Star Academy: Lenny eliminated at the end of the "godfathers' prime" with Ed Sheeran and Charlotte Cardin

“Six NRJ Music Awards!” As the second live show of the new season ofStar Academy began on Saturday night, one wondered when the self-congratulatory segment would finally arrive. It came at 9:30 p.m., after only twenty minutes. For those who missed it on Friday night, five former contestants of the singing competition swept up almost half of the awards presented in Cannes. This had never happened before in the history of the TF1 talent show.

The sixteen remaining contestants watched with stars in their eyes as Pierre Garnier , Helena, Marine, Julien Lieb, and Lenie returned to the show's set, their arms laden with prizes. A handful of them even had the opportunity to pay tribute and share a few verses. "They admire you, they'd like to have a successful career like yours," commented Nikos Aliagas.

Message received loud and clear by Ambre, Sarah, and Victor. The three highest-scoring contestants from last week are put to the test in a top 3 contest with a powerful song, Lihn's hit, "J'avoue" (I Confess). The teachers can't decide between Ambre and Victor. And it's the director of Star Academy, Michael Goldman, who makes the final decision and grants immunity to Ambre for next week.

Nikos isn't the only one attending both shows. Ed Sheeran and Charlotte Cardin, the godfather and godmother of this 2025 cohort, are also doing so. This "godfathers' prime time" has a familiar feel, with the Englishman and the Canadian already very present at the NRJ Music Awards the previous day in Cannes.

Ed Sheeran is receiving the award for most loyal mentor tonight. "There were a lot of music shows in Europe when I started," he explains. "But Star Academy is really the only one in the world that does this. It allows us to train real artists, not just pop stars. That's why I love coming back." "What a gift you're giving us," Nikos tells them.

The contestants, however, didn't exactly go easy on their mentor, delivering a vocally very rough group cover of "Shape Of You" early in the evening. Thankfully, the duet between the English pop star and Théo P. on "Azizam" was a cut above. The latter acquitted himself well despite sound issues and Ed Sheeran slipping up on his own lyrics. "Sorry, I messed up a bit," he admitted.

Ed Sheeran is featured four times, the third time as part of a trio. Perched on a platform bearing his name—had we forgotten?—he shares his single "Sapphire" with Léo from Lille and Lily from Corsica. "This is one of the best days of my life," Lily exclaims, tears welling in her eyes. "Live performance is a secular communion," comments their drama teacher, Alain Degos, aka "Papy." The connection isn't entirely clear…

Sarah and Ambre were the standout students this Saturday. Sarah, who won immunity last Saturday, opened the show with a powerful rendition of "Stand Up," the gospel hit by the new soul sister Cynthia Erivo. Surrounded by dancers and the choir from the show "Gospel for 100 Voices," the 23-year-old from Val-de-Marne once again demonstrated her impressive skill.

In this very international but guest-sparing prime-time show, she also impressed her teachers when she joined the K-pop group Katseye, who had also performed at the NRJ Music Awards the previous day. She shared their hit song "Gabriela." "When she's ready to join us, we'll take her," one of the six members of the girl group declared. "Sarah has only taken ten dance classes in her life," her choreography coach, Jonathan Jenvrin, was quick to point out.

The youngest contestant in the class, Ambre, on whom the production team is clearly placing its hopes, is given a long self-portrait sequence in song. The Parisian plays a piano cover of Grégory Lemarchal , who has been very important in her life, and brings tears to her grandmother's eyes by singing Catherine Lara's "Nuit magique" with her.

She lets her voice soar with the choir of the "Gospel for 100 Voices" show, singing "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone and "Shallow" by her idol, Lady Gaga. "She's only 18," remarks Nikos, sitting next to the girl's grandmother. "What you showed us was extraordinary, take care of your voice, darling," advises Sofia Morgavi, her singing teacher.

Leane also had her moment. With Charlotte Cardin, she delivered a lovely duet on her new single, "Tant pis pour elle" (Too bad for her). Her piano trio version of "Feeling Good" also managed to avoid feeling repetitive. "If you only knew how much effort they put into preparing a big show," remarked the Canadian, who spent a considerable amount of time at the castle during the week, from the group meal to the evaluations.

After giving us goosebumps with Ebony last year, the diva Belinda Davids, Whitney Houston's vocal doppelganger, returns to challenge two students. Anouk and Léa attempt to scale the Himalayan heights of "I Have Nothing." And it must be said, they do quite well. With a clear advantage for Léa, who will receive a bonus, as announced this Sunday by the head of Star Academy.

It's easy to forget that Emma, ​​Lenny, and Noah are the three students on the chopping block. Emma doesn't want to leave; "This is the adventure of a lifetime!" she exclaims before launching into a proper rendition of Lara Fabian's "J'y crois encore" (I Still Believe). Noah brings tears to the eyes of several classmates. He makes the right choice with Jérémy Frérot's "Un homme" (A Man), a song that suits him well.

Lenny, meanwhile, is "on fire." He's feeling the heat but doesn't want to give up. Unfortunately, he gets off to a terrible start with his cover of Amir's "Longtemps" and can't seem to turn things around. Under his beanie, he glances at his tearful girlfriend in the audience and leaves the stage with a defeated pout. He suspects it's all over. His fans in the hall can scream his name all they want. After two hours and forty minutes, Noah is saved by the audience, Ema by her fellow contestants… in a small voice. "The clown of the season" leaves sadly.