Episode Recap: Week Nine (November 18)
Rain soaked the city as Capital Edge waited to discover who was returning to their team. Eyebrows raised when only Randal and Rebecca came through the door. In another room, tensions ran high between Alla, Adam, and Clay. Alla and Adam tried to reach some kind of truce with him, but Clay wouldn’t have it. “We’re done,” he said as he walked out in a huff. The teams met with Trump and Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins, at Trump Model Management at 8:30 the next morning. With only six candidates left, Trump announced that exemptions no longer mattered before asking Clay if he was happy with his team. Clay expressed his dissatisfaction and asked to switch sides. Both Randal and Rebecca were honored to welcome Clay to Excel. Trump Model Management is always on the lookout for new talent like Jennifer. This week’s task was also about finding new talent: each team was to find a new recording artist, write and produce a new song, and air the song on “XM Café,” a premiere radio station on XM Satellite Radio. The team whose song best fit the format of XM Café, as judged by XM Satellite Radio executives, would win. At Sony Music Studios, Excel auditioned numerous singer/songwriters with Rebecca leading the team as project manager. Since XM Café is rock oriented with a focus on good lyrics, that’s the type of artist they were looking to find. They wound up choosing Jidé, a singer/songwriter from Nigeria who they thought fit perfectly. Felisha, Capital Edge’s project manager, led the team through its own auditions. For them, it was “love at first sight” for a singer/songwriter named Levi. With Carolyn observing, Excel sat down to get to know Jidé and brainstorm ideas for their new song. Since Jidé is a middle child and was something of an “ugly duckling” growing up, Clay hit upon the idea of doing a song called “What About Me?” Rebecca felt that this sounded too feminine so Randal suggested, “It’s My Time.” Clay obstinately clung to his own idea, making Rebecca worry that she and Randal made the wrong decision in bringing him to their team. George looked on as Capital Edge met with Levi to work on their new song. Since Levi and his friends were all struggling artists with little money, Felisha developed the idea that “nothing can be everything.” With some more lyrics and the addition of a guitar, everyone loved the emerging song. The sound was Seal shaking hands with Lenny Kravitz as Excel worked on a polished version of Jidé's new song in the recording studio. In the booth, Clay wanted to push Jidé to his limits to turn him into a “mega superstar.” In Capital Edge’s studio, Felisha worried that their song was going “down the jazz road” and wouldn’t fit the radio station’s format. Felisha worked with the producers to change directions and produce a more pop-oriented sound. Rebecca sat down with Jidé and her team to work on their presentation. Rebecca started a run through by giving Jidé's biography. Clay interrupted her by pretending to play a sad song on an air violin. Rebecca asked him for real ideas, and not sarcastic gestures. Once again, Clay was not making his teammates very happy with him. Capital Edge took a moment to introduce Levi to the XM executives before their song was played live over the air. In his limo, Trump tuned in to check out the new song. After playing the tune, the DJ took a number of calls… all of them where extremely enthusiastic and wanted to know more about Levi and his music. Rebecca began her presentation by telling the XM executives about Jidé, but Clay opened the door and brought him into the room before she finished her introduction, ruining the dramatic entrance she had planned. Randal then presented a poster he put together, but wasn’t aware when one of the execs turned to another and pointed out that the station channel was wrong. Still in his limo, Trump tuned in to hear Jidé's song. As Excel rocked out to the tune, the execs turned to each other, saying that the song was "all wrong" for XM Café. When the DJ took calls, the opinions were less than enthusiastic. The Donald arrived at XM Radio. The executives had some kind words to say about both teams but felt that Excel’s song didn’t fit the format. They also pointed out the mistake on Randal’s poster. On the other hand, they felt that Capital Edge nailed the song and the format, making them the clear winner. For their reward, Excel took a helicopter ride with Trump over Manhattan that focused on all the buildings he owns. It was a unique tour, made all the more impressive by Trump’s commentary. For Adam, the flight around the Statue of Liberty was especially moving since his father had come to the United States with only pennies in his pocket. Trump began the boardroom session by asking Excel who wrote the song. All three shared credit, though Trump reminded everyone that Clay was supposed to be the creative person. Clay talked about his version of the song, “What About Me?” implying that they would have won if they went in that direction. Rebecca jumped in to explain her rationale for killing Clay’s original idea. Carolyn asked about the presentation. Rebecca explained the original concept of telling Jidé's story and having him make a big entrance. She also mentioned Clay's sarcastic violin gesture. Carolyn also asked why Jidé didn't speak. Rebecca told her that she wanted Jidé to speak, but Clay shot down that idea as well. When it came time to talk about the poster, Randal took full responsibility for the wrong channel number. Trump asked Randal if he thought the typo was a “firing mistake,” and Randal had to agree that it was. Rebecca then attacked Randal’s performance on this task, saying that she felt he missed the mark, but George focused on the real reason why they lost – they didn’t write a song that fit the station’s format. In the end, everyone admitted that they made mistakes. Trump chastised all of them, saying that none of them should be proud about what they did. He was especially disappointed by Randal’s mistake on the poster. But ultimately, it all came down to Clay and his inability to work well with anyone at anytime. “Clay…” Trump said with a forceful slap on the desk, “you’re fired!”Source: http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice_4/recaps/week9_p1.shtml
