Arsimmer and The Foundation

McCoy wins Lyric Live championships

All star finale with cream of the crop of all performers

Erick Johnson | 11/12/2014, 2 p.m.

It was a golden performance. A packed crowd jammed Overtown’s Historic Lyric Theater on Friday night and crowned three-time Lyric ...

It was a golden performance.

A packed crowd jammed Overtown’s Historic Lyric Theater on Friday night and crowned three-time Lyric Live winner Arsimmer McCoy as the best of the season-ending All Star Championships.

Singing Jill Scott’s funky 2004 hit "Golden," McCoy brought the crowd to its feet with a passionate performance that included her powerful vocals and stage presence. She easily beat out three other contestants who were returning champions from this season's Lyric Live, an amateur talent show in which contestants are judged by a critical crowds who boo contestants that give less than stellar performances before they are escorted off stage by the Bahamian Junkanoo Band.

But this was the All Stars finale, where the returning champions were cream of the crop from this year’s pool of contestants. In addition to McCoy, they included two-time champion, Maylin Cuadra, Andrew Hicks and Ronnie L. Two other champions, the all-male group Diamonds in the Ruff and Jai Rose pulled out of the contest for undisclosed reasons.

Unlike the regular season, the champions competed in two rounds, where they picked the song of their choice in the first and performed a song given to them in the second. They competed before a sold out, standing-room crowd, the largest attendance at the 400-seat theater.

Lyric Live emcee Cello stepped up his jokes and melodramatics in attempt to lightened the mood as the four champions struggled in the first round. McCoy opened the show with the gospel song “Stand” by Donnie McClurkin. By her own standards, McCoy received mediocre reviews from a subdued performance that found her holding back on critical notes. Her first round performance though, still fared better than most of her competitors, who were not in their top form the entire evening.

Cuadra, who during the regular season impressed the crowds with Whitney Houston’s ballads, tried to be a “Dreamgirl” but fell flat. She sang Jennifer Holiday’s “And I am telling you”(Dreamgirls, the musical) in the first round and Jennifer Hudson's “I Love You I do” (Dreamgirls, the movie soundtrack) in the second. The latter was good performance but still lacked emotion for a song that expresses much pain and defiance. The second performance lacked just about everything.

Ronnie L, a wedding singer, was the only champion who was booed during the evening. The crowds rejected his off key performance of Frankie Beverly’s “Before I Let Go.” Humbled, Ronnie came back in the second round and nailed a Sam Smith’s soulful hit, “Stay With Me,” drawing a thunderous standing ovation.

Hicks, a 15-year old, had solid performances of Michael Jackson’s “Whose Loving You” and Bruno Mars' “Locked Out of Heaven,” but they were not enough to beat McCoy.

McCoy’s performance of “Golden” in the second round was simply over the top. Her stunning range of vocals and showmanship were on full display as she sang every note with passion, clarity and depth.

Rapper turned author Luther Campbell, who was one of the judges said of McCoy: “There’s a difference between a professional and an amateur. You are a professional and you are my winner.”

The audience agreed. McCoy, the only three-regular season winner who, because of her overwhelming talent was told not come back until the All Stars, walked away with $500. She received a large plaque with a gold record. Her name will be the first to be placed permanently under the new Lyric Live Hall of Fame at the Lyric Theater. - The Miami Times

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