After bidding goodbye to Jawad in Episode 10, we are down to our top 11 contestants, and we will eliminate one more candidate in this episode. For the first time, viewers can vote both for who they like the most as well as which contestant they like the least, making their role even more important in determining who moves on to the next round.

Episode 11 opens with a stirring group performance, followed by a solo performance by Harun Anvari. The judges generally like his performance but point out some weaknesses, including his pronunciation and his lack of emotion at the start of the song. Nazir Heydari gets the crowd on its feet and whistling and clapping with his performance, but our tough judges find numerous faults in his singing and give him a score of mostly 6s. Hosam Farzan's performance pleases the judges but he says he has higher expectations of himself in order to move forward and be a true contender for the title of Afghan Star. He also surprises us by singing us a song in English, without any musical accompaniment - leaving the judges and audience spellbound. Nayeb Nayab got sick during practice and had to visit a doctor, and hopes the illness doesn't affect his performance. He chooses a song which he says is very important to him personally. The judges love it and give him some of the highest scores of the night. 

The rest of the performances do not disappoint. Arash Barez, a crowd favorite, wins the highest marks possible from judges and looks set to go far in the competition. Occasionally the crowd gets rowdy and tries to sway the judges to give the contestants higher scores. Anahita Olfat entertains the whole crowd with her unique sound and traditional dress. She wins 10s from several judges, though they also ask her to work on controlling her voice. We hope she gets the chance to work on her performance in later rounds. Anahita's performance also inspires a debate, with Ustad Shahla pointing out how difficult it is for women in Afghanistan to perform music, and more generally, pursue the same opportunities as men. This inspires a passionate argument among the judges about whether the women contestants should be judged according to different standards from the men, with plenty of loud input from the live audience. 

Sohrab Elyar gets the judges dancing with his pop song. He gets a mix of 7s and 8s from the judges. Khoshboo Ahmadi sings a song by her musical inspiration, Hengameh, and says she wants herself and Anahita to win the top two spots in Afghan Star. She gets respectable scores from the judges although they repeat their advice to her to not sing nasally and sing more from the throat and chest. Will she learn in time to advance to the next rounds?

Daoud Pejman reverts to the classical, instrument-accompanied form he is most comfortable with, and the judges ask him to add some more diversity to his repertoire, though they give him high scores for this performance this week. 

Stay tuned for two more shows next week!