My Kind of Country (2023): Season 1, Episode 4 - Jimmie Allen's Collaboration Workshop - full transcript

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First love was this old six string ♪

That was handed down to me ♪

I ain't from the right town or place ♪

♪ But the West wind takes my voice
All across the land ♪

It ain't where you're born and raised ♪

♪ It's the song in my heart
That makes me say every day ♪

Yeah, I'm country made ♪

- What's up, y'all? What's crack-a-lacking?
- Hey.

[Allen]
My workshop is about collaborations.

The only way to be successful
is at some point

you'll have to trust other people
to take you where you wanna go.



I've worked with so many great artists
that pulled things out of me

that I didn't even know was there.

So, here we go. My workshop,
collaborations. Let's get after it.

Hello. Hello.

[Micaela]
I feel overwhelmed by everything.

But it's a good type of overwhelmed,

'cause not a lot of people
get to experience this.

So, very grateful to be here.

- Simon.
- Zel. Nice to meet you.

There are South African accents
at the table, and it's cool.

- It's good to see y'all all here together.
- [contestants] Yeah.

It's crazy. I'm looking at this table.
Man, it's a beautiful thing.

I'ma say something I never thought
I'd say in America.

Wanna say hello to the minorities,
to the white people.



[laughing]

But you're from Africa, so that's dope.
You know what I'm saying?

- Come on!
- So here we are.

But, yeah, man, it's, uh...
it's good to see y'all.

Uh, so my workshop
is all about collaborations.

Um, I love collaborating. In Nashville,
it took me 11 years to get a record deal.

I lived in my car for a while.
I lived in a trailer with no electric.

But it took other people to...

when they started working with me,
to get me where I wanted.

After learning about Jimmie's story,
and facing adversity

and trying to grow past it,
it's actually quite inspiring.

And it's about collaborating musically.
So, I did a full album of collaborations.

Everyone from Keith Urban, to Pitbull,
Darius Rucker, Little Big Town.

Got to work with every last one of them.

[Allen] I'm a very passionate person.

Collaborating with an artist taught me
to step back and see

how I can take
a different approach, emotionally.

Because I learned to trust other people
and to actually be the person

that other people can lean on.

So, we've broken y'all up
into different groups.

And I did it in a way where I felt like

there's something that the person
you're with can learn from you

and something you can learn from them.

Working with somebody close
on a performance is completely new.

Uncomfortable territory, but I'm excited.

So, what I'm gonna be looking for
with this is seeing you take a song,

even though you didn't choose it,

and working with someone
to make it your own.

You know,
because when you do a cover song,

your job with a cover song is to sing it

to where I forget
who the original artist is.

People forget Garth Brooks
didn't sing "Friends in Low Places" first,

Mark Chesnutt did.

But when Garth got a hold of it,
now the people know it as Garth's song.

As a solo artist,
I spend so much time by myself.

So whenever I get the opportunity
to work with anyone,

I try to take advantage of it.

- So, Wandile...
- Yeah.

...you've been paired with Alisha.

- Okay. Okay. Let's get it, let's get it.
- Hey. [chuckling] Let's get it.

The song y'all are doing is "Circles"
by Post Malone.

Okay.

Betsies, I have you with Sir Chuck Adams.

- Yes! I'm so happy.
- Awesome.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

- My friends.
- And the song is "The Weight" by The Band.

- Oh, yeah.
- Oh. Nice.

[Allen] It's a great song.

- So, Justin, I paired you with Micaela.
- Yeah.

- Okay, Micaela. [laughs]
- [laughs]

- Hey. Look at that.
- Ah! [grunts, chuckles]

[contestants laugh, cheer] Sheesh!

In a collaboration,
there's more room to mess up.

If it's just me on my own,
I feel like I have more control.

The song y'all are gonna be doing

is "Somebody That I Used to Know"
by Gotye.

- [contestants chattering] Oh.
- Whoa.

At first, I was like, "Oof...

Okay. It's not really a country song."

But I was like... was like,
"Cool, let's try.

Let's try and steer it
towards more of a country influence."

- Ale.
- Yeah.

- I have placed you with Dhruv.
- Okay.

- Okay!
- [Dhruv] Hey! [laughs]

Yes.

[contestants laughing]

And y'all will be singing "Neon Moon"
by Brooks & Dunn.

[Zel] I love that song.

- I'm excited. Yeah.
- [Ale] Okay. Yeah.

Next, we have the Congo Cowboys
with Camille.

Nice.

Um, your song is "Youngblood"
by 5 Seconds Of Summer.

- Mm-hmm.
- [Allen] It's a bop.

- It's a bop.
- Mmm.

[Camille] Working with the Congo Cowboys,
it's uncharted water.

And there's instrumentalists
and there's the banjo.

I'm thinking, "Well, how can I bring
what I know about country?"

You guys are going to be performing
these songs at the Nashville Palace.

[Dhruv] Collaboration is something
I struggle with.

I'm very particular.

I don't wanna make somebody
feel uncomfortable working with me.

The Nashville Palace is a national staple.

Come on.

So there will be some fans there.
There'll be some music lovers there.

And, um, you won't be judged as a group.

You'll be judged individually on growth,
on how well you've worked with each other.

And the worst part,
there will be some, um...

some people going home
after the performance.

But it's just another opportunity to, um,

take one step closer to, uh,
where y'all wanna be.

- Yeah.
- Now, let's eat.

- Y'all hungry, bro?
- [contestants] Yeah.

- Now we're talking.
- [Allen] Let's eat, man.

- These are just for you, Justin.
- [Justin] Oh.

