Newsletter, Rock Star: INXS Page 2

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They would perform in an house at The Mayan, the last US gig INXS had w/ Michael. Afterwards INXS would send one of them home. Suzie talked to Marty about his voice & asked if he ever had it looked into cuz she has a raspy voice & had a polyp.

Jordis is the youngest at 22 & she performed ‘Baba O’Riley’. She really knew how to open a show! I love her voice & she has an interesting look. INXS liked her too & Dave said they found her already.

Marty sang ‘You Really Got Me’. I thought it was ok. But here is the thing. Even the WORST performer on this is a million times better than the junk we get on AI now.

Tara sang ‘Middle of the Road’ & I didn’t like it.

Neal did ‘Brown Sugar’ & that one I did like.

Daphna sang ‘One Way or Another’. My hubby’s band used to do that song. She did a good job.

Ty did ‘Cult of Personality’. He has a Living Colour look. Even though he has a Mohawk instead of colored dreads. I love that song & that whole album is really good. If you have never heard it, check it out. I thought he did a kick ass job.

Dana did ‘Knockin on Heaven’s Door’. She sucked. Dave said her last scream was uncomfortable.

Deanna did ‘Piece of my Heart’. If you are a chick rock singer, you got to be able to do this song. & she did it justice. I can’t hear that song now & not think of Melissa Etheridge’s performance with her bald head. It was just so powerful. Dave told INXS he would quit if they got rid of her.

MiG sang ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. I didn’t like it. I thought it was funny cuz I take notes as I watch the show & when he got to the lyric “hello” he waved & I thought that was so fricking cheesy that I went to write an arrow down for his performance in my notes & I saw at the same time it made Dave lean over & say something. I just know he thought that wave was just as bad. Hubby had a singer once that was overdramatic w/ the hand gestures & the crowd would make fun of it. What a loser.

Jessica did ‘Celebrity Skin’. Another song hubby’s band used to do. ‘Live Through This’ is a better album though. I thought she did a good job.

Wil did ‘Heroes’. I thought he sounded ok but he creeps me out the way he sings to the girls in the audience. He is the definition of making love to the audience. He just seems stalkerish.

Heather did ‘Burning Down the House’. I have never liked this song but she did a good job w/ it.

Brandon did ‘Rock & Roll All Nite’ & did well.

JD was recently homeless. Was he really homeless or homeless like Jewel who did it by choice as she was touring w/ her Mom? I always hate that people get all sappy talking about Jewel when it was a choice not necessity. Big difference. He sang ‘American Woman’ & I liked it. But he grabbed a girls’ hair while singing & that crossed a line.

Suzie was last & she did ‘Remedy’. I love me some Black Crowes. She messed the song all up. Didn’t come in at the right spot & then sang the 2nd verse first. But guess what, she didn’t quit & what she did sing sounded good.

Everyone parties back at the house & then the next morning they were all up harmonizing together. Daphna made up a song about her father’s death a month ago. That got her & some of the girls teary.

They meet up with Brooke, Dave & Tim. Tim said Ty gave a great performance. Dave said he was like a superhero. Tin said Deanna was WOW. Dave said he had to take a cold shower after that performance. Tim said MiG didn’t choose the right song. Dave said his versus was low & the chorus was high.

The 3 people chosen as the worst were Dana, Suzie & JD. They said JD has a lot of potential but he overdid it. Dana has a great tonality but her vocals weren’t great. & of course Suzie forgot her lyrics. JD was given another chance & Dave said he has 3 months to get it together. They said Suzie messed up her lyrics but her voice is enough to get another chance. Dana was cut cuz she just wasn’t right for the band.

They were all told they would perform again tomorrow. They would be given 14 songs to choose from & they would all have to figure out who does what.

7/12: I have a guy who covers both AI & this show for my site. & he is right. This show proves that AI doesn’t try very hard to get decent songs. This show has awesome songs to choose from while on AI we hear the same crap over & over.

Heather sang ‘Somebody to Love’. I liked it. Dave said it was a little loose at the top.

Marty sang ‘Take Me Out’. I liked that one too. Dave said he shows how to work a room. I didn’t write down who of INXS made each comment so I will just tell you INXS said he liked the hate but said he needs to get the diction better.

