ROCK STAR INXS: GIVING YOU WHAT YOU NEED

By: B -- 9/21/05

Congratulations to Canadian J.D. Fortune for winning Rock Star: INXS last night. I don’t expect great things from the band with him at the helm – after all, they weren’t that great to begin with – but J.D. seems to be an appropriate replacement of Michael Hutchence (God, I still have to guiltily suppress a chuckle when I hear his name).

For what it’s worth (which is probably nothing), here are my top five favorite Rock Star competitors:

5. Jordis
She wasn’t in the same class as the finalists, but I appreciated her smoky voice and controlled stage charisma. I’d much rather watch her on stage than the Broadway-esque Mig. Bonus points for being from St. Paul.

4. Marty
Marty has a great rock-n-roll voice; no question about it. And even though his original tune “Trees” sounded a bit too much like Adam Sandler's breakup song from The Wedding Singer, I have to admit I was still humming “Trees” long after I’d first heard it. Gots to respect the catchiness. However, I am still smoldering at his cover of Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time.” He got mad props from the judges for his “original spin” on the song, but it sounded identical to Travis’ cover of the song. I mean, note-for-note identical. Why was Marty allowed to blatantly rip off another song? Am I the only one who’s heard Travis’ version?

3. J.D.
A solid performer that most closely resembles Hutchence. He doesn’t command attention on stage, but he hits his notes and seems to want to be a part of the band, rather than be the band. Also, J.D.’s version of “What You Need” in the final episode was fantastic. Good choice, eh.

2. Suzie
Suzie obviously had a ceiling. There were a number of songs that she was just not talented enough to pull off, which led to her eventual demise. But when Suzie was in the right situation, she was damn good. She also had a magnetic natural charm on stage; she’s one of those singers that just looked at home while performing. I think she would have been great leading INXS; they’d’ve played to her vocal strengths and taken on an entirely different look with a female lead.

1. Ty
I’m a bleeding heart, I know. There were gripes about Ty being a bit too polished on stage (which is bullshit because the ever-popular Mig was way more polished and scripted than Ty), but I never found it to be distracting. Ty has a phenomenal voice -- a versatile range that may have vaulted INXS into new and uncharted areas. I would’ve loved to see him front the band. I’m looking forward to seeing the direction his career goes from here.

All in all, a damn fine summer show. I still prefer American Idol because of the unintentional humor and ballsy judges (I can’t be the only one who got sick of INXS's exaggerated adoration of every damn performance), but Rockstar was a suitable fling while Idol was away. Though I still cringe watching melodramatic, weepy adults, the fact that these performers could actually play instruments evened out the score.

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