[contestants chattering, laughing]

- Chili.
- You can only have the beans. [chuckles]

- Take it.
- Wow.

The thing that makes collaborations challenging

is you have to create musical space
for yourself while creating musical space

for the artist you're working with.

The worst thing that can happen

is one artist not trust the one
they're working with,

so they feel they need to control
the entire thing.

It has to sound like two different artists
working together to create one sound.

- There you go.
- I'd like a fatty piece, please.

- I'll give you a couple of 'em.
- Yeah.

- [Micaela] Thank you very much.
- [Allen] Yeah, get rockin'.

["Misadventures" playing]

Yeah.

[Camille] Okay. All right.
We're gonna get it right.

- Okay. The boys are getting fit here.
- So you're driving, then... [chuckles]

- This is so far out of my comfort zone.
- Yeah. [chuckles]

What about you?

Take a load off, Fanny ♪

And put the load right on me ♪

- Fanny, I don't want your load.
- [laughs]

[all laughing]

- [Zel] I want your load.
- That's amazing, Jimmie.

[Dhruv] Okay.

[sighs] Are you excited?

- No, not at all. No, I'm kidding.
- [chuckles]

- I'm quite...
- [chuckling] Dhruv.

Um, I'll let you know,
I'm a horrible collaborator.

- [laughs]
- I'm genuinely... I'm, like...

- Same here. So, we just make this happen.
- [laughs]

[Dhruv] Because I've been working
by myself for a long time,

I'm frightened, for sure.

I think, you know, now we've had
a chance to listen to the song.

How you feeling about it?

I mean...

We are doing "Neon Moon" by Brooks & Dunn.

It's dramatic, romantic,
and sad song at the same time.

So, I love it because it's so me.
[chuckles]

I already have in mind a tuning that we...

- that I could play it in.
- Okay.

You and I can sing together,
and it'll sound beautiful.

Okay.

[together] ♪ When the sun goes down
On my side of town ♪

- Okay.
- We can figure it out. I'm sorry.

I'm singing the lead line
just to get used to it.

- Yeah. Okay.
- I can also take a harmony, for sure.

Sometimes I do have this eagerness
that I want to try and set things up.

And, you know, I feel uncomfortable
if things don't set in stone early enough,

and I feel like I have to set it.

[both] To watch your broken dreams ♪

- ...out of the beams ♪
- [humming] ...beams ♪

- You want me to sing the...
- I just...

Why don't you sing,
To watch your broken... ♪

- I'll sing the...
- To watch your... ♪

- I'll sing the harmony?
- [singing]

- Yeah, please.
- Yes.

[Ale] He started to play
and to hit the guitar box, or something.

He turns... [sighs] ...his guitar into a drum,
and some parts we are going, like, flat,

but then we gotta... to go up and down.

So, um, it's a lot of arrangement.

- How do you feel?
- [inhales sharply] Good.

I mean,
I'm just getting used to this song.

- You know, it's like...
- I know, but we're making it our own.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- From the high one?

[Camille] Lately our conver... ♪

It's a new melody.

[vocalizing] ...last goodbye ♪

That's really low for me.
So I just wanna find a new note.

See, it's kind of nice
when it's out of your range,

- because there's an opportunity to...
- To just go somewhere else. Yeah.

To go somewhere else.
Well, we'll still respect the hook,

- but, you know...
- Of course. Yeah.

Can we take this a bit chimurenga style
in terms of the guitars?

I felt like, okay,
we should add some African vibe.

Not to keep it as original,
but to make it our own version

that people can dance
even when they listen to it.

Because it's already a groovy thing.

Because it goes into a 6/8 thing,
like... [imitates rhythm]

So what the Congo Cowboys do,
it's, like, African syncopated,

you know, kind of thing going on.

I'm like, "Okay, well, how do I find
my country self in this?" [laughs]

♪ Remember the words you told me,
Love me till the day... ♪

What was the note? Shit.

I die ♪

[all] Let it go ♪

♪ Maybe you don't understand
what I'm going through ♪

Okay, this is the part...
I'm gonna stop you here.

Let's have Alisha take that harmony
and you take the main line.

But it sounds nice just plain.

[Beatty] We were trying to solve
the problem of you wanting harmony here

and Wandile not feeling like it worked.

But it sounds nice going
from the harmony to my line, which is...

♪ Maybe you don't understand
What I'm going through ♪

Because it's one person
singing to another.

[Wandile] Yeah. She's tough.

I like that she knows what she wants,
you know? Lots of ideas.

Just makes the process a little longer
and a little more complex.

I was saying that "let it go"
harmony that was there goes here.

Alisha wants it up here,
so that's how I solved the issue.

The only thing I wanna add is a harmony
on three words, you know?

Because we should both say
the "let it go."

Okay. Let's just do it that way then.

[Alisha] I think Wandile
has a very different approach to things.

I feel like it would be better if I had
a little more input from him

and we both took that on together
as a team, you know,

to try and make it our own.

- Run away, run away ♪
- Run away, run aw... Run away ♪

[Beatty clapping]
We got homework. We got lots of homework.

♪ Pulled into Nazareth,
Was feelin' about half past dead ♪

♪ I just look for a place
Where I can lay my head... ♪

Something like that. [smacks lips]
When I come in just after you sing,

I might wanna sing that...
start that a bit different.

I know. I also have to work on that.

If there's one thing
that I'm worried about

is the fact
that we don't have strong voices,

and we rely a lot on each other
and our harmonies to carry us through.

- I mean, it's intimidating, I think.
- Mmm.

[Zel] Are you comfortable?

- I'm okay for now.
- [Landi] All right. Good.