Daphna sang ‘People Are Strange’. I LOVE this song. & don’t shoot me but you know what? I like Echo & The Bunnymen’s version better than The Doors’. & I love the movie ‘The Lost Boys’ & even have the soundrtack & that version is on there. She is a little weird, but I liked her version. Dave said he liked her style & then made a joke about exposing herself like Jim Morison. INXS said she has a beautiful face & wants her to show it. He is right. She has a gorgeous face but she has these bangs that go into her eyes & it takes away from that. He said she pushed her vocals & needs to watch her pitch.

Suzie did ‘Call Me’. I thought it was just alright. Dave said she got every guy. INXS said he can hear her full potential now & thought it was a ballsy choice.

Brandon did ‘Hard to Handle’. Another Black Crowes song I love & I didn’t like his cover. Dave said he has killer energy. INXS thought it was fantastic.

Jordis did ‘Heart-Shaped Box’. She KILLED! My husband is in love with her. He has watched this performance like 5 times now. He said he would buy this. Dave said Nirvana is a sacred band & he liked that she didn’t do Kurt & they got to hear Jordis. INXS was blown away & loved her cool demeanor.

MiG sang ‘All Day & All of the Night’. I thought it was just ok. Dave said his range was right on the money. INXS said ht transitioned from the stage to a rock singer.

Deanna did ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’. I liked it. Dave said she looks like the tiniest bunny rabbit but her voice gives him chills. INXS said she nailed it & isn’t going anywhere.

Wil did ‘Right Here, Right Now’. He was again Mr Stalker staring at the girls. Dave said the ladies respond to him & it was better than last night. INXS said they wanted more.

Jessica sang ‘I Want You To Want Me’. I love Cheap Trick too. I saw them in concert a few years ago w/ Motley Crue. I thought she was just k. Dave said it was nice to see someone acknowledge the band while they sang. INXS said they are looking for a singer to front their band but said she needs to concentrate on singing.

Tara sang ‘Take It Easy’. I thought it was boring. Dave said she was a hot woman singing those lyrics. INXS said it suited her.

Neal sang ‘Fortunate Son’. Does he remind anyone else of the singer from ‘Buckcherry’? Same scrawny body. I didn’t like his performance. Dave thought it was great. He loved that he was shirtless.

Ty sang ‘Heartbreaker’. I liked it. He was wild & I laughed when he almost fell. Dave said it was an awesome job & his acappella part sold it. INXS said he loved the shark [Mohawk] & he nailed it.

JD did ‘California Dreamin’. He said it was his arrangement since it was slow then fast. But didn’t The Bangles do something similar? I thought it was just ok. Dave said he listened to direction & toned it down. INXS said he turned himself around overnight.

People had 4 hours to vote either online at rockstar.msn.com or if they had Verizon by texting to ROCK – INXS & then the 2 digits of the person they were voting for.

7/13: JD was called out to the center of the stage right away. He was asked if he knew why & he said cuz he had the fewest votes of one of the fewest. INXS said no, they loved his arrangement so much they wanted an encore. So he sang ‘California Dreamin’ again.

The 3 people with the fewest votes were Wil, Tara & Suzie. Dave was surprised Suzie was in there cuz she improved. But he said you have to listen to your fans & they were the ones to vote. They would each perform an INXS song that the band chose for them. Tara was first & did ‘New Sensation’. I didn’t like it at all.

Wil did ‘Need You Tonight’ & at some points he sounded just like Michael but he was too quiet & was doing that creepy stalker thing again. There wasn’t any energy.

Suzie did ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ & was the best of the 3 by far.

They said it was great seeing Tara can rock but they aren’t sure it is enough. They thought Wil sang great but they had asked him to improve his performance.

They said Suzie nailed it & sent her back to join the others so she is safe again.

Wil was out cuz he just wasn’t right for the band. Dave said he has a lot of talent & is sure they will hear from him again. He congratulated him for getting this far.

Wil said he is glad they are doing this show & hopes it blows up. He hopes the world embraces it & said the singers are all amazing. He had fun. INXS said just cuz he isn’t right for their band doesn’t mean he isn’t a great talent.

7/18: Have I told you how much I love this show? & this episode had another thing that just showed how much better it is than AI. It was only a half hour so we didn’t have to be subjected to so much filler crap. Just awesome.

The Monday night show is more of the reality show. We see them in the house having to live together & they get their song choices.

Brandon wasn’t surprised that Wil was kicked off cuz he was too laid back. Jordis would love to be called back for an encore like JD was. [I have watched Jordis’ last performance like 10 times now & even bought the download.] Suzie is emotional after being in the bottom 2 weeks in a row. She said it puts her confidence to the test.

