The Four: Battle for Stardom's second season premiered with one of "The Four" original artists, Carvena Jones, getting dethroned by a musically-talented challenger during Thursday night's broadcast on Fox.

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The original four artists were handpicked by the show's panel of music industry experts because they best reflect the charts today.

In addition to Carvena, a 23-year-old from Jackson, MS, "The Four" was also comprised of James Graham from Chelmsford, Essex, England; Stephanie Zelaya from Guatemala City, Guatemala; and Sharaya J. from Atlanta, GA, at the start of the competition.

The panelists are music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, music producer DJ Khaled, and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Meghan Trainor.

The goal for artists on The Four: Battle for Stardom, which is hosted by Fergie, is to hold onto their seats week to week as new artists attempt to challenge and ultimately replace them. The winner of the show will have his or her career guided by the panel of hitmakers.

During the two-hour episode, Carvena lost her seat to a very talented challenger: Majeste Pearson, a 21-year-old from Tulsa, OK.

James and Stephanie were both challenged by newcomers Quinton Ellis, a 17-year-old from Little Rock, AR, and Rebecca Black, a 20-year-old from Anaheim, CA, respectively, but both of the original Four members won their battles and managed to keep their seats on the stage.

And Sharaya was declared safe at the end of the night by default because no one picked her for a battle.

The episode therefore concluded with Majeste, James, Stephanie and Sharaya's seats locked in until the next episode.

The Four: Battle for Stardom format features a challenger needing to first convince the panel he or she is worthy of the opportunity to potentially dethrone one of "The Four" through an initial performance.

If Diddy, DJ Khaled, and Meghan all vote "yes" for the challenger to advance, that person gets to select one of The Four members to battle for a seat onstage.

If just one panelist votes "no" following the initial performance; however, the challenger is sent packing and The Four will remain untouched. The winner of each battle is determined by the live, cheering crowd.

The show kicked off with Chris Vanny, a 24-year-old from Puerto Rico who currently resides in Orlando, FL, singing "Wild Thoughts" for the chance to challenge one of The Four. However, two of the panelists did not agree he should receive the opportunity.

"You win some, you lose some. You fall, you get back up," Chris said following his ouster.

Majeste was up next, and she sang "Someone Like You" by Adele. After receiving three yeses, Majeste challenged Carvena, who then performed "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Faith Evans.

Majeste followed that up with her battle performance of "Chandelier" by Sia.

Diddy admitted he didn't love either performance and felt like he was in a Broadway play at times. He insisted neither woman picked the right record to sing, but he noted Majeste has an incredible voice.

With that being said, the audience voted Majeste to take a seat, eliminating Carvena from the Season 2 competition.

Another artist was then shown getting rejected before she could challenge one of The Four: Christina Castle, a 22-year-old from Los Angeles, CA, who performed "Side to Side" by Ariana Grande.

But Quinton Ellis, a 17-year-old from Little Rock, AR, made a better impression with his "U Got It Bad" by Usher vocals.

"You're so confident, it scares me," Meghan said. "Amazing."

Quinton earned the right to challenge, and so he picked Stephanie, who got to sing "Mi Gente" by J Balvin and Willy William. Quinton then opted to perform "So Sick" by Ne-Yo afterwards. The crowd ultimately decided Stephanie deserved to keep her seat and stay on the show.

Rebecca stepped on the stage next and sang an interesting rendition of "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC for the panel.

Rebecca was granted permission to challenge one of The Four, but at this point in the night, she only had James and Sharaya to choose from since Majeste and Stephanie's seats were locked in.

Rebecca chose to challenge James in the hopes of making an all-female Four. James then belted out a great performance of "A Song For You" by Donny Hathaway, followed by Rebecca's performance of "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia.

Before Fergie announced James had won his battle, Meghan told him, "We really need artists like you on the radio today. What you did right there is something very special, and I'm just so proud of you."


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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