The CW jumped on the bandwagon of singing competition shows with their twist on the format. "The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep" (Thu., 9 p.m. ET) and immediately set itself apart from its contemporaries with a slowed down pace and heavy emphasis on the personalities of both the contestants and the mentors.
There wasn't a lot of judging going on. Instead, the four superstar mentors spent 72 hours prior to the big performance with each of four homegrown talents. That's the other twist on this show. The talent selected are people who've made an impact in their home communities, but haven't been able to break through on a national scale.
Those home visits led to some fun interactions, like Nelly selling sunglasses, Gloria Estefan mowing the lawn, Joe Jonas babysitting and John Rich ... sitting on a toilet singing with a guy who was in the shower. Yeah, that happened.
One of the four singers in each city wins based on the audience votes, and in this city it was the shower crooner, Michael Ray, who moved onto the next round and one step closer to the Atlantic Records recording contract.
"The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep" hits a new city each week, Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
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