Singer, Comedian Go Down To The Wire

After winning at the "Star Search" semifinals, singer Jake Simpson and comedian John Roy are poised for a title match on Thursday, Feb. 6.

Both performers had wonderful things to say about the audience Wednesday night. Simpson says he was "scared to death" and felt bad during his rehearsal, but that changed as soon as he went in front of the audience. "Having the crowd," he says, "just totally juices me up."

He got celebrity guest judge Kelly Rowland, best known for being one third of Destiny's Child, jamming with him. She was on her feet along with the other judges giving him a perfect 20 stars. His rendition of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" got a 35-point total.

With 33 stars, comedian Roy says, "People were into it. I had no idea when I did that first joke that I would get that applause break. It was really surprising to me. But it felt great."

The Chicago native says his jokes are representations of his observations from life and he has been exposed to many different people in his life.

"I make fun of the ideas that people have in their heads that just don't have any basis in reality," he says.

For example, he told a joke about a woman who would not eat Chinese food at the time when China captured an American spy plane. "Everyone carries at least some bit of that and I think, you just got to point it out," he notes.

In the finals, expect to hear more jokes on the same lines. "That's just how I write comedy," he says. Roy will compete against Loni Love.

As for Simpson, he does not know what he will perform on the big day. He chose for his first performance a hit by Stevie Wonder, a man he cedits with changing his life. When he is feeling down, he says, Stevie Wonder "brings me up and pulls me back into life. It makes me feel wonderful."

Simpson will compete against Spencer Day on Feb. 6. All the winners that day will get $100,000. In addition ,the Adult Singer winner gets a recording contract with Sony. The winner of the Comedian category wins a guest appearance on a CBS situation comedy. And the Model winner gets a contract with Willamena Modeling Agency.