Rock Star Supernova - behind the scenes is fun to watch!
Rock Star Supernova - behind the scenes is fun to watch! by Roxanne McDonald
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Rockstar Supernova, Tuesday, September 5, 2006 opens with an assuaging announcement by Brooke – that Ryan has already made good on his promise that we have not seen the last of him and that he will see everyone on the charts, where he will be hanging out.
That is, Ryan has the top three mp3 downloads on the MSN site. |
We then get to witness their after-show dinner and discussions, as well as their getting the opportunity to work with Gilbey by bringing their original songs to run through. Toby gets props, while Lukas, Gilbey reports, came in in “true Lukas fashion … one chorus, one verse, knowing he could get by.” Gilbey also discusses how Dilana is “outside her comfort zone.”
The final five got the word that they would be doing sets of two songs each, one older piece from the song board and one they had just written and practiced.
First up on Tuesday, then, is Dilana, braving the stage with a ripped calf muscle. She changes up “Behind Blue Eyes,” which is engaging but which would have been better with that haunting ecoplex or back-up harmony for the words “behind blue eyes” (though house band Jimmy does come in for a few choral lines).
Before her second song, “Super Soul,” she says she hopes they ALL go a long way but promises if she is not right for Supernova, she will go on, for she has a super soul. She hops a bit with that sore calf then just bounces away during the chorus. Dave doesn’t like the original, but concedes that it is tough to follow a classic blues song like that. Tommy disagrees, and Jason notes how strong will and effort are super important not just in the game but in this business.
After it is announced that the awesome house band will be opening for Supernova on their world tour, Magni takes the stage to do “Back in the USSR”. It is kind of sedate to start, but he does give it up for the band to do brief instrumentals. Magni does his second song, “Bridges that You Burn,” which he has translated into English. It is very high energy, very heavy metal-based. And the lyrics and message are ambiguously intriguing. The speaker directs his comments at the self, maybe, or to a lost lover, or maybe even to Dilana? As he performs, the Supernovites are nodding in agreement about something, mouthing something in the affirmative.
Dave shouts out, “Molten hot Magni,” and says the performance was fun, great, and he dug the opening guitar riff. He also comments that that is the most aggressive he has heard Magni’s voice be. Tommy says that Magni’s “Back in the USSR” and his original were, however, pretty much the same, though Magni says that’s because “… both were done by me!”
Brooke begins to announce Storm, who she says will be doing “Suffragette City,” and Dave cuts in, saying to hold on, and asking if she’s doing “Suffragette City” can he come up and jam with her, and yes, the crowd goes nuts. Storm is appropriately dressed in tailored long coat and hat, and blasts into the song’s chorus as Dave plays to the front rows, making the women swoon and smile. And the classic Storm sings with her whole body, really perFORMS, then goes down on her haunches in a cool pause at Dave’s side to spotlight his fantastic playing.
As she introduces her second song, she strips off her coat and alludes to the hot playing she just had the pleasure of accompanying, then goes into a catchy, cleverly wrought “What the What [is Ladylike]?” which has kind of creeping chorus riffs and challenging, in-your-face lyrics. To add to the message, of course, Storm struts in the suit and tee, yanking off the fez (or whatever kind of hat) to have hair flying and falling in tough and sexy rebellion.
Dave starts by saying he has been on stage with so many all-time greatest singers, and, he asks, “you know what it felt like? It felt just like this.” He adds that her original is an all-time fav, as well. Tommy agrees, saying “that track is the vvvvuhhhh!” He doesn’t even need to say the word …. And Gilbey adds that it was a great Bowie tune and a great Storm Large song.
Lukas does a stripped-down version of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” on a git that matches the streaks in his hair. (Sorry, petty comment, but his overall package is tight, streamlined, appealing, whether he intentionally created the complete look or not.) Lukas here gives a performance that makes you feel like you are in bed with him and he’s whispering an ancient tale to you. Then he changes it up, and his wail – which is accompanied by a pained grin cum grimace – makes you want to TAKE him. Right there. As he reaches crescendo and then softens to a close.
