RS:S Performances – Week 10

Welcome to Week 10 of Rock Star: Supernova!

We’re down to the Final Five, and the show is really getting hot! And I’m not just talking about Brooke Burke!

Speaking of Brooke, sexy and sassy in stripes, she announced that Ryan Star, the last Rocker sent home has the top MP3 downloads on MSN, including his original, “Back of My Car”, which he recently performed. Good for him!

And this week’s behind the scenes video showed Gilby writing songs with the Rockers. He was unimpressed with Dilana’s songwriting skills, saying that he doubted her imagination, and that he wasn’t sure that she’d be bringing much to the table in this regard. I can’t recall Gilby saying much about any of the other Rockers’s songwriting chops, but I’m definitely feeling the winds of change blowing away from Dilana. I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but time will tell.

This week in Song Selection the Rockers learned that they would be performing a set: one of the covers, and an original. This would allow them to show other sides of their personality.

Dilana – Behind Blue Eyes

Okay, I didn’t see this week’s online webisode so I was totally unprepared to see Dilana being carried onto the stage due to a torn calf muscle. What the hell??? Seriously, what is going ON with Dilana? She has been the favorite of many from the very beginning. A torn calf muscle is going to take a few weeks to heal. How is she supposed to rock the house at this crucial juncture of this show?

So Dilana sings this Who classic from a stool, and her voice is great. She gave as much as she could, and I think she connected well with the crowd. She wasn’t familiar with this song before this week, which was interesting, but she was still able to make the song hers. For the final line, she sang, “No one knows what it’s like to be the bad girl, to be the sad girl, behind blue eyes”, which pulled the audience in. As she introduced her original song, she ketp things personal, giving the audience a little more insight of what it’s like to be in her shoes, which I liked a lot. For her original song (which I’ve forgoten the title), she stood up, and hopped around as best as she could to meet the energy of the crowd.

What can I say? I’m disappointed because I don’t know how she’ll get out of this fix. More importantly, I want to find out how she got INTO this position. She had the world in the palm of her hands, and now this? I just don’t understand, and I’m very sad.

Dave: “Good interaction with the audience.” He commended Dilana for going out there, and doing her thing, although he wasn’t crazy about her original track.

Tommy was quick to disagree: “I really did dig the original track.”

Gilby maintained what he said at this week’s songwriting clinic.” I think your lyrics are a little too literal. I think you should use your imagination.”

Jason: “Strong will and effort are important in this game”, meaning life as well as rock and roll, of course. “Thanks for sharing.”

This is so not good to hear. Dilana had been sooooooooooooo close, I can’t stand it!

Magni – Back in the USSR

Magni has great vocals, but I still want more energy from him. His original, I actually liked a lot. The song, which had been translated into English, was rocking and aggressive, and was one of his better performances.

Dave: “Hot Magni! I think that’s the most aggressive I’ve ever heard you!”

Tommy: “Your performance was basically the same.”

Magni’s comeback was that they were the same because he performed both of the songs.

Gilby said that he understood where Tommy Lee was coming from, saying, “Your original song was an opportunity to bring it up a notch”.

Although I think Magni has been a favorite of the Supernova judges, his performance style hasn’t changed much over the run of this show. If Supernova would have called this to Magni’s attention earlier, I wonder if he would have stepped it up before now, or even been kicked off? Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw, but as we learn, luck eventually changes.

Storm – Suffragette Sister

Speaking of changing luck, this might have been Storm Large’s night. And I’m so freakin’ happy about that! First off, as soon as Brooke announces that Storm is doing Suffragette Sister, Dave announces that he wants to play. Storm, as always, is up to the challenge: “Get your ass down here, Dave!”