- Chuck is actually very serious.
- He's very serious.

I think what we can maybe teach him
is to have a bit of fun as well,

- with the serious. To take the load off.
- To take a load off.

[chuckles] Like the song, yeah.

[all] And you put the load right on me ♪

Just need to get you
to take your shoes off on stage.

- It just feels so freeing.
- Really?

Just as far as that letting go thing,
I was just kind of raised kind of hard.

It's like the Northeast
kind of raises you to,

you know, chest out a little bit.

You know, don't... You don't wanna
get picked on, robbed, or whatever.

So, you walk around kind of like this.
That's how I was raised.

[Zel] I was gonna think he would say,

"Maybe you guys
should put some shoes on." [laughs]

Nah, I like people
being exactly who they are.

Come on, come on, come on,
come on, come on.

But you didn't have to cut me off ♪

I need you to get up
on top of those notes.

- Am I just flat?
- [Dawkins] That B-flat.

- Cut ♪
- Yeah.

Cut me off ♪

- Just need to open my mouth more.
- [Dawkins] Yeah. Drop your jaw.

[Justin]
After doing that first performance,

Jimmie asked me to try
and be a bit more vulnerable on stage.

I was like, "Um. I...
I'm gonna try and do that."

I have strengths and weaknesses.

That's the thing about collaboration,
you know?

Opening your eye
to somebody else's point of view.

So I'm gonna try and show a softer side
to the performance. The pressure's on.

[both] 'Cause now you're just somebody ♪

♪ That I used... ♪

Ah. [chuckles] So... Ooh, sorry. [laughs]

- [laughing] Excuse me.
- [Justin] You're doing great.

[Micaela] It's a balancing act.
If either one of us

are even just a little bit off vocally
on that day, it's gonna be a problem.

I guess that I don't need that though ♪

♪ 'Cause now you're just somebody
That I used to know ♪

- I don't know if I'm trying to force it...
- Second verse.

...then it's something
that shouldn't be there.

Okay.

Letting yourself down is always
in the back of your head.

This is exactly what I wanna do
with my life.

I don't wanna go home.

I don't even... ♪

- Sorry.
- No, the first part.

[Dawkins] Don't feel like you have to.
If it doesn't come to you, don't do it.

[Chris] One, two, three.

- [Landi] How you feeling, Zel?
- Excited.

♪ When the sun goes down
On my side of town ♪

Hey. It's showcase day.
You know the vibes.

Stage rehearsal, and then it's showtime.

- En route to the palace.
- [Camille] I guess.

[Simon] It's the Nashville Palace.
The palace of love.

Are you ready, Dhruv? Ready to rock!

Maybe I'm ready to rock.

[Dhruv] Today's an interesting day.
It's a little scary because I feel like,

with every performance
and every song I do,

I always wanna put my best foot forward.

And as a duet, you know,

to present it in a way
where it hasn't been heard before.

- Am I on the right, or am I...
- You should be...

- You should be over here. Yeah.
- Okay.

- What up?
- What's up?

- You feeling good about the song?
- Yeah.

[Allen] I know the issues that can
come up working with another artist,

especially when you're a solo artist and
you're used to doing things on your own.

Then you're told,
"You have to work with someone else

who does something completely different."

So I'm hoping I can
give these artists advice

that they can take into the showcase
and make this performance the best.

[Ale] I enjoy to work with Dhruv a lot.

I just got this chemistry with him.

But sometimes the nerves just arrives
and I just need to not forget my part.

Here's a trick.

When you're on stage together
in this moment,

people should think
that you're in love with each other.

- Yeah.
- Okay.

[Allen] That sells.

One, two. Hey.

For me, the nerves definitely comes in
when I think about I need to perform,

like, the heck out of this song.

- [exhales sharply]
- [Justin] Yeah.

Justin, he's a performer,
so I need to up my game.

[both] ♪ Now you're just somebody
That I used to ♪

Know ♪

- [chuckles]
- Know... ♪

- Oh, shit. I totally [bleep] it up.
- [laughs] Ah.

Hey, if that happens on the show,
just keep going.

If you're doing that "know,"

sell it like that's what's
supposed to happen.

The crowd don't know what's gonna happen.
We didn't come to rehearsal.

- Know what I'm saying?
- For sure.

Justin is an entertainer.
He does his country rock thing,

but I wanted to see if he could, like,
pull his vocals back a little bit.

And with Micaela, you know,
she's a great singer.

I wanted to see if he could push her
to bring more power.

♪ I said
Hey, Carmen ♪

[Landi] There is definitely
a little bit of a worry.

If we can't get there,
it might be that, you know,

we're not good enough for the world,
never mind the competition.

- Maybe we're just what we are.
- Mmm.

Hey, trust yourself more.

Whatever you're doing, whether you're
unsure or not, just go for it.

Yeah.

'Cause unsure moment happens,
audience gone.

Yeah.

[Allen] Wandile and Alisha,

vocally they're two
completely different artists

with two very unique, distinct sounds.

You know, Wandile, he's very soulful.
Alisha, she gives me a very rock vibe.

Um, so I've never heard two artists

with two different sounds like that
sing together.

So, I'm looking forward to seeing
what they do with this very pop song.

[both] Run away, run away, run away ♪

That one felt like two different artists
doing their own thing but yet,

not doing the best of their thing
because they were in a duo.

[both]
But you need it, yeah you need it ♪

To share the stage as unit of
the Congo Cowboys and as Camille,

but also to be integrated.
It's quite a challenge.

When you're doing this line,
I'll get here, and then I'll lean.

- And then I'll slide down.
- [stuttering] As much as you can.

- I understand.
- So I can still...

