Rock Star INXS: Week 2

Since I already have this typed up & won't have time to think of much else about which to post until I'm done reading HARRY!, let's talk teevee music shows! I'm quite hooked on Rock Star. So here we go...

Rock Star Recap - Week 2 Performances:

Marty - "What I Like About You" - I just love to watch him! You can really tell he's an experienced performer. This was a bit harder rock style (so closer to what his band does).

Daphna - "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (Joan Jett) - Apparently Heather had wanted this song but let Daphna have it as a birthday present! It was less 'strange' than her other performances (which to me is a good thing), & she definitely responded to the band's comments last week by showing a more feminine/sexy side (& outfit). They like it; I thought it was just ok.

Ty - "Somebody Told Me" - one of 2 current hits done tonight. I thought it was awesome (as usual), though he sounded a bit out of breath toward the end (showing that while he can do a good rock performance, he's less experienced at it than several others). Comments were confusing… Dave asked if he had a lot of theatre background, & then just said "it shows." (Is that a good thing or a bad thing?!) INXS said that he acts like a solo performer but needs to remember they're a band looking for a lead singer, & then that they'd like to see more diversity from him. I think he was kind-of blindsided, just said "Thanks" & walked off w/a blank, surprised expression. Part of me is hoping they're as smart as Simon (did I just say that?) and are being extra-critical because they see so much potential. Then other parts of me remind myself that these middle-aged guys seem really excited at the prospect of watching a hot young female singer in front of them every night and probably would not think of &/or do the reverse psychology thing.

Suzie - "Roxanne" - weird arrangement, I wasn't sure if she missed her entrance (again) or not. Not a lot of words to remember; good & the band liked, but I *really* think she needs to do a different genre.

MiG - "Walk This Way" - He did it! I thought he might've missed some words in the 3rd verse, but the band thought he was awesome (several mentioned they were "impressed"). While he was obviously focusing very hard on the lyrics, he still looked comfortable on stage and interacted w/the crowd (& the band, I think?). Marks of an experienced (I would guess, don't know for sure) and talented performer. Played up the sex appeal too. Definitely a forerunner and my 2nd favorite behind Ty.

Neal - "Summer of '69" - He started out well, played guitar & had great stage presence & audience interaction. You could definitely hear his voice better on this, & I thought he might've been a bit flat on the higher notes. The band reminded him of their request to hear something "more melodic" & asked him if he thought he did that, to which he replied, "Oh yeah! And I rocked it!" erm, ok then. Having read that interview w/his band I understand his response a bit more - they really emphasize just liking simple, basic rock & have no desire to do songs w/deep meaning (or depth of vocal/musical range, apparently). Still.

Heather - "It's Only Rock & Roll" - good & showed off her voice, but I find her stage presence lacking. The band liked it (she was wearing a tank & did some sexy dancing, which *may* have been factors, ahem).

JD - "One Hand in My Pocket" (and the other flipping off his formerly friendly co-competitors?) - Performance was really, really good. Stood still at the mic which is very different for him & still had great stage presence. However… one of the band commented that he sensed JD is focused "on the prize" & the competition, to which JD replied that, while not meaning to 'dis' the lovely & talented people behind him, "they're learning INXS songs, but I know them because I love them." I'm still in shock that he said that, as, obviously, were several other contestants (of course the camera focused on their reaction). JD's gonna have a lonely night at the mansion, I'm thinking.

Tara - "Paranoid" - I'm not familiar w/the song, but I thought she did a very good job vocally. She seemed to be trying a little too hard to be sexy (& "rocker-y"), but the band liked it. Of course. ;)

Deanna - "The One I Love" - Started out mellow & rocked it up after that, which was good, but the band (after explaining they're really good friends w/REM & that the song has great emotion as written) said she should've stuck w/the mellow.

Jordis - "The Reason" - the opposite of Dave, I *love* this song. Perhaps because of that & because I adored her last week (I missed her 1st performance), I was disappointed. It was very good & better than several others, but she set the bar high! ;) Guys loved it.

Jessica - "Purple Haze" - Awesome! IMO by far the best female performance of the night. Awesome stage presence & the style really seemed to fit her. Interestingly the band said it was too similar style-wise to her previous songs.

Brandon - "Sweet Home Alabama" - Why, Brandon, why? Are you really trying to remind people of Bo? The arrangement was *exactly* like the original, so I found it uninteresting & the most (well, only) karaoke-like performance of the night (though I wasn't familiar w/all the rock songs so for some I can't say). I *love* his voice, but not this performance. He also played guitar, though we never got to hear him. One of the guys noted that his timing was much better this week, & probably because he was playing too, so said he wanted to see him lose the guitar next week but keep the good timing.

I predict Neal, Tara & Jessica for the bottom 3, with Neal leaving. It's getting harder though!

Things I Never Noticed

Did you ever notice that there's an arrow in the FedEx logo?? Well I hadn't, and I think it's pretty cool!

Now it's your turn... point out something fun or useful (or both!) that's usually overlooked. And I'll try to think of some more to add.

Who sings that?

Well this is a silly reason to post, but at least it's a post! I've heard this song on our Top 40 station (to which I guess I'm admitting I listen occasionally): a remake of "Listen to your Heart," by a female singer that's really good. Who is it? And yeah, that's basically the post.

Unless I decide to ramble about remakes, or singers, or remade singers. Or singers trying to come back, which brings me to "Hit Me Baby One More Time." Ok if anybody else actually watches it... who out of tonight's lineup did they think was worthy of making it a spectacular "season finale" (of what, 4 shows?)?! I thought tonight's was one of the weakest weeks. And I missed last week's which was supposedly pretty good. I like the concept of the show, but it'd be a whole lot better if most of the people actually still sounded decent. As it is, it's kind-of like... well I can't think of a good analogy, but it's been disappointing. As it's progressed there've been more artists I've never heard of, and of the ones I do know, I keep hoping they'll be worth listening to but more often than not, they're not. Oh well. I guess we get a break for a while.

I am, however, very pleased with "Dancing with the Stars," though it has nothing to do with singers. I suppose it has something to do with remade songs though, because they do things like taking an 80's pop hit & trying to pass it off as a Latino dance number. Just. no. Anyway I'm just thrilled that Kelly & Alec, the duo of hotness, made it to the finale! She was just so crushed by the judges' comments at the beginning, & has obviously worked very hard (and probably has the least 'free' time of all the contestants). I think John should & will win, & maybe that'll help him get some other tv gig through which he can entertain me. I'm one of the 3 people on earth who never watched Seinfeld so had never heard of him, but now adore him.

Back to songs... my dad said that one of the reasons he'll never (pick one:) like/watch/understand shows like American Idol is that a song always sounds best by the original artist, at least (or especially) if that artist wrote it. And that he likes artists because of their sound & individual style, not their mimicking of someone else's. Well, I disagree with the first statement, because there are several songs that I really liked before, but now like even better by Idol contestants. And if they're good, you can tell what a contestant's own style is like through cover songs, at least to a point.

At which point I've run out of things to say. Not bad though, for something that started out as one silly question. Which I really do hope someone can answer. ;)