RS: INXS First Week Discussion Thread

[Cindy]

Here's the deal. I had never seen the first shows until after the whole thing was over with. I had not started watching until the performance show of week one, after the intro show and the first elimination. So I cannot tell you my honest first reactions on seeing it the first time without knowing the outcome. The first show is actually quite good. Love the background on INXS and the tension of the very first performance. Marty was so sincere and this first performance was just an explosion of energy. But let's touch on a few of the more notable aspects of the first week:

1) Suzie tells Marty his voice sounds damaged. Boy, this clip is one of the most notable reality clips from the series and immediately it makes one want to pull for Marty and be suspicious of Suzie's motives. However, once we get to know Suzie a bit more later, I actually don't think she meant it to undermine his confidence, I think she was just being kinda a ditz and saying what she thought, not realizing how it might sound to Marty and its potential effect on his confidence. I love his reaction to her, how he shows this WTF? through his eyes and facial expressions.

2) Jordis Unga was really kick ass with her performance. I now see how electric her initial song was and how it fired up the whole room. She was really really good.

3) Marty's nerves right before his performance. Boy, my heart really went out to him watching him in the wings during Jordis's performance, knowing he had to follow that and had to psyche himself up to go out there and give it his all. I can sincerely say that had I been watching the show from the start, he would have been my special favorite based on the Suzie comments and how much I sympathized with him watching him try to hold himself together to go out on that stage for the first time.

4) Marty's performance. Wow! After watching him seconds before fighting the nerves, he just exploded on the stage. No one would have ever guessed that this was the same guy moments before who was literally barely able to stand before he went out on that stage. Yeah, the performance was a bit over the top at times, and wildly maniac. Yes, it was a very high energy club rock performance. But boy, was I impressed with his presence and how he just lost himself in the song.

5) And of course the ones that weren't so hot. Dana caterwauling; Suzie screwing up her song so badly--coming in at the wrong time and forgetting a verse; Wil's lewd lasciviousness; MiG's well-intentioned but misplaced happy Teen Spirit; and then JD was uncomfortably unwatchable to me. He seriously skeeved me out with his first performance. He and Suzie were both really lucky that Dana was so bad...they dodged a big bullet at elimination.

So then there is that singalong with Daphne... the only time she really just lets loose and really sings---if she could have actually sung like that during performance time, she might have stuck around a whole lot longer.

Next comes the second performance and this is actually when I really started watching the series when it was on this past summer. I flipped the channel and landing on Marty's rockin' performance and he hooked me in. I love how that hat just flies right off his head when he starts rockin' on Take Me Out. Heather's was the only whole performance that I missed that night and during the commercial breaks I watched in online at the Rockstar site. I voted as the rules stated that night---I placed a vote for all but the three I thought did the worst, but I voted several times for Marty and Jordis, my two favorite performances of the night. I admit, I voted for Marty twice as many times as I vote for Jordis... but I did make sure I selected 3 that weren't getting votes and stuck to it. Those three to me were Wil, Daphna, and Jessica. The elimination show was nothing spectacular... and it came as no surprise to me when Wil was sent packing.

[julianah]

I started watching the show at the same time as you did, Cindy. I have a few clips from the first episode, but have never seen the whole thing. I read a review somewhere where Marty's nervousness was mentioned. I wish I could see it because I find it so hard to picture; he always seemed so poised and confident in his subsequent performances. Do you know if that scene is on the RSINXS DVD?

I have a clip of his first performance where I get a really brief glimpse of him rocking back and forth off-stage, getting ready to explode onto the stage. I couldn't tell if it was nervousness or if he was just psyched.

I have a clip of his reaction after the performance too and he is SO pumped. He just seems electrified and so pumped by the crowd's reaction to his performance.

The conversation with Suzie -- one of the things I love about that scene is the way Marty gets that brief flicker of annoyance on his face (he looks hurt too), then immediately regains his composure and is so sweet and gracious to her despite her comments. He continues to give her his full attention and listens intently to everything she has to say. I really don't think she meant any harm, but I might have felt differently had I seen that clip earlier. (I didn't see it until after the finale).

I always tend to root for the underdog, so I'm quite sure Marty would have been an instant favourite even before I saw any of the performances.

[radioclash]

My first impressions:

Well I didn't see the entire first episode because I was actually determined not to watch the show. I had thought it would just be rock-n-roll AI, but with contestants doing songs that I loved. So I was basically flipping around channels and working on my computer and either missing or not paying attention until about half-way through the 1st epsiode. Of course, I was totally hooked and watched every show I possibly could afterwards.

Show 1:

Flipping around I pretty much missed the cream of the crop - Marty, Jordis, etc. I remember seeing Ty, Tara, Suzie, JD, and a few others. Tara was one of my favorites at first. She never blew me away vocally, but there was something about her I liked. I despised Wil,
and at the time it felt like he was on the show for an eternity - lol - but obviously that's not the case.

I thought Daphna's song was very touching.

