IN the end, goth as much as rock won out in the finale of "Rock Star: Supernova," as Lukas Rossi -- the androgynous, spiky-haired Canadian wailer who favors charcoaled eyes, black nail polish and fingerless fishnet gloves -- beat all comers.
After 11 weeks of swagger-filled performances, Rossi landed the job fronting the newly constructed band Supernova, a collaboration among veteran rockers Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke. It was an intriguing move to bet on one of the show's more unconventional contestants and suggested that the bandmates might be willing to take Supernova in more experimental directions too.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday September 20, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 73 words Type of Material: Correction
'Rock Star: Supernova': An article in Thursday's Calendar Weekend on the finale of the CBS reality series "Rock Star: Supernova" said the group's concert tour begins Jan. 31 in Las Vegas. It begins Dec. 31. In addition, it said former contestant Ryan Star "returned Wednesday as a fan favorite singing a tune released on the show's website." Star was in the audience for Wednesday's finale but his vocal performance had been taped earlier.
Taping for the three-hour selection process started about 7:30 Wednesday morning at CBS Studios. Before it hit the network last night, the best bits had been pared to a one-hour show.
At the end of the day, it was a television singing competition following all the usual reality-show stratagems: good-looking contestants, contrived pauses and commercial breaks before each elimination, offstage conflicts edited for maximum TV drama. Still the taping managed to have some raw moments and genuine suspense, befitting the hard-rock genre.
It had come down to a battle among three contestants in addition to Rossi -- passionate Icelandic crooner Magni Asgeirsson; charismatic Aussie heartthrob Toby Rand; and the last woman standing, smoky-voiced powerhouse Dilana Robichaux. Each seemed to have a shot at what host Brooke Burke called "the gig of a lifetime."
The boldest choice would have been Robichaux, whose performances were some of the most intense and haunting ever seen on prime-time television. Ultimately, however, she came off as too emotional midway through the series when she was shown fighting with other contestants and subsequently having a meltdown. Hard to imagine Lee & Co. putting up with that for months on a tour bus.
Rand and Asgeirsson each gave strong performances throughout the season as well. But it was the often cocky Rossi who offered more nuanced, if imperfect, renditions of dark faves, including Radiohead's "Creep" and the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony." He was the contestant who really seemed to have the mojo to hold his own with the band, a quality that shined through to the viewing public.
Lee said that Rossi had, in fact, received the highest number of votes Tuesday night, which prompted the band to "listen to our fans." The new group has a built-in fan base, though as it moves forward, a new name seems imminent.