There's moments where you play to the
crowd, then moments when you're close.

Play with each other.

It'll really sell that.
You know? All right!

Man, appreciate y'all. Y'all sound great.

- All set? Thank you.
- [person] You can go that way.

[Camille] After the first run-through,
there were some holding back happening.

The Congo Cowboys,

they're a very confident
and competent band.

I think when you add another person
on stage, it changes the dynamic.

Chris and I, we're supposed to be,

you know, pouring our bitter hearts out
about this love that didn't work out.

I want everyone to see that.

Tonight, I just wanna make sure
that we leave it all on the floor.

That we are not playing timid.
This is not a time to play safe.

We turned this entire song into our own

and I want the audience to see
how it sounds to us.

Yes.

["Evil's On the Run" playing]

- She's ready. [chuckles]
- Look at you go.

- You see, it's not what I expected.
- Yes.

[Wandile] I do come from a competitive
background and it's game day now.

I have one job.

And if I don't do my job,

it's not that I'm letting
the team down first,

I'm letting myself down first.

So, that's what my focus is right now.
Is to not let myself down.

[Micaela grunting]

- Hey! Look at you go.
- Hey. Not bad.

- Okay. Okay!
- Did you make that? Look at you!

Shooting the pool table without standing
on a stool. I love it.

[all chuckling]

Yo, so tonight's the night
it's going down.

Performing here.
So, you know, just bring it.

You know what I mean? Trust yourself.

You step on that stage, you're the best.

Tell yourself before you walk out
on stage, "I'm the best."

You know what I'm saying?

Just ask yourself
before you sing that first note,

how do you wanna be remembered.

Now's the part where we can't let you
move forward off of potential.

Know what I'm saying? We gotta see it now.

So whatever you got pent-up inside
that's stopping you from letting go,

let it go.

And, uh, I'll see y'all inside. Peace!

- [contestants exclaiming] Thank you. Yeah.
- [Simon] Nice. Yeah!

Yeah.

Right!

Coming from other countries,
it is difficult.

And we've given up so much
to be able to do this.

[Landi] The pressure is really difficult
to get used to.

[chattering]

[Chris] It's a competition.

It's that thing in the back of your mind,
like, "Oh, God."

So, we need to focus
and just to give the best

and see where it's gonna take us.

- Up first, we got the Congo Cowboys...
- Yeah.

...and Camille.

That is going to be
a very interesting combo.

[stage manager]
Three, two, one. Go for it, guys.

[Camille]
It took me years to get to a place

where I even felt like
I had the right to have a voice.

So I'm gonna leave it all out there
on the stage.

Y'all make some noise
for the Congo Cowboys and Camille!

- [audience cheering]
- [Guyton] Whoo!

- [Allen] Hey!
- [Peck] Yeah!

Bonjour. My name is Chris,
and I am from Congo.

We are the Congo Cowboys.

- [audience cheering, applauding]
- Whoo! Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo!

Hi, Nashville. My name is Camille Parker.

- How y'all feeling tonight?
- [audience cheering]

I said, how y'all feeling tonight?

- [cheering intensifies]
- [Camille] All right. All right.

The amazing Jimmie Allen
gave us a little challenge.

He wanted to see how we could take a song
and add our own little twist to it.

Something just popped into my mind
that said

we should add a little bit of country
and African flavor to the song.

- [audience member] Yeah!
- So, this is our version.

- [Peck] Yeah!
- This is "Youngblood."

- [Peck whistles]
- [Guyton] Whoo!

[audience cheers]

[playing "Youngblood"]

Remember the words you told me ♪

"Love me till the day I die" ♪

Surrender my everything ♪

♪ 'Cause you made me believe
You are mine ♪

[Camille] Ooh ♪

♪ You push and you push
And I'm pulling away ♪

Pulling away from you ♪

♪ I give and I give and I give
And you take ♪

♪ Youngblood
Say you want me ♪

♪ Say you want me
Out of your life ♪

I'm just a dead man walking tonight ♪

♪ But you need it
Yeah, you need it ♪

All of the time ♪

[vocalizing]

♪ Lately our conversations end
Like it's the last goodbye ♪

[Guyton] Hey!

♪ One of us gets too drunk
And calls about a hundred times ♪

[Camille] ♪ Push and you push
And I'm pulling away ♪

Pulling away from you ♪

♪ I give and I give and I give
And you take ♪

♪ Running around
And I'm running away ♪

Running away from you ♪

From you ♪

- Young ♪
- Young ♪

- Blood ♪
- Blood ♪

- Young ♪
- Mmm ♪

[all] ♪ You push and you push
And I'm pulling away ♪

- Young ♪
- Young ♪

- Blood ♪
- Blood ♪

Young ♪

Whoo!

[playing guitar solo]

[vocalizing]

♪ Youngblood
Say you want me ♪

♪ Say you want me
Out of your life ♪

I'm just a dead man walking tonight ♪

[audience cheering]

- [Micaela] Yeah, yeah!
- [Dhruv] Wow.

- [Allen] Y'all were great.
- [Guyton] Y'all!

Your vocals were great.

I loved how you made moments
of that song, Camille, your own.

You know what I'm saying?
Then that little dance choreography part...

- I don't...
- [Guyton] That was so real.

Yeah, it's like Jackson 3 with Janet.
You know what I'm saying?

So it was dope.

So, man, thank y'all for coming out.
Thank you for delivering.

I hope y'all enjoyed it.
We sure as hell did.

It was awesome.

- All right. Thank y'all so much!
- [Allen] Hell yeah. Thanks!

- [audience cheering]
- Whoo! Y'all did so good.

