Rock Star Supernova – disappointing winner, but new stars presented

As you might be aware of, I’m a great fan of rock and heavy metal. I used to play guitar in a band when I was young(er), and I just love going to concerts and getting my kicks! Therefore, when the show Rock Star Supernova was shown on Swedish TV, I was an avid fan.

The idea behind the show is that some already existing rock stars; Tommy Lee (former Mötley Crüe), Jason Newstead (former Metallica) and Gilby Clarke (former Guns ‘n’ Roses); formed a band, and the TV show was a competition where a happy few selected people were to compete about getting the role as the band’s vocalist.

Granted, the program was full of totally shameless sponsors, and anything hosted by MSN isn’t that impressive to me. Besides, the show’s URL (by the way, thanks for giving away the winner before the rest of the world had aired… :-|) and the band’s official web site isn’t that good, so I rather recommend reading the excellent information in Wikipedia’s Rock Star Supernova page. And as a sidenote to the band’s official web site: how come a non-Flash version is always labeled “low bandwidth version”; maybe I just want the info right away instead of some inaccessible Flash that takes forever to load, no matter what bandwidh I actually have! Ever thought of that?

Anyway… The show consisted of a lot of very talented people (as opposed to watching some Idol crap) and naturally an elimination process would never get a 100% fair. The way it worked was that people watching the show could vote for their favorite artist, and after the votes were in the band would choose who got to go home, and who got to stay in the competition.

The winner

After a number of weeks, Lukas Rossi was crowned as the winner, and while he’s an ok singer, he was far from my pick. And the thing is that, at the end of all the shows, the band decided to go with the person who got the most number of votes through the web site. While hopefully this wasn’t the only reason why they chose him, and I’m sure that’s the case, there’s a number of reasons why it was a bad factor to give the votes such weight:

  • It will hurt the artistry to go with other people’s opinions, than choosing what the band feels right, although it might not be the most popular decision right at that exact moment. But maybe they should’ve thought more about what’s best in the long run.
  • The show only aired in the US (and maybe some other countries, I’m not sure), so how good of a demographic is the votes for such a vital decision? For instance, in Sweden, and I guess, rest of Europe, it aired about 5-6 months later.

The real stars

In my eyes, a number of the other contestants were the real stars, and I’m convinced things are looking very bright for them!

Dilana

Dilana got placed second, but really, we all know she was the best one there. Apparently Gilby Clarke has also said that Lukas Rossi won because:

…he made [their] music sound more like a band, whereas Dilana sounded like a singer, with Rock Star Supernova backing her.

A picture of DilanaAnd I think that was the general fear, and perhaps with a dash of egoism. They didn’t want someone who would outshine them, they just wanted another member. In the end, though, I think that it was the best for the band as well as for her. Dilana has some Janis Joplin-like qualities, and I can’t wait till she gets her album released. Until then, listen to these songs with her:

  • Supersoul
  • Mother Mother
  • Behind Blue Eyes”
  • Lithium
  • Zombie
  • Every Breath You Take

Storm Large (at Wikipedia)

Storm is overall fantastic and entertaining, and definitely a wild chic! While I never thought she would be around to win, I enjoyed every episode when she was still in the show. Listen to her songs:

A picture of Storm Large

  • Ladylike
  • Anything, Anything
  • Suffragette City

Toby Rand

A picture of Toby RandToby Rand is a really charismatic performer and his original song “Throw It Away” was a great hit during the show. He sings in his own band Juke Kartel and I guess I ought to listen to some of their stuff! Make sure to listen to these songs with him:

  • Throw It Away
  • White Wedding
  • Layla
  • Rebel Yell

Ryan Star (at Wikipedia)

A picture of Ryan StarRyan was never destined to win, but I think most people soon realized that he would become a fantastic solo artist, and he’s pursuing his career just as we speak! Things to listen to, just to be able understand what he can do:

  • Losing My Religion
  • Back of Our Car

 

 

The future of Rock Star Supernova

While I like the people behind the band, I’m not sure their future looks that bright. They lost the legal rights to the original name, Supernova, so now their name is Rock Star Supernova. How catchy is that? And the material they presented on the show wasn’t all that, and I definitely think they would need a good lead guitarist to complement Gilby; he’s great for rhythm, but someone like Dave Navarro would be super next to him.