My first thought, watching Storm, was “Why is she all covered up?” Wearing a black hat, black 3/4 coat, and black pants, I kept thinking how disappointed Tommy Lee must be. With all of his requests to see less of her, I was hoping that Storm was up to something. Silly me! Of course Storm is up to something! Even in her undertaker outfit, she was rocking hard, playing along with Dave, and moving the crowd. For her original, entitled “Ladylike”, she stripped down to a low cut white tank top, and threw off her hat. If you listened to her lyrics, it was even more fitting, because the song asks the question of what IS ladylike when we want to do the same THANG like the guys. If you don’t know what THANG I’m talking about, perhaps Americal Idol would be a little more to your liking.

Tonight’s rocking performance by Storm Large was amaaazing, and I couldn’t be happier for her. Go Storm Large, Go!!!

Dave: “I have been on the stage with many world class singers. This felt like one of those performaces. That was my favorite original from last year and this year together!”

Tommy: “That song was the _____” He really didn’t say a real word or even a euphamism, but he liked it, and even asked the audience, “Y’all feelin’ me?!” Yeah, we were all feelin’ it!

Gilby picked up Tommy’s line: “That was the ____” playfully imitating Tommy Lee’s facial expression. “Great original!”

Jason: “Yeah, Storm Large!”

And after Brooke announced Storm’s voting number, Storm gave Brooke a little kiss on the lips on her way off the stage. Friendly, but cute. Brooke wasn’t facing the audience, so I don’t know what was going through her mind, but hey, that liplock was a lot cooler to watch than Tommy Lee licking tongues with Gilby’s dog, Chopper.

Lukas – Livin’ On a Prayer

Only Lukas Rossi could turn a semi-cheesy Jon Bon Jovi tune and turn it into something altogether different. Lukas totally stripped down this song, playing it on solo electric guitar. Lukas’ bio describes him as Freddie Mercury meets Jeff Buckley, and when I heard him do this song, all I could hear was Jeff Buckley vocal stylings. I’m not saying that he sounded like Jeff Buckley, but I got chills from the similarity in vocal skill. Wow!!! This song actually made me think Jeff Buckley meets Johnny Cash, which isn’t a bad combination in my book.

His original, Headspin, was about his mother, and he added that “nobody’s perfect.” This song was intense and powerful, and from the lyrics you understood that his mother ws the one making his “head spin”, and you understood that the “nobody’s perfect” line was referring to himself. I would love, love, love to hear better articulation of the lyrics, but that’s me. There is definitely a story behind this tune, and it makes for a powerful performance. Great job, Lukas!

Dave: “You’ve showed that you also have a heavy handed emotional side. That’s a stadium full of lighters, or cel phones like they do now.” And he made a joke about dating himself by mentioning the old school use of lighters at a concert. No worries, Dave. We’ve all been there 😉

Gilby: : “I was inspired by your performance”.

Toby – Mr. Brightside

Toby’s vocals are great, but the crowd LOVES him. It really is amazing the level of charisma Toby has. He has the girls eating out of his hands every week! He made his way through the crowd, singing all over the house, and the audience follows his every move. Just amazing!!!!

For his original, “Throw it Away”, his chorus has a nifty call and response part, and the crowd loved it. He made his way to the Supernova jodges box, and instead of sucking up to them, just maintained his chokehold on the audience from there until Tommy came by and starting grabbing his butt during the song. Toby was unruffled, and kept doing his thing, going next to the Rocker Box where he ended the song facedown, getting pats on the butt from the other contestants.

Dave: “Your original song – instantaneosly memorable! By the second verse you had everyone singing along!”

Jason: “You somehow take this whole crowd!”

And Jason is absolutely right. Toby Rand is the Pied Piper of Rock Star: Supernova. Awesome, Mate!

And for the first five minutes of voting, here are the results:

First: Toby
Second: Lukas
Third: Magni
Fourth: Storm
Fifth: Dilana

We shall see tomorrow, won’t we? I’m just glad that I don’t have to choose the singer for Supernova (the band, not my CD). Competition is heating up, and it ain’t gonna be pretty!

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