Brandon Williams eliminated from 'Rising Stars'; Robert Ewart returns

And just like that, the final quintet of the 18th season of 'Digicel Rising Stars' have been named. Oshene Watson, Ramon Johnston, Mozein Sutherland, Shaunette Cameron and Robert Ewart have it to the top five, on a night which saw Brandon Williams being axed and Ewart returned to the competition.

Last week Williams performed the Stevie Wonder classic Master Blaster, which earned the aspiring singer good critique from the judges and the support of the studio audience.

Tonight he gave an emotional exit performance of the Lewis Capaldi hit single Someone You Loved. It was an appropriate selection, as the 'Rising Star' contestant belted out the reverberating lyrics of the chorus, "was getting used to being someone you loved". The audience's whispers of "we want justice" did not go unheard. Audience member Ashley Gordon said she was disappointed as Williams was her top pick to make it into the finals "because he's so talented", she said. "Brandon redeemed himself in the face-off two weeks ago, and last week the performance was exceptional. Even the judges thought so," she added. Another member of the audience shared that between Cameron, who performed Natalie Cole's Missing You Like Crazy and Williams, he thought Cameron would not have received enough votes to move on to the next round. "Brandon was really someone the people loved, and he had every right to get used to it. He's going to be a big star," he said.

In his goodbye speech, Williams promised that this was not the end of his journey. "Thank you so much. The musical journey does not stop here; we are taking it to another level," Williams said.

In a surprising twist of fate, Ewart, who was eliminated last week, was brought back. The judges requested that the Grenadian singer be brought back into the season after his elimination left many in tears.

Ewart made a slight mistake in his performance of Power of Love by Celine Dion, where he sang "cause I am your lady", to which judge Anthony Miller commented: "Don't sweat it, when you selected the song, I thought 'Was it the right song?', but the thing is you have the best voice in the competition."

All around, Ewart's return was welcomed by all judges, the audience and supporters, who tuned in and commented on social media.

stephanie.lyew@gleanerjm.com