Rock Star: INXS
Fifteen contestants vied to become INXS's new lead singer.
The reality show Rock Star: INXS marked its first season by having fifteen singers battle to be the new lead vocalist for the Australian band INXS. INXS had been hugely popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, but after lead singer Michael Hutchence died in 1997, the band mostly stayed inactive until this competition. J. D. Fortune was named the winner on September 20, 2005, and became INXS's new frontman.
Quick Facts
- First aired
- 11 July 2005
- Last aired
- 20 September 2005
- Network
- CBS
- VH1
- in-house episodes from mid-August to finale
- Episodes
- 32
Facts from the source article.
Background
Contestants lived in the Paramour Mansion and competed in a singing contest featuring well-known rock songs. Each week, viewers voted for their favorite contestant; the three with the fewest votes performed an INXS song the following night, and the band decided who was eliminated, with lead guitarist Tim Farriss telling the departing contestant, "You're just not right for our band, INXS." The show originally aired three nights a week on CBS: a half-hour behind-the-scenes episode on Monday, a one-hour performance episode on Tuesday, and a half-hour elimination episode on Wednesday. Due to low ratings in the United States, CBS announced on August 3, 2005, that the behind-the-scenes episode would move to Sunday nights on VH1 effective August 7, 2005. As ratings improved, the Wednesday results show was expanded to one hour for the rest of the run. The winner was announced on Tuesday, September 20, 2005. Runner-up Marty Casey and his band Lovehammers were invited to open for INXS on their 2006 tour. The show was directed by Michael A. Simon and executive produced by Survivor's Mark Burnett, with other executive producers including David Goffin, Lisa Hennessy, and INXS managers David Edwards and Michael Murchison. The house band backing the contestants consisted of five musicians: Paul Mirkovich, Jim McGorman, Nate Morton, Sasha Krivtsov, and Rafael Moreira.
Top 15 finalists
Each week except the first and final, the three finalists with the lowest audience votes performed an INXS song of the band's choice, noted as a "Bottom 3 Performance." In the first and last episodes, after everyone performed one non-INXS song, the band chose one contestant to eliminate from the entire group without voting for a bottom three. In the seventh week, two contestants (Mig and Deanna) performed original songs. For the ninth week, each contestant performed an original song and a non-INXS song; in the elimination episode, all remaining contestants plus Dave Navarro performed as an ensemble with INXS on their new track "Us." For the tenth week, INXS chose two songs for each remaining contestant. The ages given are those during the recording of the show. J. D. Fortune, 32, born September 1, 1973, in Mississauga, Ontario, but raised in Salt Springs, Nova Scotia, was the winner, selected on September 20, 2005; he had formerly lived in his car. His performances included "American Woman," "California Dreamin'" (encore), "Hand in My Pocket," "We Are the Champions," "The Letter," "Crazy," "As Tears Go By," "Cold as Ice," "Suspicious Minds," "Come as You Are," "Pretty Vegas" (encore), "Money," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "What You Need," and "Easy Easy." Marty Casey, 32, from Chicago, Illinois, was eliminated last on September 20, 2005; he worked as a real estate appraiser. His performances included "You Really Got Me," "Take Me Out," "What I Like About You," and "Lithium" (encore).
A Night at the Mayan Theatre
The show produced a soundtrack titled A Night at the Mayan Theatre, containing each contestant's performance from the premiere episode, plus two bonus tracks of Jordis Unga performing "The Man Who Sold the World" and Mig Ayesa performing "Baby, I Love Your Way." The track listing includes J. D. Fortune's "American Woman," Marty Casey's "You Really Got Me," Mig Ayesa's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Baby, I Love Your Way," Suzie McNeil's "Remedy," Jordis Unga's "Baba O'Riley" and "The Man Who Sold the World," Ty Taylor's "Cult of Personality," Deanna Johnston's "Piece of My Heart," Jessica Robinson's "Celebrity Skin," Brandon Calhoon's "Rock and Roll All Nite," Tara Slone's "Middle of the Road," Heather Luttrell's "Burning Down the House," Daphna Dove's "One Way or Another," Neal Carlson's "Brown Sugar," Wil Seabrook's "Heroes," and Dana Robbins' "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."
Rock Star: INXS The DVD
A DVD titled Rock Star: INXS The DVD was released on November 29, 2005, containing selected performances by the final six contestants (J. D. Fortune, Marty Casey, Mig Ayesa, Suzie McNeil, Jordis Unga, and Ty Taylor), the post-finale mini-concert by INXS and J. D., short behind-the-scenes footage, and extras including casting interviews and a photo slideshow. The DVD was RIAA Certified Gold in 2005. The performances on the DVD, taken from episodes throughout the series, include J. D. Fortune's "California Dreamin'" and "The Letter" (both with unaired intros), Jordis Unga's "Heart-Shaped Box" and "The Man Who Sold the World" (both with unaired intros), Suzie McNeil's "Losing My Religion" and "Bring It On Home to Me," Marty Casey's "Mr. Brightside," "...Baby One More Time," "Creep" (with a different intro than broadcast), and "Wish You Were Here" (with unaired intro), Ty Taylor's "Everybody Hurts" (with unaired intro) and "No Woman, No Cry" (with unaired intro), Mig Ayesa's "Live and Let Die" and "Kiss from a Rose" (with a different intro than broadcast), and Suzie McNeil's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with unaired intro). Also included are J. D. Fortune's "Money" and Jordis Unga's "Imagine" (with unaired intro).
More in CBS Reality Television Shows
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced