‘Clash of the Cover Bands’ Recap: The Pop Divas Have Closest Battle Yet
Evans Vestal Ward/E! Entertainment Reading Time: 4 minutes
Tonight’s episode of Clash of the Cover Bands paid tribute to some of the biggest pop divas in the history of music. The judges were looking for the person who can show that they have complete control of the stage. This was an extremely close competition, but the Jennifer Lopez impersonator went home with the prize.
The two featured performers in this episode are Katie Murdock covering Britney Spears and Connie Pena covering former American Idol judge Lopez. I knew this was going to be a close competition when both singers looked just like the people they were impersonating. Both impersonators dropped jaws as soon as they stepped on stage.
Katie as Britney Spears always wanted to be a singer when growing up in Utah. Throughout her life she’s looked up to her mom who was a pianist. The impersonator’s entire life changed one day when a producer came into her hair salon looking for someone to be in a tribute show. The producer chose her and the rest is history. She moved to Las Vegas to pursue her dreams, she has been performing as Britney Spears ever since. Her mom passed away in 2006 but she knows her late mother is watching over her on the show.
This impersonator looked just like Spears as she took to the stage, but had one major difference, her voice. Her dance moves on the other hand… completely on point. All of the judges were seen standing at the end of her performance. Meghan Trainor admitted that Britney Spears is the reason that she began her career, so this was a magical performance for her. The judges commented on how her mannerisms were on point with the actual singer. They assigned her to the vocal expert to improve her performance.
Jennifer Lopez Impersonator Shocks Judges With Flawless Outfit Change
Connie Pena is a 42-year-old Jennifer Lopez cover artist. She currently lives and performs in Las Vegas with her two children. This impersonator has loved music her entire life and has always wanted to be on stage. She moved to Las Vegas soon after having her first child at 15-years-old. A year after she had her son she got kicked out of her house and had to sleep in her car. She promised her son that they would never have to sleep in a car again, and she is not going to let him down anytime soon.
She started impersonating Jennifer Lopez after working in stage crew in Las Vegas. The process of becoming J-Lo featured five days a week of choreography, singing lessons and recording studio sessions. The impersonator loves Lopez because she’s shown what a woman can truly accomplish, plus she’s Latina!
At first glance, this impersonator looked just like Lopez. Her performance definitely did not lack either. She was absolutely stunning on the stage. Esther Dean called this artist impeccable and commented on her onstage quick change. Adam Lambert said that the impersonator wasn’t polished enough to fully act like her. They decided to pair her with the vocal artist, who actually works with Lopez. Before leaving the stage the impersonator promised that the judges would see a stronger version of her in the next round.
Both impersonators met with vocal coach, Kuk Harrell. The Lopez impersonator couldn’t wait to work with Harrell since he had worked with Lopez in the past. The vocal coach worked with this singer to match the tone of Lopez better in her on stage performance. This singer felt a lot more confident after her vocal session.
Hurrell also worked to help the Britney Spears impersonator feel more comfortable on stage. He noticed that she was pushing Spears’ tone too much, to the point where she can sometimes lose her breath on stage. She’s working to bring it with more of her own personal tone to create a more authentic feeling performance.
‘Let the Best Diva Win’
The Jennifer Lopez impersonator began out the last round of the competition. All of the judges were screaming at how much she’s improved. The Spears impersonator came out in the iconic ring leader outfit and sang her version of the song. Between the two, it was obvious that the Jennifer Lopez impersonator was just one step above the Britney Spears impersonator. Although both impersonators showed improvement, the Britney Spears impersonator seemed to still struggle on stage. There were certain songs that the Britney Spears impersonator nailed but overall the Jennifer Lopez impersonator was stronger.
“I feel like I just seen a show, J-Lo and Britney are icons from head-to-toe,” said Dean. “Where not only do you need to sing like them, look like them, mannerisms, performance, the grit that it takes to get back and forth change outfits, that’s what a pop diva does and you both did a great job.”
The judges commented on both performances and shared that they both brought it for the final round. They noted that this was going to be one of the hardest decisions they would have to make. At the end of the episode the judges announced Connie Pena as Jennifer Lopez as the fourth winner of Clash of the Cover bands. They are now going home with $10,000, a performance on The Jimmy Fallon Show, and the chance to compete to be crowned the ultimate cover band at the end of the season.
