December 25, 2024
Column

Couch potatoes wowed by best of ‘Rock Star: INXS’

The verdict is in, and I wish INXS had more than one lead singer so CBS could run another season of “Rock Star: INXS, The Series.”

The Man on the Couch (who was nice enough to give me the couch and take the chair) and I spent an evening this week previewing the show’s DVD that provides some of the season’s best performances, unseen footage and audition tapes.

Looking back at some of the show’s highlights, we noticed a couple of things. One, that we liked the show more than we thought, and two, that the talent level of the final contestants was far better than anything we’d seen or heard during any season of “American Idol.”

While the DVD has lots of extras, there’s not much worth watching that wasn’t already shown during the season. The only somewhat naughty part of the “Too Hot for TV” chapter was the exposure of J.D. Fortune’s backside.

The audition tapes weren’t great either. They didn’t include any singing, but rather had short, meaningless clips of the contestant’s interviews. It was, however, the first glimpse at Fortune’s gigantic ego.

The DVD version also includes the first INXS concert with J.D. Fortune, but The Man on the Couch and I decided that although the new lead has the rock star attitude, voice and stage presence, he’s likely to become “too big for his britches” before long.

Fortune aside, the burning question for us was: Where’s Jordis Unga?

A few minor mishaps made the band decide she wasn’t the one, but even INXS members admitted she’d be lighting up the stage somewhere else before long.

I had to agree when The Man on the Couch was wowed by her performance of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World.”

“She’s got an unbelievable voice,” he said.

A performer long before her appearance on the show, Jordis has the whole package. Stage presence, charisma, talent and heart.

Where is she now? Well, a Google search didn’t reveal what she’s up to, but it displayed numerous chat rooms and blogs filled with postings from people who instantly became her fans during her run to become the new lead singer for INXS.

I also found a downloadable version of her phenomenal performance of “The Man Who Sold the World,” which she sang in memory of her boyfriend who died a few weeks before she appeared on the show.

“Rock Star: INXS, The DVD” is scheduled to be released Dec. 6 to the general public, but can be pre-ordered at www.amazon.com.


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