Rock Star: Supernova ~ Week 3 Performances

Can’t believe I’m dropping the dime here, but I saw it on the news tonight: Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra are separating. Does this mean that we can expect Dave to be snarkier on the stand? Are Dave’s flirty comments to Brooke going to get racier and racier? And is it me, or did Tommy Lee seem especially frisky tonight? All the innuendos and sexy looks? Yeah, Tommy Lee, your career is officially rejuvenated. Hugh Hefner called with an invite to the Mansion. Oh yeah, bring your buddy, Dave Navarro too. We heard he’s single again. It’s going to be a hot summer…Seriously, Supernova, as a trio looking for a bandmate, is actually taking shape. There is a cool vibe coming from the judge’s box with Dave, Tommy, Gilby, and Jason. You have Dave, the host who’s also a mentor. He can tell you good or bad. Tommy is the crowd pleaser. He loves the fans, and he loves the ladies. He has a sweet side about him that I didn’t expect. I bet his black book could fill an ENCYCLOPEDIA! Gilby is the professional. He’s looking for the front person that can handle arenas, and the pressure, and still rock out. Jason is the Jedi Master Rocker, overflowing with wisdom, and happy to share it. Each of these guys is way cool in his own style, and comfortable in his own skin.

I just want to invite them over for dinner for a pot of my Voodoo Jambalaya and talk about rock and roll. Bring out the guitars and start jammin’. I’d pass Tommy Lee chopsticks, in case he felt like playing. Ah…good times.

By the way, it is hot as Hades everywhere. Because of an air conditioning issue, I missed Patrice Pike’s performance. I feel awful about that, and I hope she did well. But in the meantime, I’m typing this wearing only a smile – DEDICATION!!!

Josh – Come As You Are

I liked the acoustic vibe. Josh and the other guitarists in the band did a nice cover of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”. Josh contained his Stevie Wonder-ness, and you really got to hear his voice, and what else he can do with it. For me, it was his best performance so far.

Dave was complimentary, but quickly reminded Josh that the lead singer of Supernova would be playing Wembley stadium, not a coffeehouse. Ouch. [No matter how amicable this split is, Dave probably can’t help taking his issues to his job ;-] Gilby said he’s “still not sure if we’ve seen the real you.” And Tommy didn’t say anything.

By the way, I usually try to watch Tommy Lee to get a sense of what he’s thinking about a Rocker. He doesn’t hold back on the love when he’s feeling it. But if he doesn’t even pick up his mic to say anything about you, it’s probably best if he didn’t. He’d probably say something like he was bored.

Storm Large – Just What I Needed

Storm was fun to watch tonight. She was working the whole “microphone as phallic symbol” thing, and it was working for her. Rubbing her hands up and down, and up and down, and up and, where was I? Oh yeah, Storm was working the stage. She’s just a natural performer. Her voice didn’t seem as strong as usual, but not sure it mattered. Her energy and presence are just unavoidable.

Dave said that her performance was “night and day from last week. Awesome!” Gilby commented on how she’s “always so professional” because she takes their comments and puts them into practice. Tommy said “I want to less of you!”, as in less clothes. Storm’s response? “Six letters: google”. I bet she caused a search engine spike with that comment! I love her attitude.

Lukas – Let’s Spend the Night Together

So Lukas did a Rolling Stones tune, and like Tommy Lee suggested to Ryan last week, Lukas was “showing his boat”. He just sang and owned the stage. He has an interesting stage style. He works the stage well, but I have a hard time understanding his lyrics clearly. Does it make a difference? The singer Joe Cocker has a career out of singing songs no one can understand, so who knows if Supernova would care?

Dave goes first: “Dude, did you know that you come off arrogant on stage?” Waits a beat before adding “And it was awesome!” And then Tommy: “You’re raising the bar, and I’m pulling up a bar stool.” And Gilby completed with “If we ever did a Stones tune, that’s how we’d do it!

They seemed to love him, but personally I’m not crazy about his vocal tone. Okay, I’m partly a snob because I studied voice in college, but it drives me nuts when I can’t understand words clearly. He’d definitely not in the Bottom Three.

Jill – Alright Now

Jill is working the straight blonde hairstyle, and it’s working for her. Her performances are more natural, real, and down to earth. She has that great powerhouse voice, and she’s learning which stage persona works best for this kind of crowd. She even kicked down her mic stand. Jason practically jumped out of his seat at that, he was like a proud dad. I feel like Jill hit her groove tonight.

Dave said that she was “much better this week”. Tommy said “I’m definitely alright”, and Gilby closed with “This is the first time you’ve performed that we could imagine what you’d be like if you were onstage with us.”

It’s too soon to say how Jill will do, but I love her spirit. She’s willing to put it all out there. That’s what we love about underdogs, isn’t it? She won’t be in the Bottom Three either.

Ryan Star – Fortunate Son

Okay, who picked Creedence Clearwater Revival? Not sure about the song choice. Guess it was aiight. Ryan had better energy than last week, but there’s something I’m not getting from him. Don’t know what it is I’m missing, but it’s hard to see him fronting Tommy, Gilby, and Jason.

Tommy asked Ryan if he had duct tape on his shoes. “We want to see you rock!” Then Gilby asked “Are you even having any fun?” And just like that, Ryan gives this big toothpaste selling smile, and the heavens opened up.

Dude, I don’t know if you’ll get this gig, but you have a nice smile

Phil Ritchie – White Rabbit

As soon as it was announced that Phil was doing this song, Jason announced that he felt like playing. Now this may or may not have been planned already (Don’t look so shocked, Kiddies, this is showbiz after all!), but it was very cool to see Jason borrow the house band’s bass guitar so he could play with him.

