 |
|
| Home · Reviews · Interviews · Contests · Blog · Forums · Follow Us On Twitter |
|
by The Trades Staff Published: September 1, 2005
This week saw the six Rock Star: INXS finalists performing some of the greatest rock songs of all time. Performances were, overall, stellar. The few rough spots were easily smoothed over by the hard driving beats and fist thrusting. Tonight, host Brooke Burke told us about some drama that occured at the mansion where the contestants are residing during the contest. While I'm not sure that truly "all hell broke lose" (as Brooke put it), it was certainly some eye opening action. J.D. Fortune had taken issue with Suzie McNeil's comments on the show that night that he had spent an unusually long time with INXS in the recording studio (Suzie only voiced this opinion when prompted by the band to comment on how she felt J.D. had done when recording in the studio). The comment seemed innocent enough and was purely factual. It was no secret to INXS, afterall, who had spent that time with J.D. But J.D. was outraged. He felt Suzie had attacked him and Suzie could do nothing more than apologize. An apology that J.D. was not prepared to accept. The other contestants consoled Suzie by encouraging her to stand up to J.D.'s bullying. I'm frankly surprised anyone would buckle before J.D. He seems mighty frail. Brooke then turns our attention to tonight's encore. It's no surprise, given Suzie's crowd pleasing performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody", that she is asked to perform an encore. But before coming on stage, she's given the added prize of granting an encore to another one of the contestants. She - without hesitation - picks Marty, who again delivers a solid performance of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". He's followed by Suzie who seems even more at ease tonight singing "Bohemian Rhapsody". She prompts the audience to sing the last line with her, which works out quite wonderfully. Time for the bottom three. Brooke tells us - and the contestants - that the initial bottom last night was J.D., Ty, and Marty. But, as is often the case, voting patterns changed throughout the night and soon Jordis joined the bottom three. It only remains to be known which of the initial three is safe this week. I predicted last night that either J.D. or Jordis would be going home. So far, all is well in the world. Brooke calls each of the threatened contestants out on stage one at a time for their INXS performance. J.D. Fortune - "This Time" J.D.'s lucky to get one of my favorite INXS songs. It's one of their earlier ones and perhaps less recognizable to the general audience, but it's INXS that's deciding tonight, not the people at home. J.D.'s unlucky that he's decided to sing the song with a wad of cotton in his mouth. The song is initially unrecognizable to me. Finally, it strikes me... "Oh, that's what he's singing?" He sounds mush mouthed and even nasal at times. I wonder, is he trying to sing it "his way"? That would be a mistake, since INXS probably wants the song to sound their way. He's in trouble tonight. When asked what it means to sing an INXS song in front of the band, J.D. goes back to his usual weepy emotional place. Can you say "FAKE"? Ty Taylor - "The One Thing" I've never heard this song before, but anything Ty sings is gold. And he always gives such an energetic performance. I just wish he had a better song to sing. The band criticizes Ty for having missed a lyric. Not good. When asked what he can bring to INXS, Ty says he's got soul. Good answer. Jordis Unga - "Listen Like Thieves" No surprise here. If Marty was in the original bottom three, and then Jordis joined the group later that night, then the safe contestant (of the last two threatened contestants) must be Marty. Indeed, Brooke tells us that Marty got more votes than the rest of the bottom three combined. Jordis scores a great song. Another one of INXS's earlier songs, but probably more recognizable than "This Time". Jordis delivers a performance that is perhaps a little too pop. I close my eyes and picture Kelly Clarkson singing this song. But she does deliver energy on stage. She drops down on her knees once when singing the chorus (she'll need surgery if she does that too much!) When asked what she can bring to INXS, she tells them she's a young talent and an open book. The Cut: When we return from commercial, INXS berates each performer for delivering underwhelming performances. I'm not sure that's true, but I guess they know better than I do. Tim Farriss cautions the two surviving contestants - whoever they may be - to step it up. Finally, he explains that when confronted with three disappointing performances, he must cut the person who's been the bottom three the most. In this case, Ty - who has now been in this position three times - is eliminated. I'm shocked. Everyone's shocked. Ty's easily a better talent than J.D. or Jordis. I suspect that INXS already has the top two or top three decided and they're just trying to find a way to eliminate the black guy with the mohawk. Ty voices a similar sentiment, expressing outrage at having ended up in the bottom three repeatedly probably because of his skin color, and so that means he's eliminated tonight. I find a flaw in that assessment, since 10 other contestants were eliminated before Ty, and none of them were black. But I can understand his frustration. Truth be told, Ty's singing style isn't right for INXS. The band would probably hold him back. I don't have high expectations for a resurgence in the band's popularity, but I do expect Ty to do quite well on the music charts very shortly. Previous Recaps at The Trades: - Week 8 Competition - Week 7 Competition | Results - Week 6 Competition | Results - Week 5 Competition | Results Other sites: Rock Star: INXS | Sirlinksalot.net |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 1997-2010 Burlee LLC. All rights reserved. | Reprints | Privacy Policy | Disclosure | About Us/Contact Us | RSS Feed |