‘Rising Star’ episode 2 preview: Egypt Dixon, Megan Tibbits, and Pig, Kentucky

Rarely does a hometown for a reality competition show intrigue us just as much (if not more) than the names of the contestants, but it is hard not to be drawn to someone like Rye Davis, who is from Pig, Kentucky. This is a teeny-tiny community with a very funny name, and we’re sure that there will be some sort of folksy story about it when he appears on “Rising Star” Sunday night.

ABC released the names earlier in the week of the contestants hitting the live stage on Sunday, and while most of these may not be that familiar, there may be a person or two that you’ve seen on YouTube at some point. (Personally, we’re not familiar with any of them this round.)

• Egypt Dixon, 18, Texarkana, TX
• Megan Tibbits, 26, Caro, MI
• Rye Davis, 25, Pig, Kentucky
• Shameia Crawford, 30, Lithonia, GA
• Austin French, 20, Tifton, GA
• Deedra Ervin, 20, Belle Haven, VA
• April Lockhart, 18, Warren, NJ
• Trinitii (group ages 19-30, Sacramento, CA
• Will Roth, Watauga, TX
• Alice J. Lee, 25, Chicago, IL
• Adam Jaymes, 24, Palmdale, CA
• Sonnet Simmons, 34, LA, CA

Can we also point out here that the name “Sonnet Simmons” is pretty awesome? If we had that name, we would probably not speak in anything other than Shakespearean sonnets all of the time.

As for the show, we really just hope that it’s better than the premiere. There were moments of it that were good, from Ludacris as a tough judge to Josh Groban’s hosting for the most part. The problem with the premiere was that there were so many poor singers in it that we were not convinced any of them were a rising star at all. Some of them sunk quicker than an anvil in a lake.

We’ll be back with some more impressions on these singers when the show airs, but for now, click here to get some other news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ABC