The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott, Episode 10: The Final Spotlight

Last week on The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott: Deltrice and Matt won a competition that involved creating a video concept for Missy’s twelve-year-old protégé. Jessica and Nilyne got into a fight, which made them look pretty stupid next to the twelve-year-old. The four then went into the recording studio with Dallas to record their track, and then sang it in front of their loved ones. Nilyne was sent home over Deltrice for being too unpredictable.

We start out the final episode by taking a look back at the season’s highlights and lowlights. Nic and Nilyne’s relationship… Jessica and Nilyne’s fight… the Missy concert. Okay that’s enough. The final three are sitting alone outside the big house where they have been living. Road manager Steve calls in Deltrice first. Deltrice tells us that she wants the haters to know that they are her greatest motivation. She meets the judges for the last time and tells them that she is proud of herself. Mona tells her that they are considering everything they’ve seen on the tour thus far.

Mona asks Deltrice about the constructive criticism session that they had in the “Real World” suite in Las Vegas where Eddie told her she was emotional and Deltrice became defensive. Deltrice defends her emotions to Mona, saying that she doesn’t care what people think but it’s who they are that matters. Mona asks Deltrice what is the most important thing she’d do with her celebrity if she wins. Deltrice says taking care of her family and herself.

Mona asks Deltrice to do or say something to convince them to keep her in the competition. Deltrice starts by thanking the judges, saying that she can guarantee that she is what they are looking for. Then she sings her heart out to the judges. When she’s done singing, she goes into another room and prays.

Jessica tells us she’s nervous, but she will have to stay nervous for a little longer because Matt is next to meet the judges. Jessica also tells us that Matt has been underestimated. I agree with her. Before the show started, I didn’t expect too much out of Matt, but he’s really surprised me and I like him. It’s funny because I picked Deltrice, Jessica and Akil as final three (two out of three is pretty good), but I don’t think there could really be a better final three. Sure, Akil, Nilyne and Frank B. were all extremely talented, but they can’t match up to the actual final three.

Matt tells the judges that he didn’t like his first performance, but he was really confident in himself during his third performance (singing Missy songs at her high school). Dallas asks about his Christian values, and Matt says that he holds his faith strongly. When his is asked what he would do with his celebrity, he says that he wants to preach the word of God. Teena asks him what he would do if a fan asked for an autograph after a long show. Matt answers the easy question by saying that he would give them the extra time since he is there because of the fans. Mona asks him to do or say something that will keep him in the competition, and Matt sings. The lyrics are a bit strange, and the judges look a bit confused.

Jessica is next. She tells the judges that if she wins, what she wants to do is go back to her old neighborhood and tell everyone there that nothing is impossible. Teena asks her about the lyrics in the song that she performed the day before - “What’s the deal/what’s the dealio/cuz I’m not just you’re average ho.” Jessica tells her that she doesn’t have to be provocative, but, excuse her language, in her neighborhood, “bitch” and “ho” are regularities and not demeaning.

Teena asks her about the most inspiring person on the tour, and she says (as a shock to nobody) Deltrice. She obviously is learning from Deltrice, and starts crying as she is talking about her. Mona tells Jessica that she should channel her past experiences into her music because they would serve her well. Mona asks her to do or say something that will keep her in the competition and Jessica starts singing. It’s a deeply personal Mary J. Blige/Lauryn Hill style song that brings Teena and Mona to tears. In the separate room Deltrice and Matt can hear her singing, and Deltrice tells Matt that she’s singing “Why Me?” After hearing this, I know Jessica must win. After Jessica leaves, Mona tells Dallas and Teena that they have an extremely difficult decision to make.