Phil sounded great. He has the perfect voice and tone for this song, and his stage presence was miles ahead. Having Jason onstage was great, because you got to see Phil do his thing, while Jason is also running around onstage and interacting with him. Jason playfully bumped Phil a couple of times, and Phil kept going. Not bad at all!

Dave said that “we finally got to see your intensity”, and Tommy told him to “keep cranking it up”, as in his performance. I’d say that without that slipping, sliding stage thing, Phil Ritchie is starting to come out of his cocoon.

Dana – It’s My Life

Before the song started, she looked ready to pounce on anyone who’d say she wasn’t tough. I have to catch up on the backstage drama at Rockstar.msn.com, but I’m wondering if she’s getting a lot of flack for being the “Southern Belle” of the group.

I still find her stage presence needing more certitude ($10 word!). She can sing her butt off, that’s not a question. But “can she bring it?” is. She walked up to a guitarist at one point during the song, but tentatively, and from behind. Her assertiveness is missing, although the longer she stays, the more she’ll pick it up from others in the group. I felt like she was working really hard tonight. I’m not saying that that’s good or bad. I just felt that she was doing her best out there. Singer to singer, I won’t knock that. But what does Supernova say?

Tommy: “You are so damn hot, and you can sing, but I want to see you just rock it”. My translation – “I’ll take you to bed, but you ain’t fronting my band”. Gilby said, “I still don’t see it”. I don’t think Jason said anything. But Dana is young, and can still parlay the show into another opportunity, so time will tell.

Toby – Runaway Train

I’m not sure if it was the sound on the stage, or if it’s the Rockers, but the lead vocal mic on Toby sounded a bit muted at first. Toby is a great singer, and he also showcased his intensity tonight. But I thought he sounded a bit tired. Dave still wants to see more of what Toby can do, and Tommy wants “someone to scare me, who’d fall off the stage”.

Interesting. He was encore material last week. This week he’s not scary enough. He ain’t in the Bottom Three though.

Magni – Plush

Okay, what’s up with those sunglasses? Magni, of the Pale Bald Head, wore dark sunglasses for the entire song. And it was very interesting to watch someone sing without being able to see his eyes. I realized how much emotion and intensity are communicated through the eyes alone, because I really missed it when Magni hid behind his sunglasses.

It seemed like even the cameras refused to stay on his face too, showing longer shots of him on the stage. This sounds weird, but his performing in sunglasses was disturbing to me, and it was hard to focus on the song or his singing. This is probably my favorite Stone Temple Pilot song, and Magni’s voice was in top form, but I was just too distracted to take him seriously.

Tommy: “Magni-ficent!” Gilby added that Magni’s been killing it since his second week. I don’t know about that. My issue with Magni is that he’s not really self-aware. I don’t think that he understands how he’s coming across, but as he’s told us, he’s one of the top ten most recognizable people in Iceland. What I want to say to him is: Dude, you are NOT Bono from U2. Lose the sunglasses, and find a new look. Please. Thank you

Zayra – Everybody Hurts

Ty Taylor from last year’s Rock Star: INXS got this same song, when he was at a low moment. It was suggested that Zayra chose it this year because she was also feeling misunderstood. So does this make “Everybody Hurts” the Rock Star underdog song?

For the verses, she started out contained, sounding like a little girl almost. Better breath support under her notes would have made the lyrics pop out more. I feel like she didn’t get my attention until the end, but she was wearing a lovely floor length dress that was see through. Nice! She also had some Bjork flavored vocal stylings that I hadn’t caught before. Zayra is the versatile one!

Dave told her that he “thought that they should have sent you home instead last week You proved me wrong!” Is that a compliment? Gilby added that the song choice was risky, but “we stand corrected”. Tommy Lee just said, “Nice!” It was a mellow song, but after her performance no one flirted with Zayra. What that means is anyone’s guess.

Jenny – Drive

I still love the color of her voice (for you vocalist geeks out there, the word is timbre), but her stage presence needs to come up, in my opinion. She played acoustic guitar on this pop-rock type song, and she looked a little too cutesy for me. Not sure how long she’ll be hanging on the show.

Dave told Jenny that her “song choices are getting safer and safer. This song is a step in the wrong direction”. Gilby then added that the song was “more Lilith Fair than OzzFest”. I had to agree on that one.

Dilana – Zombie

First of all, I LOVED her corset dress. That must have been a time to put the thing on, but it looks great. Can I tell you – Dilana knows how to take a song and make it her own. She’s a powerhouse, what else can we say? Dave had jumped to his feet at one point during her performance. Dilana was her usual energetic self, and then still grabbed a tambourine to play.

Dilana connects with the audience so well. One of the high points of her performance for me was actually the end. She made a point of turning to the house band, and sending them love in a form of a kiss and bow in their direction. She just finished another mind-blowing performance, and she instinctively gave the band the well-deserved thank you for supporting that gorgeous performance.

Dave: “I just can’t believe that I saw this on TV, it was that good!” Tommy just said, “I wanna”, and threw his mic down on the table. Gilby said, “I’m not gonna tell you what you already know. Enjoy your moment.”

And it was a beautiful moment. I’m getting a little misty-eyed now just thinking about it. Do not let the tattoos and piercings fool you. Dilana is a classy dame through and through. I thought about how her childhood in South Africa was very difficult. You can tell that she’s had a hard life, but tonight I caught a glimpse of her happiness and humility in the moments after she sang. Tonight was a very special night for Dilana. She had an inner glow radiating, and it was simply lovely.

And the Bottom Three results as of the end of the show:
Jenny
Dana
Ryan

My list was this as well, but as we’ve learned, this could change tomorrow. Get some sleep Rockers, and I’ll see you tomorrow!