Tune In: Two Southland Singers to Compete on ABC's 'Rising Star' Sunday

Singers from Palmdale and Los Angeles will be among the 12 acts on ABC's "Rising Star" Sunday.

Adam James, 24, of Palmdale, is a bank teller who plays the guitar, keyboard, bass and drums. He said he entered the competition for the passion and love he can share, not the fame, according to ABC.

James said his goal on "Rising Star" is to make his father proud. His father was killed in a car crash last year.

Sonnet Simmons, 34, of Los Angeles, is a singer-songwriter who was born in Greece and traveled from Switzerland to India with her mother and sister before they moved to Los Angeles.

Simmons graduated from the Academy of Music at Hamilton High School and UCLA and writes music for commercials and movies.

The series' contestants—solo performers, duos and groups—were found in a series of seven coast-to-coast auditions and online submissions.

"Rising Star," which premiered Sunday, is U.S. television's first singing competition in which viewers have the final say in real time about who advances, voting in real time via an app.

To increase the emphasis on viewers watching from home, a wall blocks the studio audience from initially seeing the performer. When a performer reaches 70 percent yes votes, a wall rises, revealing the act to the studio audience.

—City News Service