Rock Star Supernova Recaps
Rock Star Supernova Recaps by Roxanne McDonald
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RockStar SuperNova, Wednesday, August 16, is like any Rock Star episode of this season or last (which was Rock Star INXS, for those of you who foolishly missed the best music reality show on TV).
No, wait. It is amped up a notch: SuperNova hits the stage: Jason on bass, Gilbey on lead, and Tommy on drums… and Dilana fronting. |
The boys have opened the show with the preface that no one is anywhere near being “chosen” as the winner.
Tonight will start a series of weekly guest fronting, as SuperNova performs one newly written song for each of the next seven weeks: this week the guest spot will be taken by Dilana (great first choice on the band’s part, of course, for anyone with an ear is anticipating she WILL win this contest, anyway—if Lukas doesn’t).
The one-number concert is entertaining: the flash/epilepsy-inducing strobe effects, the misty/smoky whorls, the volume…all add to the promise of more to come.
Unfortunately for someone, the more to come tonight is elimination. After a truly stunning encore of Ryan’s performance of Phil Collin’s “In the Air Tonight,” the reasonably tolerable Brooke announces the bottom three as of the close of last night’s show—Patrice, Toby, and Zayra—and then adds Magni and Storm (who screams out, “Yes!”)…. Each performs a song especially chosen to showcase for SuperNova, and all save poor “plain” Patrice (who does do a decent but still somehow lackluster rendition of “Celebrity Skin”) do a pretty spectacular job. Magni does Radiohead’s “Creep”—making some of us flinch at first, for Lukas rocked us to near tears with his own brilliant rendition and seemingly appropriate choosing two weeks ago; and Toby and Storm were allowed to sit back down (which is great for them but would have been great for us who get to hear one more song from each of them).
Even Zayra is kickin it up (with Blue October’s “Razor Blade”), save her bizarre eyeball contortions (if that’s possible). But finally, SuperNova breaks it to her, Zayra is just NOT SuperNova material.
Now, we have known this from day one. She does Cher meets cruise ship costuming; she has those overly dramatic, tendentious movements and facial gestures; and she has a voice that has range and rhythm and all but that is not of the rocker league or genre, really. Again, as I noted in commentary about last night’s performance by Zayra, which was absolutely gorgeous, Z belongs on her own, doing Spanish ballads and such. The trick when seeking an art, a career, a lifestyle is to find your niche…that one place that you can sign off as belonging to you and you alone. This Charo sarcasm combined with a Sela/Celine Deon range and style, should be entertaining select microcosms who will appreciate her, scream louder for her, and contribute in the paying of her bills….since SuperNova fame will NOT obviously do it for her…anymore. She milked it as long as she could (or as long as there were slightly less controversial personalities around to entertain viewers in between song sets).
Good luck, Zayra.
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Rockstar SuperNova, Tuesday, August 15, brings more delights…and a surprise (to those of us who have a decided disdain for one particular rocker wannabe). The episode is introduced by Brooke (who is really one of the more tolerable, more likeable hostbots of reality TV) as the “stripped-down” show; and Dave Navarro and Tommy Lee literally strip themselves of their tees…yum. Then the footage of the surprise rocker trip to Vegas and the Hard Rock Café (where SuperNova will debut) shows a hearty party excursion—true to the rocker mystique.
A docu-clip of the rockers back home deciding on songs reveals that while most will do the unplugged (sort of) thing, one should challenge him- or herself with an original song. Of all performers, Zayra chooses to do so. (Of course, she has most to lose, being the most controversial, most non sequitur-like—clothing, singing, and performing as she does in that wacky, histrionic way that we cannot see as SuperNova material, so she should take this.) Here’s the surprise: Zayra does a Spanish ballad that is utterly gorgeous. Her voice has found its niche. That is, she should pursue her own recording and performance gigs, as a Spanish songstress. I guage my “votes” by goosebumps. If my skin moves, feels the vibrations, if my spine curls, if I get tearful—if I viscerally respond—I know the artist has hit it dead on. In Z’s case, since she is so unfit for the tat, spit, underground mystique of hard-ass rock, and since she was perfect in her performance tonight, she should take her booted self and make it in the subculture/niche that is so Zayra.
