Star Academy 11.01.08: review

Star Ac Speciale Tournee: in which the viewers choose who's going on the annual tour.
"Allumer le Feu" - more like the Star Academy of old.
"Vancouver" - Veronique Sanson & Lucie: I felt Lucie was in the background for the first few weeks but only now is she beginning to prove herself and may now be a dark horse.
"Crazy Medley" - Quentin & Alexia: Alexia really struggled with "Crazy In Love" but "Crazy" was a walk in the park for Quentin.
"La Solitudine" - Laura Pausini & Pierre: He did well here, singing in Italian. Still think he lacks star quality, however performs solidly every week.
"Et C’est Parti" - Nadiya & Mathieu: He has grown on me, but he’s still not great. He did all he needed to do on this one.
"You Are My Destiny" - Paul Anka & Quentin: Not being biased here, but Quentin is now at a different level from anyone else in this contest. This was an absolute treat.
"Mordu" - Patxi & Jeremy: Jeremy has suddenly become favourite to win, thanks to his good looks and rock-boy style. Nice to see Patxi back again too!
"Le Paradis Blanc" - Bertrand & Claire-Marie: C-M in full France Gall tribute act flow here. This was good, but not as good as Georges-Alain and Houcine’s version in Star Ac 2.
"Tra T'e Il Mare" - Laura Pausini & Alexia: Very nice duet. I love songs sung in Italian, and Alexia did very well here.
"Ma Reverence" - Veronique Sanson & Bertrand: I like some of Sanson’s stuff but this ballad was a bit too plodding and I got bored. Bertrand did ok though.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Lucie & Jeremy: Nirvana being sung on a reality pop show? Yep! This was firmly in their comfort zone and the crowd loved it.
"If You Were A Sailboat" - Katie Melua & Claire-Marie: this really suited C-M’s fragile vocal style and I thought it was a rather nice performance.
"Le Blues du Businessman" - Pierre & Mathieu: this has become Star Ac’s ‘clash of the titans’ song (definitive version - Hoda & Lucie, Star Ac 4), and while Pierre’s vocals were never in doubt, I didn’t expect Mathieu to be good, but he was, although again not great.
"Vivre Ou Survivre" - Nadiya & Alexia: usual high-powered r’n’b pop from Nadiya, Alexia seemed uncomfortable and was off the beat at times.
"Le Manege" - Stanislas & Lucie: bizarre little song, this one, but I feel that Lucie showed some versatility this week. She’s still only ok though.
This week’s marks for the prime: 1- Quentin (yaaayyy). 2 - Bertrand. 3 - Lucie. 4 - Jeremy. 5 - Claire-Marie. 6 - Pierre. 7 - Mathieu. 8 - Alexia.
"Aimer a Perdre La Raison" - an emotional final number as it was the last time all eight students would sing together - because this week there were not just one but two evictions, and the cruellest blow of all was that the two evictees would not make the tour.

Result: Pierre and Alexia eliminated by the viewers despite (or because of) never having been nominated. Raphie shocked by both eliminations. I’m just glad that Quentin’s made it through - there will be no justice if he doesn’t win, as the rest are nowhere near the level of many of the contestants who appeared in the previous six series and some are mediocre at best. With falling sales and falling ratings for the show, Quentin may be the only contestant left this year who can save Star Academy.