‘Walk the Line’ Recap: Ella Rothwell Remains the Reigning Champ of the Confusing Show
iTV Reading Time: 3 minutes
Tonight’s second episode of Walk the Line had four new performers singing for either £20,000 or the chance to Walk the Line. In the king of the hill style show, last night’s winner, Ella Rothwell, sat alone in the front on a stool throughout the episode waiting to see if she would be dethroned.
The new show is hosted by Maya Jama with Alesha Dixon, Gary Barlow, Dawn French, and singer Craig David on the judging panel. In addition to giving the performers feedback after they sing, the judges are there to advise the acts on whether they should “take the money and run,” or come back to perform again.
“I’m sure Ella is just generally worried, she’s going to be worried all night,” said Dixon as the performances began.
Youngr, the one man band who uses loop pedals to create a full band sound; Ida Girls, the classical crossover group of four girls who are all music and vocal teachers; and Carly Burns who performed an original song dedicated to her grandfather all gave entertaining performances, but couldn’t measure up to the reigning champ.
By the end of the night, Ella, who sang another beautiful original piece, this one written for her late brother, was up against Darby. The 35-year-old sells fuel to farmers by day and plays 50s and 60s music in a band dressed as a zombie by night.
“I only had one path really, it was into music,” he said ahead of his performance. “This is the first time I’ve ventured out solo.”
He gave a shocking rendition of “I Who Have Nothing” by Shirley Bassey that earned a standing ovation by the judges who raved about his deep vocals.
Ella Chooses to Walk the Line
Before performing, Ella told the judges she was “terrified.” She mentioned that after the first episode, it dawned on her just how much money she gave up by continuing on in the competition instead of heading home with the initial £10,000.
“I’ve now got to go sing after seeing that, and he got a standing ovation,” she said referring to Darby’s amazing performance.
Despite her nerves, Ella’s heart-wrenching performance also earned her a standing ovation and praise from the judges for having sat through all of her competitors’ performances.
As reigning champion, Ella had the option to cash out of the competition for £20,000 before knowing the results of the audience vote, or take a chance that she outperformed Darby. She had one minute to choose whether to move forward or not, if she chose to Walk the Line and the audience voted for Darby to win, Ella would walk away with nothing. She chose to Walk the Line, which was the right decision, as the audience voted her through.
This means Ella will return tomorrow night to perform once again against a new group of singers for a chance at £500,000.
What is Walk the Line?
New show Walk the Line, from producer Simon Cowell, gives singers a chance to win £500,000. The iTV show follows five performers per episode with one winner each night earning the chance to move forward in the competition.
At the end of each night’s performances, the in-person and virtual audience voters choose the best of the five performers. The winner of each night can either take home the prize money, which increases by £10,000 each night, or Walk the Line to stay in the competition and compete the following night against a new group of performers for a chance at a higher reward. The final winner at the end of the week will take home the £500,000.
If the winner of each night chooses to cash out of the competition for £10,000, the second place winner moves on to the next round. If the winner decides to Walk the Line and perform again for a chance at the £500,000, they move forward to perform again. They must continue to win each night, otherwise they walk away with nothing.
Be sure to watch the next set of performances tomorrow night at 8 p.m. GMT on iTV.
