Boyband episode 8 airs tonight on ABC at 8 pm ET. With Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys), Emma Bunton (Spice Girls’ Baby Spice) and Timbaland producer, songwriter, rapper), as “architects” hopeful 14 to 24-year-old singers compete to become a member of what producers hope to be the next great boyband. Rita Ora hosts.
It’s “Soundtrack Night.” The remaining 9 boy band hopefuls pay homage to GIRL POWER.
En Vogue opens the show with their hit “Free Your Mind.” Hooray for the 90s. CHOREOGRAPHY.
Rita reminds us that only two weeks remain in the competition. A video clip features the contestants meeting their crying fans in front of the studio. (Yes, one young girl was actually crying.). Next, it’s a recap of last week.
Tonight it’s 3 groups of 3. ONE MORE GUY will be sent home. Oh. Apparently after this week, America takes over choosing who advances. Next week, the remaining 8 boys will sing solos. Viewers will “across all time zones” will have 24 hours to vote for their faves.
En Vogue reminds the boys “to know what’s going on with your business” if they win the show. Heh. The next video clip follows the boys through a photo shoot. They guys can’t get over the craft table. They could do this forever!
Back from break, Rita is dressed like vintage Baby Spice, rolling around the stage on a scooter. “EMMA SURPRISE” she says.
Out of Control – Mikey Jimenez, Drew Ramos, Jaden Gray – Titanium by Sia – Emma is mentoring the group. She explains that “girl power” meant a lot to the Spice Girls. She asks the boys about the strong females in their lives. MOM OF COURSE. Hm. Mikey is definitely the weakest link here. Good chance he winds up in the bottom tonight. The harmonies are OK though. OK. I take that back. They kinda lose it on the bridge. Drew’s mother is in the audience. Emma says “This is how you start girl power night! I loved it.” Nick calls the performance “magic.” Dang. Jaden cut his hair. He’s got a beautiful voice, but he was a little off tonight.
Third Wheel – Michael Conor, Marcus Pendleton, Chance Perez – Fighter by Christina Aguilera – The trio sat with their moms, who describe what girl power means to them. Lots of tears, predictably. Michael performs the rap part. There’s some off key sangin’ right here. Even Michael, who is usually pretty good is kinda weak sauce here. The song is hard to sing though. Yeah…it’s a bit of a hot mess. Wrong song, guys. Christina is WAY OUT of your wheelhouse. Rita calls it FANTASTIC. OK. Michael wrote his own raps. Nick says the performance was entertainment, and name checks Marcus for special attention. He begs America to vote for him. Emma loved Michael’s raps. Timbaland calls Chance “Immortal.” Tim mentions that he was sick this week. I did not think that was good.
Rita chats with the “architects.” The chatter goes on forever. Rita is obviously stretching.
Never Gone – Sergio Calderon, Brady Tutton, Devin Hays – The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga – Sergio says Girl Power is a great theme because “a majority of our fans are girls.” Brady’s fans call themselves “The Brady Bunch.” This group’s week link is Devin. Sergio and Brady’s vocals are solid. Having said that, this arrangement manages to bland out the song. The boys lack energy. “You guys had us on the edge of our seats,” says Nick. He’s not sure Sergio had a breakthrough moment, but he was good. Emma loves Brady’s “quirky” style. Timbaland says Devin is trying too hard. He promises that he’s working on his vocals. Timbaland wants more improvement from him. He calls his performance “a little cheesy.”
Time for results! The architects reveal the bottom two. The first boy up for elimination is Sergio Calderon. The second boy is Devin Hayes. BOTH from the Never Gone group. Nick says Sergio is in the bottom because he hasn’t shown growth. Emma interrupts. She’s upset. It wasn’t a majority vote. Hm. They are setting him up for a big save. Bye Devin.
Nick was upset over something one of the guys said? It got a little tense there. Nick needs to calm down. Anyway. It’s time to vote! Go to ABC.com/Boyband.
Who is going home? The boy that America saved is…Sergio Calderon. No kidding. They totally threw Devin under the bus. I mean, he deserved to go. But that elimination could have been handled better.
Devin Hayes is Eliminated