[contestants cheering, whistling]

[Simon] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Next, we have Dhruv and Ale.

- [Peck] Ooh.
- Ooh.

- [audience cheering, whistling]
- [Allen] What's up!

Hello, everyone.

How are you doing tonight?

- [audience cheering]
- [chuckles]

I'm so glad to be here. Um, Ale Aguirre.
I'm from Chihuahua, Mexico.

And I'm Dhruv Visvanath.
I am from New Delhi, India.

- [Guyton] Ay!
- What's up, guys?

And we are going to perform tonight
this song called "Neon Moon"

by Brooks & Dunn.

I hope you enjoy this spin on it.

- So, yeah.
- Yes. Whoo!

[Peck] Yeah!

♪ When the sun goes down
On my side of town ♪

That lonesome feeling comes to my door ♪

♪ And the whole world turns ♪

Blue ♪

- Yeah. Yeah.
- It's too much.

♪ There's a run-down bar
Across the railroad tracks ♪

I got a table for two way in the back ♪

♪ Where I sit here alone
And think of losing you ♪

[screams]

♪ I spend most every night
Beneath the light ♪

Of a neon moon ♪

I can't... Yes!

Now, if you lose your one and only ♪

♪ There's always room here
For the lonely ♪

♪ To watch your broken dreams
Dance in and out of the beams ♪

Of a neon moon ♪

- [Peck] Yeah!
- [Guyton] Yay!

Jukebox plays on, drink by drink ♪

♪ And the words of every sad song
Seem to say what I think ♪

♪ And its hurt inside of me
Ain't never gonna end ♪

Yeah ♪

♪ Oh, but I'll be all right
As long as there's light ♪

Of a neon moon ♪

Now, if you lose your one and only ♪

♪ Oh, there's always room here
For the lonely ♪

♪ To watch your broken dreams
Dance in and out of the beams ♪

Of a neon moon ♪

Ah. It's beautiful.

♪ To watch your broken dreams
Dance in and out of the beams ♪

Of a neon moon ♪

♪ Come watch your broken dreams
Dance in and out of the beams ♪

Of a neon moon ♪

- [audience cheering]
- [Ale chuckles]

[audience cheering continues]

- [Allen] Bro, what did I tell you?
- [Peck] Oh, my God.

[Allen] What did I tell you?
What did I tell you?

Yeah, no pressure.

That is one of my favorite,
all-time favorite, country songs.

And, honestly, y'all made it so your own.
That was insane.

- [Guyton] I'm crying.
- Yeah, it was so good.

Like, that was so sincere and beautiful.

- And that is country music.
- [Peck] Yeah.

- And that is what the world needs.
- [Allen] Yeah.

And that's what everyone
in this room needed,

- so thank you so much for that.
- Yes.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, guys. Have a wonderful day.

- [audience cheering]
- Ay!

- [contestants cheering]
- Well done.

- [cheering, applauding]
- Oh, my God.

- You sounded so good.
- [Landi] Well done.

I mean, it was pretty shit, but...

[laughs]

Next, we have Micaela and Justin,

- your fellow pals from South Africa.
- My fellow South Africans.

- Yep. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.

- I wanted Micaela to open up more.
- Exactly.

And I wanted Justin to find ways
to, like, have dynamics.

- Yeah, be more emotionally connected.
- [Allen] Bring it up then down.

They'll be good.

- It's go time. It's go time.
- It's go time.

Oh, my gosh.

[Justin]
My music career has been my whole life,

so there's quite a bit of pressure.
I just know that I need to bring it.

Come on!

- [Allen] Hey!
- [audience cheering]

- [audience cheering continues]
- [Guyton] Whoo!

Howzit, howzit, howzit?

- [Peck] Howzit?
- [Micaela] Hello, everyone.

I'm Micaela Kleinsmith.
I'm from Cape Town, South Africa.

Oh, yeah. And I'm Justin Serrao
from Johannesburg, South Africa.

So, Jimmie gave us the song
"Somebody That I Used to Know."

And we were really excited
to get this song, 'cause we both know it.

[Justin] All right, are you up for it?

- [Micaela] Yeah. [chuckles]
- Howzit!

["Somebody That I Used To Know" plays]

♪ Now and then I think
Of when we were together ♪

♪ Like when you said you felt so happy
You could die ♪

Told myself that you were right for me ♪

But felt so lonely in your company ♪

♪ That was love
And it's an ache I still remember ♪

Hey!

♪ But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened ♪

♪ And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love ♪

♪ But you treat me like a stranger,
And that feels so rough ♪

Yeah.

No, you didn't have to stoop so low ♪

♪ Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number ♪

I guess that I don't need that though ♪

♪ Now you're just somebody
That I used to know ♪

♪ Now and then I think of all the times
You screwed me over ♪

- [chuckles] Yeah. [chuckles]
- I love this so much.

♪ Had me believing
It was always something that I'd done ♪

♪ Oh, yeah
But I don't wanna live that way ♪

Reading into every word you say ♪

You said that you could let it go ♪

♪ And I wouldn't catch you hung up
On somebody that you used to know ♪

But you didn't have to cut me off ♪

♪ Make out like it never happened
And we were nothing ♪

And I don't even need your love ♪

♪ 'Cause now you're just somebody
That I used to know ♪

Somebody ♪

That I used to know ♪

♪ 'Cause now you're just somebody
That I used to know ♪

- [audience cheering]
- Know ♪

Know ♪

- [audience cheering continues]
- [Guyton] Whoo!

- Whoo!
- [Dhruv] Wow.

[Alisha] Wow.

- [Peck] I loved it.
- Whoo! Thank you.