2nd impression - Jordis & Deanna are true talents! Marty was a ball of energy totally within his song and in the flow. It was all connected.

The whole Suzie/Marty conversation is just goofy to me. I mean it's like - hello, oh I know I we only just met, but you should know that I think you're losing your voice and that you need help from someone and not just anyone, but someone who had to go to school for 8 years - a doctor....- lol!
Suzie's Medical Advice - Zero Dollars
Marty's Look to Camera - Priceless!


Show 2:

"You Had Me At Take-Me-Out"

Poor Heather, she was from Atlanta and I really wanted to support her, but I honestly could not remember what she sounded like at all after she left, but she did fantastic so who knows why she wasn't memorable
to me.

Marty - Wow - totally blown away by his look, his performance, everything - Swoon!

I need to give a shout out to Deanna b/c she did The Clash, and it is not a great song to sing when you want to show off her vocal skills, but she rocked it!

Thought everyone was very strong, but towards the end of the show the talent really started to go downhill......

Elimination:

Did not think Suzie deserved to be there, and Tara was a personal favorite - Wil is eliminated which pleased me to no end.

Also wanted to mention - One of the things I really liked about RSINXS was the song selection process.

[DG]

Disclaimer: I did not become a Marty fan until halfway through the show. Though that should be a capital offense, keep in mind my memory of the first shows is colored by that fact.



I became hooked on RSINXS from Day 1. I tuned in out of curiosity and liked the fact that they got along so well. I don't still have anything saved until Jordis' encore of TMWSTW, so most of my comments are strictly from memory jogged by the little video clips and picture galleries.


The entrance.
I was waiting for someone to (in Rockstar fashion) say that this was the corniest entrance ever. No one did. They all said how cool it was to see Dave Navarro and INXS jamming.

There was somebody who stayed away from the gang during the Daphna thing. I wanted to be with that person. I tend to go for sarcasm as opposed to true emotion, so her song just was cheesy to me. It just seemed to either be inspired by alcohol or a need to promote herself. Again, sorry to those of you who found it touching. I'm sure it was and I misinterpreted it.

Other than that what I mainly remember is my first impression of each of the rockers.

Suzy-flighty with no social skills. I got that she was just trying to make conversation with Marty, but I thought she was ditsy as all get out. Then when she sang the wrong verse, I thought that this girl was going nowhere.

MiG-lovable energetic puppy dog with a decent voice.

JD-definitely the bad boy put in to stir up trouble. His first performance was almost offensive. I remember thinking..Wow..he really could be a rockstar. Then they made him into an unlikely underdog. I was rooting for him to get his act together. I had a feeling he would be the comeback kid of the season.

Ty-(sorry to all Ty fans) I didn't like Ty from the first performance and never really cared for him. He was the one that I thought was too over the top.

Wil-Cardboard cut out with eyes that move. I kind of thought of those paintings on Scooby Doo.

Dana-She couldn't sing and I never really formed an impression of her.

Brandon-I loved Brandon. I live in the rural mountains of Virginia and he reminded me so much of all the good guys I know. I loved his personality and his energy from day 1. (I didn't admire his singing voice so much, but I enjoyed his performance.)

Jordis-If a girl is going to win this then its going to be her. I was blown away. I thought that eventually it would come down to Jordis and JD (reality loves a comeback kid)

Anyway, I won't bore you with my impressions of anyone else. Oh wait, I guess I have to talk about Marty.

(Please Read the Disclaimer Again)

Marty-so unsure of himself off-stage and so strange on stage that once the rockers who can't sing are gone, he'll be next. I thought he wouldn't last until the top ten. I'm so glad I was wrong.

After watching their second performances I didn't change my thoughts too much.

[ndavis021410]

Cool, I have been waiting for this thread to start, I think it will be nice to hear everyone's impression of the show that stopped everyone's heart. I have since watched the video clips over, and have enjoyed them on a more personal level than while the show was going on.
The first show was full of energy and I remember thinking, these guys only had an hour before this to prepare and get ready. No wonder Marty was scared or nervous that he wouldn't pull energy from the crowd like he had thought. Plus with Sweet Suzie's remarks before hand on his naturally raspy voice, I'm thinking oh my. Come to find out that is just Suzie and she would of said that to any stranger with no malicous in her heart at all. I thought Marty's voice was right on, and from that exact moment we heard his voice, it was all over for anyone else. Of course, my son and daughter liked Jordis, and I guess I do to, but she ain't no Marty.

The second week's song selection accompanied by Marty's awesome outfit and stage presents was great. loved the hat. I remember asking where is this guy from, his accent and all. I then noticed when he sang "I know I won't be leaving here" he put the little L'I know L'I won't be leaving here" the little L sound before his I's, and here I was thinking he was from Australia...oh no...Chicago that's right! lol...So every time they would announce Marty Casey and then it would say Chicago behind his name, we would all be saying yeah right. But his confidence and authority on the stage proved far beyond a shadow of a doubt that this guy was going to make it big, and he has and he will. I remember voting for Brandon, Jordis, and Marty that week, just because I felt guilty for just voting for one person. Later all...Nancy...The one from Southern Illinois...