The finalists were rewarded w/ Gibson guitars. That leads to a sing-a-long of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’.

They all met with Dave next & he wanted to talk to them about style. He said he dresses like a jackass but if you do it right, it’s all good. Dave calls it “Peacocking”. He said you have to sell it. They got to go through a bunch of different stuff to pick what they will wear for the next performance. Suzie thought what she had was too sexy for rock. [No such thing IMO] Jordis said she typically just wears all black & really doesn’t care about fashion.

MiG found the song list posted & let everyone know. No one wanted to do R.E.M’s ‘The One I Love’. [I don’t blame them. I have never been a fan.] Finally Deanna took it so Tara could have ‘Paranoid’ since she really needed to prove something this week.

They each got time to practice with ‘The House Band’. Again, JD changes the arrangement of his song, ‘Hand In My Pocket’. MiG got ‘Walk This Way’ & he has never sung it before & has a hard time remembering all those words. Deanna struggled with ‘The One I Love’ & told the band the song bores her & she doesn’t feel it so she can’t sell it.

The show is on again on Tuesday at 9pm CST where we will see their performances & get their numbers to vote. Then it is on Wednesday at 8:30 for the results.

7/19: 01 - Marty sang ‘What I Like About You’. I love that song but his performance, not so much. Dave loves his presence. INXS loved the way he used the stage.

02 - Daphna did ‘’I Hate Myself For Loving You’. Another performance that did nothing for me. Dave said he is a fan. INXS said it was fantastic & great to see her face but wants her to extend herself further.

03 - Ty did ‘Somebody Told Me’. Bummer. I really like him but didn’t like this either. Dave said his theater experience shows. INXS said they are looking for a singer & want him to be more diverse.

04 - Suzie sang ‘Roxanne’. I love this song but she had no power. Dave thought she nailed it. INXS said her style has vastly improved & thought by singing it seriously she was more sexy. She should be proud of herself tonight.

05 - MiG sang ‘Walk This Way’. I think he did a good job w/ all those lyrics. Dave was very impressed. I didn’t hear what INXS said.

06 - Neal did ‘Summer of ‘69’. I didn’t like it at all. Dave said he was used to seeing him doing the slithering snake & this time he stood there playing the guitar. INXS said he was fun to watch.

07 - Heather did ‘It’s Only Rock N Roll’. I thought it was just ok. Dave said it was so good. INXS said she gets better every show.

08 - JD did ‘Hand in my Pocket’ & he changed the arrangement. It reminded me of a George Thoroughgood song. It was different & I like the original a lot but I liked this too. Dave aid he made it more masculine & the arrangement reminded him of George Michael’s ‘Faith’. INXS said he took command of the mic & has the most focus on the prize. JD then kissed major ass by saying that he knows the INXS songs cuz he loves them.

09 - Tara did ‘Paranoid’. She did ok but it wasn’t great. Dave asked why she picked it & she said it is one of her favorite metal songs & it is the best ever & it was a different take from ‘Take it Easy’. INXS said she blew that right away & she had a tough week last week too & has a lot of guts.

10 - Deanna did ‘The One I Love’. We all know she didn’t want to do it & I thought she did a great job w/ a crap song. The best so far tonight actually. Dave said we all know she can belt it out & asked how she feels. She said alright. INXS talked about ho REM are their friends & think that is a great song but she only nearly pulled it off.

11 - Jordis did ‘The Reason’. I didn’t like it at all. It just didn’t suit her voice. Dave said he was never a fan of that song… till now. INXS said she looks beautiful, has an awesome voice even when she pushes it.

12 - Jessica did ‘Purple Haze’. I didn’t like it. She just didn’t have enough power in her voice to pull I off. My husband thought she sounded like Cher. Dave asked what made her pick that song? She said it was different. INXS said it was a brave choice but not as different as it could have been.

13 – Brandon did ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. He did the song justice. Dave said it was a great song for him & a great performance. INXS said his timing was way better this week & wonders if it is cuz he was playing guitar too so said lose the guitar next week to see.

7/20: Dammit! I missed this episode. I TiVo’d it & it was supposed to be on at 8:30 my time but they switched it to 8 so I taped King of Queens instead. So here is a quick summary.

JD was put in the spotlight for his kiss ass comment to INXS. Neal, Tara & Jessica were bottom 3 & NEAL got the boot.

This is on Mondays at 8:30, Tuesdays at 8 & Wednesdays at 8pm CST on CBS.

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