- [Justin] Come on!
- [Micaela] Come on! [laughs]

Yeah!

Thank you so much.

- Micaela, I'm so proud of you.
- Woman!

- Your confidence is out of control...
- Both of you.

...and playing off each other.
And I'm just so proud of both of you.

- Yes.
- It's incredible.

- [Allen] Your confidence is crazy.
- [Guyton] Y'all were not playing today.

Rock stars.

- Thank y'all so much.
- [Justin] Thanks, guys.

- Thank you so much, everybody. Hey!
- [audience cheering]

- We'll see you again, Nashville! Come on!
- [laughing]

- All right! Come on!
- [Micaela] All right.

- Thank you.
- Come on!

So, who is next, Jimmie?

So up next, we got Chuck Adams
and The Betsies.

Ooh.

- [vocalizes]
- [speaks indistinctly]

I'm starting to let go a little more.
What letting go looks like and feels like.

I think that thing that protected
the child me isn't needed anymore.

So I think, when I soften up,
it will show on stage.

- [Zel] Our shoes are off.
- [Landi] Chuck, you've got great feet.

Shoes off.

- [Landi] Shoes off.
- Great feet.

- [audience cheering]
- [Allen] Hey.

Chuck went barefoot.

- Yeah. Oh, my God. Yes, Chuck!
- [Guyton] Yay!

- [Peck chuckles]
- [Allen] Chuck went barefoot.

- Hey. How you doing?
- [Peck, Guyton] Hey!

I'm Chuck Adams,
uh... from Nashville, Tennessee.

- [audience cheers]
- [Guyton] Whoo!

[Allen] Hey.

- Uh, we are The Betsies. Yeah. [chuckles]
- Hey.

[Zel] Yep.

The song tonight we're going to do is,
um, "The Weight" by The Band.

- Nice.
- We also got Chuck to take off his shoes.

We noticed that. Yeah.

[cheering]

[Landi] We always play barefoot.

You feel Mother Earth, like,

shining right through your soul
when you're barefoot.

Let's see how it goes. [chuckles]

["The Weight" plays]

Pulled into Nazareth ♪

Was feelin' about half past dead ♪

♪ I just need a place
Where I can lay my head ♪

♪ "Hey, mister, can you tell me
Where a man might find a bed?" ♪

♪ He just grinned and shook my hand
"No" was all he said ♪

♪ Take a load off, Fanny
Take a load for free ♪

Take a load off, Fanny ♪

And ♪

You put the load right on me ♪

[Peck] Yeah!

♪ I picked up my bag
I went lookin' for a place to hide ♪

When I saw Carmen and the devil ♪

- Walkin' side by side ♪
- Yeah!

♪ I said, "Hey, Carmen, come on
Let's go downtown" ♪

♪ She said, "I gotta go
But my friend can stick around" ♪

♪ Take a load off, Fanny
Take a load for free ♪

Take a load off, Fanny ♪

And ♪

You put the load right on me ♪

♪ Take a load off
Take a load off ♪

Take a load off me ♪

- [Guyton] Whoo!
- [Peck] Yeah!

- [audience cheering]
- Yes.

♪ Take a load off ♪

- Oh!
- Yeah. Come on!

- [Guyton] Yes!
- Thank you, guys.

- [Guyton] Beautiful!
- Thank you so much.

- Whoo!
- [Allen] Man. Listen, listen, listen.

Betsies, it was great to see you guys
singing with some passion

and some intensity, and some soul, man.

You know, it's so good.

Chuck, it's good to see you smiling
on stage, bro.

- [Guyton] Yes!
- [Peck] Yeah!

- Y'all did amazing. Truly.
- [Allen] I love it.

- It was great.
- Thank you, guys.

- [both] Thank you so much. Thanks.
- [Guyton] Thank y'all so much.

- [audience applauding]
- Yeah!

[Justin] ♪ And you put your load
right on me ♪

- Yeah.
- [Dhruv] Wow.

- [Guyton] Who's next?
- [sighs]

- Next is Wandile and Alisha.
- [Guyton] Ooh.

[Alisha] We do have some friction,
which I think is perfect for this song.

'Cause many times,
when we're trying to explain ourselves,

we do go in circles.

[inhales deeply]
So, it's coming naturally. [chuckles]

[audience cheering]

[Wandile] Yeah. Yes, sir.

What's up? Are you good? Yes, sir.

Hi, everyone. I'm Alisha Pais.

I'm from Bombay, India.

- Whoo!
- [Peck] Yeah!

My name is Wandile Mbambeni,
and I'm from South Africa.

- [audience cheering]
- I'm from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Yeah, um, the song we'll be doing tonight
is "Circles" by Post Malone.

- [audience cheers]
- [Alisha] It's such a beautiful song

- and I hope you enjoy it.
- Look, let's take...

- I hope you dig it.
- I hope you guys enjoy it.

We've been warring with each other.

It's been an emotional tug-of-war
between Wandile and me.

- No, you'll hear it. You'll hear it.
- Yeah, you'll hear it.

