The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott, Episode 5: The Show Must Go On

Last week on The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott, the performers sold tickets to their next show and earned themselves a nice bus. Mona asked the group who the weakest performer was and Melissa was chosen. The performers had to revamp classic country songs and Frank B. faltered. He was sent home over Melissa for forgetting his lyrics and dance steps.

We start out still in Nashville, where everyone goes to a truck stop to do laundry. They also have to take a shower at the truck stop, which freaks out Nilyne.

On the bus we hear Marcus tell Steve that he has to make it to the finals. It’s about whether his family eats or not. He also has two sons that he has to take care of. He wants to do more than just get by.

The bus stops in Tuscaloosa City, Alabama, where everyone goes outside for a stretch. Steve gets a call on a cell phone and gives it to Marcus, who immediately starts crying. We find out that he his mother called to tell him that his stepbrother was killed in an accident. They already had the service and he was cremated. Marcus says he feels helpless.

On the bus, Deltrice and Jessica are crying, but Marcus tells them that he wants to stay strong. He feels that this will keep him more focused. Jessica tells us that Marcus is a strong guy.

Later on we see Nic on the bus practicing rapping… with the towel on his head. Don’t get me started on that stupid towel.

The bus stops in New Orleans in front of a cemetery. Bad timing huh? Steve hands them a letter to Missy that says that they have to make a personal eulogy to get rid of emotional baggage. As everyone starts writing theirs we hear Missy’s intro to “This Is Not a Test!” (which you can buy at the end of the article, and I highly recommend it), which is her personal eulogy to Aaliyah.

Melissa’s eulogy is first. She says she wants to get rid of the fear in her heart. Deltrice tells us in an interview that she sees Melissa getting more confident.

Deltrice goes next. She says that she wants to get rid of her self-pity. She starts singing about situations she’s talking about, like if guys want to get with her, the one that doesn’t bothers her. Nilyne tells us that Deltrice is very “diva-ish” and that she doesn’t try to show off as much as Deltrice does, and I agree.

Matt wants to say goodbye to his lust. Akil and I have to same reaction, “his lust?” Akil adds that he’s confused about that, especially when Matt sings R&B, which is very sexual, and Matt often sings about sex or things relating to sex. We’re shown a clip where he is singing about seeing a girl in a club and well… pick up an Usher CD and finish the sentence.

Marcus’ eulogy is that he wants to put away his fear of not being successful. Nic speaks about his divorce that he had two years ago and his son. Eddie wants to bury the hate that he had for his abusive parents. Nilyne says that hers is less of a eulogy and more of an apology to her child that she will see in heaven.

Jessica says that she wants to bury her criminal convictions and her mother’s addictions. Akil wants to bury a time when he was very pained. He adds that he wants everyone else to be blessed.

Nilyne sums everything up for us when she says that this experience has been an emotional roller coaster. Marcus tells us that everyone has been very supportive of him.

We go right into our next performance challenge. The judges introduce super-producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri, who has written, produced, or rapped with Monica, Nelly, TLC, Usher, and many others. Mona tells us that people will be causing a lot of distractions for the performers. Jermaine’s cell phone will be going off, the bartender will be making a lot of noise with the glasses, the microphone will go off and the band will be playing the wrong song. First they will sing a cappella then the band will accompany them.

Akil is first. He tells us that he thought Jermaine talking on the phone was rude and when the band went out he had a tough time.

Deltrice goes next. When the mic goes out Jermaine tells Mona that she’s doing well. When she’s done she goes in another room with Akil and they realize that all the screw-ups were tests for them.