I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a Rock Star Supernova...
Apart from the regular updates on the MBs, hit US TV show Rock Star - Supernova is a phenomenon that has so far eluded the Europeans among us.
But it seems it's worth a mention here if not only for the appreciation of David Bowie's music on the show. Knowing nothing about the programme, I decided to hand over to US BowieNetter juliedawn who has followed the progress of the show thus far.
Over to you Julie...
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I'm starting to wonder if" Rock Star -- Supernova" should've been called "Rock Star -- Bowie". The American television reality series, designed to find a lead singer for the new rock band "Supernova" (comprised of Gilby Clarke, Tommy Lee and Jason Newsted), has turned into a veritable David Bowie love-fest over the past month. Weekly the contestants fight over, then perform songs selected for them by the band - and each of the past four weeks has resulted in the rendition of a classic Bowie track. No other artist has been so prominently represented.
First up was Magni, with a rather well done performance of Heroes. Storm followed the next week with a decent enough version of Changes.
However, last weeks offering of All The Young Dudes by resident eccentric Zayra was quite possibly the most horrifying cover of a Bowie song ever conceived. Dressed in a gold lame catsuit, black top hat and Frankenstein-esque black platforms, she somehow managed to create an entirely new melody for the song - and then sang that off-key. During the chorus, she couldn't seem to decide if she was doing the Bowie or Mott The Hoople version. A line would be half-sung, then suddenly interjected with a squeaky "Hey Dude, where are you? I want to hear you! I want to feel you! Stand up!"
Unfortunately this combined with the 'new' melody had the effect of rendering a classic song almost unrecognisable, which was possibly for the best. Mind-boggling doesn't come close to describing this performance.
Luckily this week we were saved by Magni with his second Bowie effort, this time a very nice rendition of Starman. Okay, he did mess up the lyrics at one point, but we can forgive him for that!
Magni and Storm are still going strong in the competition, but Zayra -- who surprisingly managed to stay around after the Dudes debacle -- was finally voted off this week.
Most of this 'Bowie-ness' seems to be the influence of Gilby Clarke, who is known to be a big DB fan. (Apparently he covered Diamond Dogs on one of his solo albums -- wonder if we'll be getting that song in the coming weeks?)
(Blammo note: Gilby covered Diamond Dogs on his album Swag. He also did a version of Hang On To Yourself on The Hangover.) He's often been shown on camera singing along, and when the band recently took the contestants to Las Vegas Gilby made a point of excitedly announcing as they stood on the stage at The Joint "All the big stars have played here. Bowie played here. I saw Bowie here!".
But it appears Gilby's not the only one. This week (after being seen singing along to the Starman performance) Tommy Lee -- Mr. Heavy Metal himself - proclaimed "I love David Bowie!" I guess it just goes to show you never can tell...and proves once again just how influential -- and revered - David's music continues to be.
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Thanx a lot Julie...look forward to your review of tonight's episode.
You can view all of the aforementioned performances online at the official Rock Star - Supernova site, where you can purchase them too if that's your thing.