[laughs]

["Circles" plays]

[vocalizes]

♪ We couldn't turn around
Till we were upside down ♪

♪ I'll be the bad guy now
But, no, I ain't too proud ♪

I couldn't be there ♪

Even when I tried ♪

♪ You don't believe it
We do this every time ♪

Seasons change and our love went cold ♪

♪ Feed the flame
'Cause we can't let it go ♪

♪ Run away, but we're running in circles
Run away, run away ♪

I dare you to do something ♪

I'm waiting on you again ♪

I don't take the blame ♪

Run away, but we're running in circles ♪

Run away, run away, run away ♪

Let go ♪

♪ I got a feeling that it's time
To let it go ♪

♪ I say so ♪

♪ I knew that this was doomed
From the get-go ♪

♪ You thought that it was special
Special ♪

♪ But it was just the sex though
The sex though ♪

And I still hear the echoes ♪

♪ I got a feeling that it's time
To let it go ♪

Let it go ♪

♪ Maybe you don't understand
What I'm going through ♪

♪ It's only me
What you got to lose? ♪

♪ Make up your mind, tell me
What are you gonna do? ♪

♪ It's only me
Let it go ♪

Seasons change and our love went cold ♪

♪ Feed the flame
'Cause we can't let it go ♪

Run away, run away, run away ♪

[audience cheering]

- Yes!
- [Alisha] Thank you.

- [Guyton] Yes!
- Thank you so much.

- Nice, man. Nice, man!
- Nice.

It was really good to see you, Alisha,
opening up a little more.

- And you brought that, bro.
- [Guyton] You did.

- Absolutely.
- Yeah.

- One more time for these guys.
- One more time.

- [Guyton] Bye.
- [Alisha] Thank you. Bye.

Let's do this. Don't leave me hanging.

- [chuckles] Keep going.
- [Alisha] I got you.

- [Micaela] Whoo!
- [Simon] Yes, yes, yes, yes!

- [Justin] Come on, baby!
- We sang it. [chuckles]

- [contestants cheering]
- [Dhruv] Well done, y'all.

[Wandile] Yes, yes, yes.

- [Guyton] What a freaking day.
- Yeah, it was crazy.

Not that I'm saying
that my expectations were low, but like...

They just brought it on a whole different
level that I was not prepared for.

That's what makes... [sighs]
...this decision, you know, difficult.

I'm curious to know what y'all think.
We have to send people home.

And remember, we're judging
these artists on their authenticity...

- Yep.
- ...their ability to collaborate,

- how they sound, and how they perform.
- Mm-hmm.

And I don't know about you guys,
but for me,

I want that winner
to be someone that's ready.

- Ready right now.
- [Peck] Yeah.

So, who's there and who's not there yet?

I thought that Dhruv and Ale were, like,
one of the strongest.

- It's crazy.
- They were the strongest for me.

- [Peck] I mean, it was so good.
- [Allen] Oh, for sure.

For me, with Dhruv, there's no cons,
if I'm being honest.

- No, none.
- With Ale,

the only con I would see
is you could tell she's still young

when it comes to that interaction
sometimes with the crowd.

- You can feel it's a little... shaky.
- [Guyton] Mm-hmm.

So, what about Justin and Micaela?

[Micaela] ♪ Told myself that... ♪

[Guyton] First of all,
the moves Micaela was doing up there.

- I was like, "Micaela, ma'am."
- [Allen] She was doing...

- She grew a lot from last week.
- [Guyton] She did.

As much as I love Justin,

and he performs,
I don't always believe it.

I don't think he's going all the way
quite there.

Just isn't showing enough individuality
for me.

What he does,
I don't necessarily feel like he brings

even a South African flavor to it,
personally, and I'm South African.

- But I hear...
- As much as I see within Wandile,

- or in the Congo Cowboys, or in Micaela.
- I guess, since I'm American,

- I hear it in his voice.
- Uh-huh.

If there's, like, a question in my mind,

I have to always lean back
on authenticity.

I'm looking at it like,

- "Who can sell tickets?"
- [Guyton] Yeah.

Justin can move tickets.

If the show ended today, and I had to say,
"You're the winner,"

- Justin's one of 'em.
- Okay.

- So, Chuck Adams and The Betsies.
- Chuck Adams and The Betsies.

[both] Catch a cannon ball ♪

[Peck] There were some times watching
Chuck sing tonight where I was like,

"Man, this is an iconic performer."

- Like...
- Yes.

...just seeing the feeling
in his face and the way he sings

- so passionately.
- He feels the music.

Yeah, it's like...

- It feels real. You know?
- Yeah.

I feel like him taking his shoes off
really helped.

- It actually fit him.
- I loved it.

You could see he was grounded.

I was a little concerned.
I was a little nervous.

- He felt comfortable.
- Great for him. He did.

I definitely feel like The Betsies brought
it a lot more than they did last week.

I wasn't even expecting them
to bring it as much.

- I felt them.
- Me neither.

As far as overall performance
of the collaboration tonight,

Wandile and Alisha
were the weakest of the day.

- [Guyton] I agree.
- [Allen] For sure.

[Guyton] The chemistry was not there.

There was points
where it was awkward for me.

And they kind of felt like they were
almost singing two different songs.

- Very much so.
- At the same time.

Yeah. It didn't feel like
really a collaboration in a way.

- You know...
- [Allen] Mmm.

[Guyton] I love Alisha,

but for this competition, unfortunately,
I don't think she's there yet.

- [Peck] Mm-hmm.
- I see Alisha in a rock space.

- That type vibe.
- [Guyton] Mmm.

- [Allen] Congo Cowboys and Camille.
- [Guyton] Yes.

I do love and appreciate
that they continue to inject their flavor

and their culture
into everything that they do.

Absolutely. Camille has the potential.

- She's gone through so much in her life.
- Mm-hmm.

Like... [stammers]
...we haven't even scratched the surface.

I almost wonder if we would see
a stronger performance out of Camille

if she'd just sing about that pain
and show us that pain.

Because I felt like I was watching
somebody performing and all that stuff,

but I don't know how authentic
it came across to me.

I guess, for me, I love her voice.

I can see her in country music.