Rain soaked the city as Capital Edge waited to discover who was returning to their team. Eyebrows raised when only Randal and Rebecca came through the door. In another room, tensions ran high between Alla, Adam, and Clay. Alla and Adam tried to reach some kind of truce with him, but Clay wouldn’t have it. “We’re done,” he said as he walked out in a huff. The teams met with Trump and Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins, at Trump Model Management at 8:30 the next morning. With only six candidates left, Trump announced that exemptions no longer mattered before asking Clay if he was happy with his team. Clay expressed his dissatisfaction and asked to switch sides. Both Randal and Rebecca were honored to welcome Clay to Excel. Trump Model Management is always on the lookout for new talent like Jennifer. This week’s task was also about finding new talent: each team was to find a new recording artist, write and produce a new song, and air the song on “XM Café,” a premiere radio station on XM Satellite Radio. The team whose song best fit the format of XM Café, as judged by XM Satellite Radio executives, would win. At Sony Music Studios, Excel auditioned numerous singer/songwriters with Rebecca leading the team as project manager. Since XM Café is rock oriented with a focus on good lyrics, that’s the type of artist they were looking to find. They wound up choosing Jidé, a singer/songwriter from Nigeria who they thought fit perfectly. Felisha, Capital Edge’s project manager, led the team through its own auditions. For them, it was “love at first sight” for a singer/songwriter named Levi. With Carolyn observing, Excel sat down to get to know Jidé and brainstorm ideas for their new song. Since Jidé is a middle child and was something of an “ugly duckling” growing up, Clay hit upon the idea of doing a song called “What About Me?” Rebecca felt that this sounded too feminine so Randal suggested, “It’s My Time.” Clay obstinately clung to his own idea, making Rebecca worry that she and Randal made the wrong decision in bringing him to their team. George looked on as Capital Edge met with Levi to work on their new song. Since Levi and his friends were all struggling artists with little money, Felisha developed the idea that “nothing can be everything.” With some more lyrics and the addition of a guitar, everyone loved the emerging song. The sound was Seal shaking hands with Lenny Kravitz as Excel worked on a polished version of Jidé's new song in the recording studio. In the booth, Clay wanted to push Jidé to his limits to turn him into a “mega superstar.” In Capital Edge’s studio, Felisha worried that their song was going “down the jazz road” and wouldn’t fit the radio station’s format. Felisha worked with the producers to change directions and produce a more pop-oriented sound. Rebecca sat down with Jidé and her team to work on their presentation. Rebecca started a run through by giving Jidé's biography. Clay interrupted her by pretending to play a sad song on an air violin. Rebecca asked him for real ideas, and not sarcastic gestures. Once again, Clay was not making his teammates very happy with him. Capital Edge took a moment to introduce Levi to the XM executives before their song was played live over the air. In his limo, Trump tuned in to check out the new song. After playing the tune, the DJ took a number of calls… all of them where extremely enthusiastic and wanted to know more about Levi and his music. Rebecca began her presentation by telling the XM executives about Jidé, but Clay opened the door and brought him into the room before she finished her introduction, ruining the dramatic entrance she had planned. Randal then presented a poster he put together, but wasn’t aware when one of the execs turned to another and pointed out that the station channel was wrong. Still in his limo, Trump tuned in to hear Jidé's song. As Excel rocked out to the tune, the execs turned to each other, saying that the song was "all wrong" for XM Café. When the DJ took calls, the opinions were less than enthusiastic. The Donald arrived at XM Radio. The executives had some kind words to say about both teams but felt that Excel’s song didn’t fit the format. They also pointed out the mistake on Randal’s poster. On the other hand, they felt that Capital Edge nailed the song and the format, making them the clear winner. For their reward, Excel took a helicopter ride with Trump over Manhattan that focused on all the buildings he owns. It was a unique tour, made all the more impressive by Trump’s commentary. For Adam, the flight around the Statue of Liberty was especially moving since his father had come to the United States with only pennies in his pocket. Trump began the boardroom session by asking Excel who wrote the song. All three shared credit, though Trump reminded everyone that Clay was supposed to be the creative person. Clay talked about his version of the song, “What About Me?” implying that they would have won if they went in that direction. Rebecca jumped in to explain her rationale for killing Clay’s original idea. Carolyn asked about the presentation. Rebecca explained the original concept of telling Jidé's story and having him make a big entrance. She also mentioned Clay's sarcastic violin gesture. Carolyn also asked why Jidé didn't speak. Rebecca told her that she wanted Jidé to speak, but Clay shot down that idea as well. When it came time to talk about the poster, Randal took full responsibility for the wrong channel number. Trump asked Randal if he thought the typo was a “firing mistake,” and Randal had to agree that it was. Rebecca then attacked Randal’s performance on this task, saying that she felt he missed the mark, but George focused on the real reason why they lost – they didn’t write a song that fit the station’s format. In the end, everyone admitted that they made mistakes. Trump chastised all of them, saying that none of them should be proud about what they did. He was especially disappointed by Randal’s mistake on the poster. But ultimately, it all came down to Clay and his inability to work well with anyone at anytime. “Clay…” Trump said with a forceful slap on the desk, “you’re fired!”