Similarly, with his second song, an original for his mother called “Head Spin” (I think), he prefaces his performing it by saying the message is of course that nobody’s perfect, that “that’s just the way it is.” “I’m not perfect,” he whimpers and wails, and you want to rock him baby boy comforting him. The lyrics and impassioned delivery are genius. The existential rocker does it again. (Gee, you can tell who my favorite rocker is, huh?)
Dave states that Lukas has proven himself a fun, energetic, heavy performer, and says that now Lukas has brought an emotional side. Gilbey says the performance was so great that he gets “inspired” when he watches Lukas perform.
Toby closes the show with first with The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside”. He shows as a most cosmopolitan, international performer, but maybe that’s because we know he’s Australian and because he is wearing straight-legged jeans, plain tee, and a borderline Sex Pistols leather (?) jacket. His performance is high energy, high-pitched, articulate, and interactive. The audience adores Toby. Peacock pose, jacket off, and he ends the song; then launches into his second by asking if anybody ever feels they’re not in their right snit. “Yeah? This one’s for you guys,” he says, and does a double-time, kind of B52s recall to start. So his performances do not SEEM speeded up. They ARE speedy … ultra-up-tempo … frenetic, yet controlled. Clearly customized and unique to Toby.
As well, the cameras on Dave singing along to the playful, campy oh.oh.oh.oh-oh of the chorus, establish Toby’s original as a catchy song done with a kind of call-and-response that makes such tunes instant “sing-along” hits. Dave confirms this in his critique, and also tells Toby that btw, “EVS” is no longer Australian – it is worldwide. Tommy says that was “bad beeping ass;” Gilbey repeats how the ohs part was great and he loved it; and Jason says it was beautiful.
On Wednesday, the Rockstar Supernova final five will be so tough to choose between that Tommy will resign his Tommyhawk to Jason, the one eliminated will be such a class act in her departure that Dave will offer to back up her first recording, and this writer will be paralyzed and unable to report to you the results.
So instead, I will see you for the finals. Be there.
–
Rockstar Supernova, Tuesday, August 29, 2006 was a moving recap of the emotions and follow-up of Dilana’s comments to Ryan and to the press last week. After she had apologized on the show, back at the mansion, Brooke reports, emotions were still raw. Storm offers to toast, and Dilana is reticent. Lukas says to her and everyone at the dinner table that “life is a constant clinic.”
Though they were forgiving and supportive, supporting her by telling her to overcome it, a choked-up Dilana says it will take her a while to get over it. She feels, she tells the camera, her whole world has ended (implicit in this end is also the end of her rock career).
Having drinks with Magni and Lukas poolside, however, the cameras move in and piss her off. She flips the bird, then smashes a glass, which bounces back to hit Magni in the head, leaving a hefty gash over his brow.
Toby, sweeping up the wreckage, says he doesn’t get it: “She’s probably one of the sweetest broads here ….” Some people can’t handle the climb to rockstardom he says.
Back on the stage of RockStar Supernova, Brooke asks Dave what he thinks, and he notes that yes, emotions are still obviously raw. But he would like to put this thing to bed, he says, and asks Magni how his head is. Magni says that it’s “just a flesh wound,” and that “I’ve cut myself worse shaving.” Dave then checks in with Dilana, who says she is stronger than ever before and that she will never ever dis her friends like that again.
We get scenes of the players checking the fan comments on the website, as we are reminded that this week the songs the group will do have been chosen by us, the viewers / fans.
Lukas is up first. He has told the cameras that “hopefully, the fans will see me for what I am – just a hard working person.” He adds that he jams most often, but when he’s not practicing his art he is playing basketball; he loves video games; and was not long ago working at Hooters and flipping burgers. He does “Lithium” – soft and seamless to start, then authentic with wailing, and then closing with a tongue to the mic.
Dave, in mock disgust no one is really sure is fake at first, stresses how Lukas took a classic Nirvana song and rearranged it like that … which after a moment of Lukas hesitating in dumb response says was awesome. Tommy agrees, Gilbey says, “I think your best performance that I’ve seen on the show so far,” and Jason caps the good responses with, “Way to start the show” and “Good job.”
