Last Singer Standing review: Five talking points from RTÉ’s new talent show
Presented by Nicky Byrne, Last Singer Standing sees pop royalty Nadine Coyle, Joey Fatone, and Samantha Mumba as judges.
Dean from Dublin is up first contestant to sing for the judges and he’s confident that his time in a Westlife tribute band (as Mark, much to Nicky’s dismay) will help him in his performance. When asked what he’d spend the €25k prize fund on if he were to win the competition, he has an unusual dream: to buy a mobile home.
He chose to sing Maroon Five’s This Love, which didn’t wow the judges. They agreed he should have challenged himself with a song from the rock category instead to show how versatile he could be. However, they’re still rooting for him, and Samantha Mumba sums it up perfectly: “I’m emotionally invested now. I want yer man to have the mobile home.”
Alex is up next to challenge Dean. He sings a Shawn Mendes sing specifically because judge Nadine Coyle describes it as difficult, much to the judges’ awe. Was it the right choice?
Of course. Alex’s natural showman took over and wowed the crowd. A cheeky smile and a flirty dance as he took control of the stage impressed the judges, who chose to save him and send Dean home.
Alex’s next round involved singing songs from the 2010s and his rendition of Chandelier by Sia was flawless. His choice to sing a traditionally female song an octave lower could have backfired but yet again his bold choice was the right one - though judge Samantha Mumba said she was disappointed he didn’t go for a ‘Westlife-style’ high note to finish.
Model and singer-songwriter Basit was the only brave soul to challenge Alex to a sing-off after his powerhouse performance and he said his metallic shirt alone would carry him through, noting Uptown Funk was the only choice for him to “do the shirt justice”. He said he’s not the best singer but he knows how to put on a show. Can the shirt save the day?
Basit surprised everyone with his soft and easy voice, which the judges say added a sexiness to his performance. That combined with his self-assured moves made for quite a show. It’s down to their fellow contestants for this round to decide who to send home and who to keep in the competition: a choice to vote off the weaker performer or get rid of their biggest competition.
Alex is saved once more, but only by one vote. This format definitely keeps everyone on their toes.
After one round is decided by the judges and another by the contestants, the third and final sing-off is decided by the audience. When Alex is presented with the artist categories of Coldplay and Tina Turner, he chooses the former and opts for the ballad Fix You over the crowd-pleaser Viva La Vida. Will he regret his choice?
His emotive and vulnerable performance drew cheers from the crowd, but Anna’s powerful rendition of a Tina Turner hit throws a cat among the pigeons. As Samantha Mumba notes, she’s glad the audience is choosing this round’s winner because it would be hard to choose a favourite. With the decision out of the hands of both judges and contestants, the two singers have no clue who the audience will choose.
A running joke throughout the episode is how Anna hopes her childhood party trick will stand to her in the competition: her rendition of the nursery rhyme Incy Wincy Spider. Alex chooses her to challenge him in the final round, will we hear the song and see the hand choreography?
We all knew we’d see it. Nicky leads the audience in chants of ‘Anna! Anna! Anna!’ to encourage her. “This is going to be so embarrassing” she exclaims before roping Nicky into her performance. The fact that she made not one, but four popstars sing Incy Wincy Spider on national television, as judges Nadine Coyle Joey Fatone and Samantha Mumba followed along in the distance, should get her much favour with the crowd.
She next belts Tina Turner’s iconic River Deep Mountain High but she’s pipped to the post by Alex, who gets 59% of the audience vote and automatically goes through to the grand final. Anna is out of the competition, and four new faces will join the contestants yet to give it their all.
