress she wore in the preliminaries was adorable, flattering, and appropriate.

The Young Dancer category has really deteriorated since round one. Jordan and Tatiana, the couple who reminded me of ice skaters without skates, were the most entertaining for me to watch. I'm up to here with break-dancing. 24-VII's costumes and lighting were distracting. I need to point out that Naomi gives a 5 to Stephen, the African-American break-dancer whom she had called a "funky monkey" in the earlier round. Did Stephen take her advice to "loosen up" or is the woman who put the "Judd" in prejudice trying to save face? I think we know the answer to that. Stephen goes to the semifinals, where he faces John in battle of hip-hop styles. MY PREDICTION: John is the better dancer stylistically and technically and he will win in another close race.

Next come the Comedians. Do I have to write about this? All three performers left me flat. They all have more stage presence that the performers it he first round but none of them have good material. Ahmet Zappa was true to form and gave Steven another 2. He really doesn't like that guy. When I got up this morning to write this I couldn't even remember who won. There was nothing memorable about any of these people. Oh, and in case you were wondering, HB is the winner. MY PREDICTION: Low key and original (for Star Search) Robert should win. However, I have no idea what other people think is funny so I could be very wrong.

The category of Adult Singer was vastly improved in this round. I was anxious to hear if Freedom had another great performance in him or if Wednesday night was a fluke. Country singer Jennifer is good but I don't care for her song choice, "There You Go," by Faith Hill. She has a great voice and a good presence. Breeze has a pretty good voice. He sings Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive." Breeze seems ill at ease without his guitar. Ben Stein agrees. Naomi liked him without the guitar. Why am I not surprised? Ahmet says, "ManJovi you're not" and Breeze gets a little surly. Freedom sings "If You Love Someone" by Sting and while he was good, he didn't hit the benchmark he'd already set for himself. The judges give him another perfect score but the savvy viewing audience gives him 2 points less than they did on Wednesday. Freedom's victory was a foregone conclusion for all, including his competition. Now he faces Minnie Ripperton clone Chantelle in the finals. MY PREDICTION: Freedom will win.

And on that patriotic thought I give you their scores and close.

Kathy Taylor lives in California and can be reached at farbissiner@yahoo.com. In addition to her groundbreaking work in the field of reality TV, Kathy is an accomplished long distance swimmer and a singer (performing regularly with her partner Mary Moreno).

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