Star Search: Discover Who Was Eliminated in Tonight's Episode and Why
Star Search: Discover Who Was Eliminated in Tonight's Episode and Why
Paulette CohnThu, January 29, 2026 at 3:19 AM UTC
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(Photo Credit: Netflix)
Wednesday night was the fourth night of Season 1 of Star Search on Netflix with showstopping performances from eight contestants across four different categories going head-to-head for a chance to make it one step closer to stardom!
Episode 2 winners competed again tonight against new challengers in four epic faceoffs in their respective categories. They were Bear Bailey (Music, Solo), Duo Vespertilio (Variety, Acrobat/Aerialist), Harry Merlin Piper (Variety Junior, Magician), and JR De Guzman (Comedy).
The 5-week live show will search for the stars of tomorrow with the winner taking home the grand prize of $500,000.
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Hosted by Anthony Anderson, the judges for the version of the talent competition are Jelly Roll,Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chrissy Teigen. The Star Search categories are Music, Dance, Juniors, Comedy and Variety (which includes multiple sub-categories, such as magic).
Here's our spoiler-filled recap of who went home on Star Search tonight.
Related: How to Vote for Star Search 2026 — Every Vote Counts!
Who went home tonight on Star Search?Bear BaileyChihhan ChaoKaylen FairchildLiam NelsonWho went through on Star Search Night 4?Duo VespertilioHarry Merlin PiperJR De GuzmanSophie SaylorStar Search Night 2 Results Show RecapRound 1: Music (Solo)
Bear Bailey, 37, St. Francisville, LA vs. SophieSaylor, 18, Muskegon, Michigan
Bear’s Song: “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims
Jelly said: “Oh, baby, Bear is back. The first thing I want to say is two weeks in a row, you sang songs from singers with face tats. I want to say that I love that you trusted your voice. You picked a hard song there. Teddy Swims is unbelievable. It is not too late for you no matter what. God made you to be more than a gas station singer.”
Judges’ scores: Chrissy: 4, Jelly: 4, Sarah Michelle: 4
Sophie’s song: “What Was I Made For” by Billie Eilish
Sarah Michelle said: “You picked a song that clearly meant a lot to you. It meant a lot to me. I felt the song was you. All you can ask of a singer is to make you feel something and you gave all tonight.”
Judges scores: Chrissy: 4, Jelly: 4, Sarah Michelle: 5
Winner: Sophie Saylor beat Bear Bailey with a combined score of 4.17 [4 .3 Judges, 4.0 Viewers]
Round 2: Variety (Junior)
Harry Merlin Piper, 15, Salou, Spain vs Kaylen Fairchild, 8, New York City
Harry Merlin Piper (Magician)
Chrissy said: “That was incredible. You are way more badass than we saw last week. What you started out with was so cool to see. I loved the closeup magic so much but then I got to see your showmanship. We got to see all forms of you.”
Judges scores: Chrissy: 4, Jelly: 5, Sarah Michelle: 5
Kaylen Fairchild (Aerialist)
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Sarah Michelle said: “You are 8 years old; you are absolutely incredible. Watching your foot pointed, your hands out, you obviously had no fear. You are beautiful up there. I can’t even imagine what you will be doing at 18.”
Judges scores: Chrissy: 5, Jelly: 5, Sarah Michelle: 4
Winner: Harry Merlin Piper held onto its title with a combined score of 4.40 [4 .6 Judges, 4.1 Viewers]
Related: Who Went Home on Star Search on Night 3 and Who Made it Through!
Round 3: Variety
Duo Vespertilio, Denver, CO Variety vs Chihhan Chao, 33, Taiwan
Duo Vespertilio (Acrobat/Aerialist)
Chrissy said: “Sometimes when somebody is so good at something, you make it look easy. You made it look hard. It was mind-blowing to watch. The level of strength and flexibility you packaged into one show is amazing to watch.”
Judges scores: Chrissy: 4, Jelly: 4, Sarah Michelle: 4
Chihhan Chao (Diablo)
Sarah Michelle said: “I kept having to remind myself this wasn’t a magic category because there was no way somebody could do all those things. Your showmanship was so cool.”
Judges scores: Chrissy: 4, Jelly: 4, Sarah Michelle: 4
Winner: Duo Vespertilio held onto its title with a combined score of 3.00 [4 .0 Judges, 3.9 Viewers]
Round 4: Comedy
JR De Guzman, 35 Pangasinan, Philippines vs Liam Nelson, 26, New York City
JR De Guzman (Musical Comedian)
Sarah Michelle said: “Thank you for bringing us all into to and making us feel part of it. Interracial babies is a funny thing to make funny. What I love about comedy is the things you can’t say bring us together and make us laugh.”
Judges scores: Chrissy: 4, Jelly: 4, Sarah Michelle: 3
Liam Nelson (Standup Comedian)
Jelly said: “First of all, you did the thing you do where you killed for 2-1/2 minutes and then you rolled your ankle. Creeped us out.”
Judges scores: Chrissy: 3, Jelly: 3, Sarah Michelle: 3
Winner: JR De Guzman held onto his title with a combined score of 3.48 [3 .6 Judges, 3.3 Viewers]
Star Search airs Tuesday and Wednesday nights live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT only on Netflix.
Next, Everything to Know About Netflix’s Star Search Reboot—Judges, How to Watch and How to Audition
This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