I am jumping the gun, for while I anticipate she is to be booted tomorrow night, I don’t really know for sure. So let’s concern ourselves with the rest of the rockers until then, shall we? Magni, in Don Johnson/lounge lizard white linen suit, does a Bowie fav, “Starman;” Patrice does an unremarkable (as usual) rendition of “Message ina Bottle;” and the Bud Cort gone all the way look-alike Lukas kills—again—with “Hero” (though his one negative is sitting down, which Tommy and Jason HATE).
Storm growls a hipper version of “I Will Survive,” which really makes her both brilliant but appearing as if she is once again trying too hard. Makes sense, as she likely has Dilana in her periphery at all times, and with Dilana making rocking out look so damned natural, Storm likely knows she needs some edge. The edge doesn’t work for the boys, though, and they tell her, or Navarro does, that they hate it.
After Toby gets the privilege of performing with Gilby on flattop (and Toby breaking out the bongos), for Salisbury Hill (which is one of my favorite songs but which I feel is a bit speedy tonight), Gilby thanks him—and says he is honored that Toby has gotten naked for him (as during song-choosing, Dilana, who wants the song and the opp to work with Gilby challenges Toby: if he runs around the pool naked he can have the song), Dilana again blows us all away with reminiscence: “Cats in the Cradle”. And again, Dilana makes it look easy breezy and real.
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Rock Star Supernova continued this week (the week of July 23rd) to enthrall and engage with the best of the best—of performances and of attitude. The Bud Cort (of Harold and Maude) look-alike, Lukas, kept his high standards and high quality delivery but kept a low profile—overshadowed as he was by the drama of the lesser rockers. On Tuesday, Patrice kicked ass, but did so in a most typical way, doing nothing over the top and calling in the criticism of the house rock masters. Navarro suggested she was not changing it up or mixing it up for them, and Patrice sniped back with the question to Dave, asking if when he performed he made it different every time. Dave responded that the issue here is that he HAS a job…and that she is auditioning for one. (Patrice reshaped her attitude the next night, explaining that she had watched Navarro many times, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and others, and that his consistency was her model…. Or, she implied as much.
Others retracted and softened their righteousness, recanted their birthright to rockdom attitudes, etc., and by Wednesday night, much love and respect had replaced snippy and petty b.s.. Dana had continued to go on the defensive, sending mixed messages that she really, really wanted to “learn” to be a rocker (while I doubt that if you haven’t got it you can’t learn it) and was learning most from those who were not teaching her anything at all (those who kept their “mouths shut,” she sniped), she was also eager to improve because of their guidance. I still can’t stand her.
Poor Phil—whittling his style to meet the advice and suggestions—changed it up again, this time appearing more disoriented than rocked out, while at the same time delivering a decent rendition of a brilliant Wallflower original but somehow making it less than impacting (which made the hatchet man, Tommy Lee–who Brooke introduced as having the allegedly largest hatchet in Hollywood—tell him he had less interest in fronting for Supernova than the other two bottom rockers.)
But, AS USUAL, Storm ripped it up, did it again, made the goose bumps grow, riffing “marry me, marry me, marry me” and going airborne into the mosh pit—or turning the front stage area into a mosh pit—by sending herself onto the supporting arms and hands of her fans. Never outdone, Dilana brought novelty and gravel-voiced class to a Cindy Lauper ballad, barely moving, barely “acting like” a rocker…but BEING the epitome of pure rock…she, Lukas, and Storm once again modeling for their mentee wannabe what it means to give a perfect performance. Damn, will it be tough (impossible) for the Supernovans to choose, when it gets down to the last three musical/performing giants.
I had thoughts of their having to have more than one lead or more than one band…. I can dream, can’t I?