Another thing is that Jason Newstead got badly injured when a bass head fell down on him, and the rehab will take a long time. Therefore, he has been replaced by Johnny Colt (former Black Crowes).

However, on the other hand, I think the future lies wide open for the “non-winners” mentioned above, especially Dilana! We’ll see, we’ll see… 🙂

13 Comments

  • Jules says:

    Here in Canada, we got to see the American broadcast. I liked Lucas' unique singing and performing qualities but I agree that he might not have been the best choice. I too was pulling for Dilana but I also thought that Magnus (why did you miss him?) was also a hot contender for top honours.

    In both incarnations of the Rock Star show has a Canadian won.

  • Karl says:

    I loved that show! It aired during August / September here in the UK and was one week behind the US shows. Dilana was streets ahead of the rest right from the start but I always maintained that it would come down to whether the band wanted a male or female singer.

    I preferred Toby over Lukas so was disappointed when the latter got the job but I had faith in Jason keeping on top of his singing "style". I've not seen the concert but the album is pretty good and Lukas' song "Headspin" is one of my favourites sure to get max volume 🙂

  • Henry says:

    If you're a real rocker, you wouldn't be watching this crap.

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Jules,

    Magni, yes… I was pondering whether to include him here or not. I think he's a good singer and performer, but to me, he just wasn't as interesting as the others.

    Karl,

    I think that's very true, and was fairly convinced that they would never choose a female. To bad, though, because I think that would have made them more unique.

    I actually haven't heard the album yet, but I guess I have to give it a try then! 🙂

  • MacBros says:

    I wasn't in favor that Lucas won, but after hearing the album, it's actually pretty good with Lucas.

    Besides, we Canadians always seem to win that show. RockStar INXS had a Canadian winner also.

  • Robert Nyman says:

    MacBros,

    Yes, Canadians seem to have a gift for that. 🙂
    Apparently I got to hear the album, to see if I change my opinion about him.

  • Sharm says:

    Interesting take Robert, I definitely agreed with you about Dilana. Although I'm a Canadian, I did not think Lucas deserved to win but at the end of the day, this is for the best for Dilana who will hopefully go on to release her own album soon. I loved her rendition of Roxanne, and how she got the other guys involved. She had such presence and an amazing voice. Thanks for the thoughts.

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Sharm,

    Good to hear that we share the same opinions.

    I can't wait to see what Dilana's album turns out like!

  • Tommy says:

    Have you guys checked out toby's band Juke Kartels stuff yet … it is amazing … link, http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=u… album is being mixed as we speak … i;m so pumped 🙂

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Tommy,

    Not yet, but thanks for the tip!

  • Natasha says:

    I think that Lukas was picked as the right winner for Rockstar Super Nova. I recently just found this video on Google that says it all. He did a cover of 'Purple Rain' by Prince. Absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't understand why people are such haters towars, him. If you caught him on tour recently in Canada doing his solo tour, you would know that he has big time talent. He has major showman ship, a unique look and a strong vocal talent. Not to mention for all the girls out there," he's hot as hell", too bad he's married. LOL Anyways thats fine if you personally don't like, but don't go knocking someone talents when you know they have them. WE LOVE YOU LUKAS!!!!!!!!!!! Good Job to you and good luck in your new ventures. ROSSI POSSE BABY!!!!!!!

  • Natasha says:

    Click on this link or paste in to your browser to view this wicked cover of 'Purple Rain' By Prince, redone by Lukas Rossi
    http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=8911217066

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Natasha,

    Well, I'm glad that you like him! I don't hate him at all, but I just don't think he was the best ou of the contenders.

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