Magni says to cameras that statistically, if he’s in the bottom three again this week he’s going home. Then he jokes with America, soliciting their sympathy (and votes) by saying we should face it: he’s a lot better looking than Toby … and he has learned the language! He does the song “I alone”, rocking it in his Eddie Vedder intonations, working the audience, and, evidently, raising the game. Dave says, “Man, that boy can sing!” Tommy wishes Magni had gone all the way through the crowd to the ones in the far back, but Magni jokingly says, “You know, I was gonna, but then a little voice in my head said,’No lighting,’ and you gotta look good.” Jason and Gilbey agree with Dave and Tommy that he did an awesome job.
By the way, Brooke announces that Supernova world tour tix are on sale now!
Ryan’s moment has him first commenting on how he was early on dubbed by Dave the Dark Horse. He gives nods to how at first he was a “little lost” and yet he hung in there, he says, getting better and better. “As long as my true self keeps coming out I feel like I can win this,” he adds. Then he does a unique Dark Horse version of Cold Play’s “Clocks”. He starts out absolutely pristine, playing piano and singing the intro, then kicks the bench away, jumps up on TOP of the piano, and rips into the song’s guts.
If I heard right, Jason tells Ryan that piano and voice are his forte and that he kinda loses the plot when he gets out in front. But Dave prefaces his critique with how it’s gonna be a tough night and says how Ryan’s willingness to jump and stand on the piano was ballsy, while Gilbey thinks the performance was inspired.
In her preliminary talk, Storm speaks of how she has never done the song the fans have chosen for her tonight, and how she doesn’t know anything about the vocals. But she brings it with “Bring Me to Life,” and adds substance on top of substance by having Toby do back-up vocals, which he delivers in punkish, jabbing, interjections that harmonize and amp up the song. Dave admits that when he heard she was assigned this piece he was worried she wouldn’t have the right register … but comments that she did it. While Gilbey says she wasn’t there for him, Jason softens the remark by noting that effort counts a lot. Toby got the props too, as one who “stole a little bit of the heat.” (See, I told you.)
Toby takes his turn, after cams show him and the boys playin’ pie-in-the-face at the dinner table and teasing and rough-housing (sound like my mother there, sorry). He does a simulation of Billy Idol, with “Rebel Yell,” that is current, loud, and almost spot on. But why do Toby’s songs all feel so cranked out, so speeded up? Almost manic for me, but with his invitation to moshers to come up on stage and dance and writhe while he sings, and with his prompting the crowd to finish the lines with “more, more, more,” the wunderkind rocker from down under elicits props. Dave says he was worried that Toby might not be able to deliver as Lukas did with the same song weeks back (which Toby agrees he too worried about), but that he pulled it off … that the crowd interaction thing was great, etc.. Jason and Gilbey agree, and Tommy, giving nods, also adds his classic, flirty wink-wink “… get those girls back to my dressing room” repertoire.
As is likely the planning of the staff and creators and producers of the show, Dilana closes the show. After a replaying of some of her softer, more contrite, and thoughtful moments, and after some replayed clips of her jamming with Supernova, she says (ala Tommy Lee) learning her lessons” and moving on…. And move on she does with an original (of course) rendition of “Mother, Mother,” which Dave is most impressed by. “Out of two seasons of Rock Star, that might be my favorite of all.” He finalizes his comments on the whole drama / debacle, saying we all say stupid things to the press; and Tommy picks up with how we must learn from our mistakes and hopefully not make them again. That’s the key to mistakes, man. You need them to help you learn, but then you get the opportunity to put them to practice when they come back in a different shape. Hey, last season, JD said to everyone and God that he wanted the gig MORE than any other rocker there. He was raked over the mansion coals for it, he had to suffer extra air play over it, but we got what he meant and he got … the front man job.
Who knows how things backfire, upsweep, or overwhelm and transform?
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