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Like many of us, I spent the first couple of years of American Idol severely craving rock—really good, young, fresh, even (heaven forbid) irreverent rock. Loud, hard, in-the-moment perfect rock. I even fantasized about developing a reality TV show that would have seasoned and sagacious steel-stringers and singers mentoring up-and-coming rock stars. But the format of shows like Idol (fine as they are for popular, mainstream culture), of course, are not hospitable to Bloody Sabbath remakes or even Cold Play ballads. I know this. I know that such awesome music would fly right over the heads of the majority of LP (Or CD) buyers…who are, evidently, a nondescript cross-section of pre-adolescent and teen girls.
However…then the boys of no-apology rock and roll kicked out the JAMS in season four, and followed suit into season five, finally opening narrow little skulls to vote for the finest of rock/pop hybrids. But then, last year (or last season), a reality music TV show was born. Those of us jonesing for Nickleback, aching for Stones, yearning for The Who were gifted with ROCK STAR INXS. It was brilliant. It was entertaining. It was long overdue.
In its footsteps, thank Gawd, comes ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA. It gets an hour and a half a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays on CBS) of air time and our homes get the rare opportunity of cranked up sound, I mean REAL sound: finally, the cost of the cable bill is worth it for most of those 90 minutes (save the friggin’ commercials, that is).
Now, by the time you read this, it will likely be way past week two, but I have to rave a bit about this week—just to give an example of what over-the-bar TV-viewing we get with ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA. First, the fifteen (now fourteen and soon to be thirteen and yeah, you get the idea) contestants competing by auditioning to front Supernova are those chosen from the best of the best rock performers in the world. Yet I trust that for the sake of television, there may just be one or two borderliners—at least in my opinion. For example, Dana just doesn’t fit the first impression—looking like an overgrown prep school cheerleader. When she performed the no-brainer classic (that is, it is no secret that to perform this one you have to have at least one gravelly experience or a voice that implies it) “Born to be Wild”, and finished to face the “judges”, eternally cool Dave Navarro and quintessentially rocker ideals, Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted, and Gilby Clarke, Tommy corrected her, saying, “Born to be Mild…” is more the truth. Poor dear, even if she was being facetious, retorted that she even had the animal prints, etc! Sorry, Dana, dear. NEXT.
More to the likes of ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA genius (and this is no hyperbole: if, for example, you caught the show when Dave Navarro joined the backup band last year, you grok how utterly kickass the players need to be just to be LIKE the members of the “panel”) are Storm Large (who has ripped it up with “Pinball Wizard” and “Surrender” and who, when Lee addressed her by saying, “Hi, Spicey [as in Spice Girl], she unblinkinkly, coolly responded with, “Careful, sailor”); Dilana (who tore a new space in the cosmos last week with a Nirvana and this week with a Johnny Cash classic); and Lukas (who has the look—with those perfectly done eyes—the stellar range and autonomous style and amazing voice, timbre, etc. of a rocker maybe just a vocal utterance or two ahead of his time).
Okay, so Lukas told everyone in the rocker house they sucked, thereby alienating definitively (as opposed to covertly but implicitly—as most contestants on most shows wish they could have the superiority to do) the other competitors. But guess who did the same thing last year and is now lead singer for INXS? Yuh. And, not only does this, well, subterfuge—as if rock doesn’t have enough oozing out of any innately talented rocker as it is—make for the “good TV” that the rest of TV land wants to escape into, and not only did I sense a bit of mimicry going on in week two after Lukas stunned in week one so hard and perfectly that Lee said after, “Can you say ‘rock star’?” and threw down his mic…but it actually keeps with the unspoken (and spoken, if you listen) philosophy of the best musicians in rock: when, for example, Newsted tells Phil that to really deliver, you have to “…plant your feet…and CRUSH it!” we at home are nodding yes, yes, ohhh yes. Please!
Look: if you’re poo-buttin around that stage, remember us—your audience: we (older rock monsters, in this case) grew up on Sabbath, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Yes, ELP, Mountain, Creedence, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and AEROSMITH!!! And we not only want but NEED it now, need it loud, and need it hard.
That’s all I’m sayin’.
Thank the gods and goddesses of Rock for ROCKSTAR INXS and ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA.
SirLinksAlot Rock Star: Supernova Links
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