To be quite honest,
I feel like so many people said

they couldn't see me in the country space.

- Same with me.
- Or any of us sitting here.

So, you would pick the Congo Cowboys
over Camille?

I feel like I would sign Congo Cowboys.

I wouldn't necessarily...

To me, that's not even a competition.
End of the day, this is a business.

- I also thought that this...
- [Allen] But we're scouts.

...was supposed to be about authenticity.

- But... Hold on, hold on, hold on.
- Think about the name "scout."

We're scouts
for the country music industry.

But we're also scouts
to change the country music industry.

Yeah.

[speaks indistinctly]

[Dhruv]
It feels like a scene from a movie.

- Up there is the door.
- [Zel clears throat]

And then the anxiety of,
"Now what's coming?"

[Guyton]
We're gonna bring in the first group.

- [Micaela] How are you guys?
- [Allen] What's going on?

[Dhruv]
I feel a lot of pressure on myself.

If Ale is asked to go,
I'd feel pretty devastated.

Not only do I think she's, like, you know,
this great person, I'd also feel gutted

because she's been so accommodating
of me through this whole process.

You know, the cool thing is I had y'all
work together to feed off of each other,

make your weaknesses strengths.

Um, because as artists,
that's something we all do.

Um, you know, Dhruv and Ale,
I was into it.

I literally felt like
I was watching a show. We all said it.

- We wanted to hear the next song.
- Yeah.

We was waiting to see what was next.

- [laughs] It was so good.
- [chuckles] Oh. Thank you so much.

Chuck, it was beautiful
to watch you let go even more.

The Betsies,
y'all freaking blew all of us away.

- Yeah.
- Thank you.

- Every single one of you.
- That's facts.

- [Landi] Thanks.
- Thank you.

Um, so...

all y'all going through to the next round.
You're good.

- [judges laughing, applauding]
- Oh, my god.

- Did you see their face change?
- I know.

[laughing]

- Oh, thank you.
- [Guyton] I believe you.

I start feeling the pressure of, like,
"Okay, what's gonna happen now?"

- [Peck] Hey, guys.
- [Allen] What's up?

- What's up?
- [Guyton] How are y'all?

I've done my part, so if I'm going home,
I'm going home.

But at least I delivered my best
to my abilities.

We really did enjoy watching both
of your performances.

I think this week, we really wanted
to see y'all come out of your shells.

And we think y'all did that.

[Allen] Yeah. Camille,
I wanted to see you have fun.

- You had fun.
- Yeah.

You know, I wanted to see you guys
soften up a little bit. And you did that.

I enjoyed, you know,

the performance
and kicking off the show with that energy.

So with... with that said,
the Congo Cowboys,

you guys are going on to the next round.

Camille, you are not.

This is not the end of the road.

This is a stepping-stone.

Personally, you are someone that I believe
is the future of country music.

There's just some people
that are ready right now.

- You are not there just yet.
- Mmm.

- [Simon] Thank you.
- Yeah.

- [Camille] Thank you.
- [Peck] Thanks, y'all.

[Guyton] Right.

[Camille] I don't have any regrets.

I know that I performed that song
confidently, proudly,

and I was told
that I was the future of country music.

[Camille] Oh, Orville.

What I do hope is that people see somebody

who is not willing
to take no for an answer.

Doesn't matter how you start.
It matters how you finish.

And I know I'm capable,
and I know what I'm destined to do.

- [Guyton] Hello.
- [Peck] Hi, gang.

- Hey, guys.
- What's happening? What's up?

Guys, amazing, amazing day from everybody.

Micaela, we saw you just
completely come out of your shell.

Uh, Wandile and Alisha,
like just raw energy coming out.

But the most important thing
we're looking for is authenticity.

So obviously,
this is an incredibly hard decision.

So, Micaela,
you are going on to the next round.

- [chuckles]
- [Peck] Um...

Come on.

And Wandile,
you are going on to the next round.

Oof.

Alisha and Justin,
we are gonna be sending you home today.

- Love y'all. Come on.
- Thank y'all.

- Yeah, it was a good journey.
- I'm proud of you.

- Thank you.
- Thanks.

Do I feel bummed? Yes.

But at the same time,
I also feel proud of my performances

and... and what I've achieved.

- Love you, man. Thank you.
- Hey, thanks, bro.

I think they should've kept me on
to see what I'm really about.

I am disappointed because
I sang the song my way

while I was doing a lot
of the input and, like,

really trying to change this
and make it special.

I sang it as best as I could have.

I don't think I would have
sung it different if I had to do it again.

So I'm... I'm all right.
I guess it was my time to go. [chuckles]

[Justin] It's okay.

- [Micaela sighs]
- [Justin] It's okay.

- It's all good. Only the beginning.
- Yeah, that's true.

- [laughing]
- Yes, yes, yes.

- It was a cool journey, man.
- It was a cool journey.

[Peck] Does everyone have a drink?

- [contestants] Yeah!
- [Julio] Okay.

I just am really...
It truly was an honor today.

Like, we've been pushing
for diversity in country music.

And not just color-wise, but world-wise,
and country music is universal,

and every single one of you embodies that.

And we're just... I hope you guys
feel really good about yourselves.

I know I sound like a mom, but I am.

- Come here, my children!
- [Allen] He told you she was a mom.

Cheers. Y'all made it.

- Hey!
- [contestants cheering]

- There's no way this is a shot.
- Uh...

- [Guyton] It was a long day.
- This is Nashville, y'all.

We're gonna throw 'em back
and raise 'em high. [chuckles]

[Allen] To hear more music from Camille,

Justin and Alisha,
go to My Kind of Country on Apple Music.