In keeping with theStarmakerbeen-there-done-that vibe of late, Max Brody—yes,thatBrody, son of the legendary Holden, whose voice can cause panties to drop from coast to coast—and Sadie Hunter took the stage for Duet Week to do a cover of “Islands in the Stream.”
But y’all, this was no karaoke performance. Max and Sadie were pure electricity. With Max strumming away on his guitar (can we be jealous of a guitar?), and Sadie’s voice—that VOICE!—purring out of the speakers, it was clear something special was going on. Even if these two didn’t have talent to spare, it would have been a white-hot performance because of the way he looked at her (like she was a rare steak and he was a hungry cowboy) and the way she looked at him (like he was the sexiest man alive, which, let’s face it, might be true).
Needless to say, in our opinion they smashed Duet Week, but more importantly, they won the hearts (and more than a few libidos) of the country, and a fan base who want only one thing:more #Saxie!
IfStarmakeris smart, they’ll give us a repeat performance. Now, for the big question: Are they really crushing on each other, or is it all for show? Is romance blossoming, right before our very eyes? Either way, we reckon most of North America would now pay to watch #Saxie read an Applebee’s menu together...
4
Sadie
Nashville, Tennessee
December 8
As Sadie packed up for the day in her dressing room, she had to pick off bits of red and green glitter that had been dusted over the set by an enthusiastic intern tasked with making everything look “festive.” She was almost finished when her phone rang. It was Amalia Zuckerman, her manager.
“Have you looked at Twitter? I swear to Goddess, you two broke the internet when the duet aired.Brilliant.It’s a holiday seasonmiracle!”
Sadie put Amalia on speaker and opened her Twitter account. “Holy bananas,” was all she could say.
“The Saxie hashtag is trending! This is amazing. And I believe the words you were looking for were, ‘Holy shit,’ Miss Vanilla Twist.”
Sadie smiled. When Amalia had first signed Sadie she hadtold her it was because she was adorable, as widely appealing as vanilla soft serve ice cream—but with a twist: a voice like the richest dark chocolate. Amalia only used the nickname when things were going well.
Sadie opened the Twitter app on her phone and stared down at it:
Christmas is coming up! Can Max and Sadie please do a Christmas song duet next,Starmaker!!?? #AllIWantForChristmas #SaxieForever
I want to come back reincarnated as Max’s guitar at the moment Sadie reached out and casually strummed it. Who knew “Islands in the Stream” could be so sexy? #Saxie #Hereforit
TheStarmakeraccount had tweeted a video of Max and Sadie singing their song, and it had been retweeted one hundred thousand times in the past hour. The number rose as she watched.
“Sweetie? You there?”
“Yeah. I’m here, Amalia.”
“Listen, I’m on my way. The producers called and they want a meeting. With us, the show execs, and judges.” Sadie’s heart lifted. “And Max and his reps, too.” And then, sank. “See you soon, okay, Vanilla?”
“VanillaTwist,” Sadie answered her. “Don’t forget the ‘Twist.’ ”
Sadie read a few more excited tweets before logging out of the application. Her gran had texted her a whole bunch ofdynamite emojis, but even the fact that Gran had figured out emojis wasn’t enough to shake her out of the darkness of the premonition she was having. Everyone thought she and Max had this magical fairy dust thing going. Was she the only one who felt they weren’t heading anywhere good?
—
The meeting took place in one of the boardrooms on the other side of the studio—far away from the prying eyes of the main stage cameras. Even though she could take a break from having to worry about how her hair looked or if her skirt was riding up, her heart was barreling away from her like a Greyhound bus heading out of town. She and Amalia were across the rectangular table from Max and his manager, Bobbi, the studio execs at one end of the table, and the judges—Cruz, Tasha, Monica, and D.J.—at the other.
“Shall we dive right in?” Penny Washington, the network’s director of unscripted programming, said, leaning forward and smiling first at Max, then Sadie.
Sadie pasted on a return smile and kept her sweaty hands clasped in front of her, hoping she wasn’t about to dive into shark-infested waters. She looked down and noticed a nail was chipped. She looked up and saw Max watching her, eyebrows raised as if to say,We’re in an important meeting with theStarmakerexecs andyou’rethinking about nail polish?She resisted the urge to make a face at him and turned her full attention to what Penny was saying.
“The online sensation you two caused with your duet is unprecedented, even forStarmaker—and we’ve made our share of splashes in the world.”
Sadie could feel a “but” coming on. She held her breath for it.
“But, as you both know, we are coming up to our double elimination round. On the next episode we shoot, contestants will be expected to engage in aStarmakerShowstoppers Battle—and two people will be sent home, rather than just one.”
It hung in the air, the idea of being sent home. Sadie didn’t know what to do, so she smiled.