[chifan]

Hi,

I just have a question on the "timing" of the first week's performances.... I read somewhere that the first performances at the Mayan were actually taped in May. That leads me to believe that the rockers spent one or two nights at the mansion in May for that taping, including the Dana elimination and next performance song selection. So, they must have had at least 6 weeks or so knowing what song they had to do next before they came back to LA in July and moved into the mansion and started taping the actual reality episodes and performance shows.

But, I might be totally wrong about this. Can anyone confirm or deny? Thanks!

[skye]

Hey all,

I'm like many of you in that I didn't see the very first show when it aired. I started watching during show #2. PayPerView here in Canada was offering the episodes at 99cents per episode a few shows into the series. I think it was after show #4 that I purchased the first show from PPV (followed by all the rest! ;D).

I was extremely taken with Marty from the beginning.
I somehow missed all the references to Chicago and in the beginning I was convinced he was British. I remember telling my sister that 'I really really liked that British fellow in the hat'. Marty was striking in appearance and sound.

My overwhelming sense after watching that first show was that if I had seen it before the others my opinions might have been quite different from what they were. You can't really ever get past that first impression of someone.

The biggest surprises for me were J.D. and Suzie. Since I started watching J.D. with "California Dreamin" which I personally think rocked, I liked him from the beginning. I realise this might be an unpopular opinion on this board but I thought he had a fantastic stage persona, good voice and was unique. Now, had I seen the way he bahaved in the first show, my opinion would have probably been very different. I was extremely turned off by the way he grabbed that girl's hair in the audience and the whole waving his hand in front of his crotch episode! But since I had enjoyed his performances in the second-forth episodes I was willing to look past that.
My opinion of Suzie would also have been colored if I had of seen the little 'voice' talk with Marty before I had seen anything else from her. In episode 2, I thought she was talented and kind of sweet.
Mig is another that would have suffered had I seen the first show before the others. His rendition of "Teen Spirit" was awful. I really like that song and thought he killed it.

Marty of course looked as good to me, if not better from the first episode and on. The first episode showed alot of his personality in a few short scenes. If it had of been my first time seeing Marty I can only imagine that I would have been blown away by the transition of the quiet, kind man in the clips to the wild man in the performance. Sweet!

Jordis was excellent in both the first and second episodes as well. From the beginning I thought she was going to the final three.

Deanna also stood out to me in the first two shows. The tone of her voice was very appealing.

Of the others. I really didn't care for "baby Mick" or Wil from the very beginning. The others were just...there. I'm not sure which is worse.

This is getting much longer than I meant so I think I'll end before everyone falls asleep!
Sorry for all the jumping around. Next time I'll try to organize my thoughts better! ;D

[barbara123]

Hi, everyone. Looks like there have been lots of readers but not too many posts. I've had the same problem when I added this topic to the DBP site. We are now discussing Week 3. I was hoping for a big discussion here, and the posts so far have been very well thought out. I'm one of the many that have watched Rockstar:INXS from the beginning and really got hooked on the program.
I was taken with JD Fortune from the start. I thought he was cute, but when I saw his version of American Woman, I had second thoughts. But during the Week 1 performances, he shined. He was my favorite then and now. I liked his performance of California Dreamin', and liked his appearance. Crazy for a 50 year old gal. At the beginning of the performances, some were shinning bright, some not. Marty I thought was awesome, nice to look at, but his type of screaming, not for me. His time to shine will soon come. After JD, I really liked the performances by Mig and Ty. Mig was cute and he had a big crowd reaction. Ty's Heartbreaker had a good beat and he was funny with his mohawk hair style. Jordis also was good with her unusual voice. The others, just didn't do it for me. I was glad to see Wil go home.

My top three choices for Week 1 are:
1) JD -- California Dreamin'
2) Mig -- All Day And All Of The Night
3) Ty -- Heartbreaker

[chk]

hey barbara, just waiting til you guys reach the point in the show when I started watching and then I'll happily add my two cents! I think I am not alone in that -- you guys are being so thorough in discussing episodes, don't want to project what i woulda thought if I'd been watching!

[barbara123]

Hey, chk... I don't have a very good memory so I go into rockstar.msn.com and review the recaps and the videos week by week. You might give it a try, too. Otherwise, I'll be looking forward to your input later.

[greeneyes]

chk said:

hey barbara, just waiting til you guys reach the point in the show when I started watching and then I'll happily add my two cents! I think I am not alone in that -- you guys are being so thorough in discussing episodes, don't want to project what i woulda thought if I'd been watching!

Ditto, I'll check you guys later for sure!
Missed the first 2 weeks and I'm just sick about it.
But I was vacationing on the beaches of Florida at the time so it's not a total loss!

[Cindy]

Ok by Monday will start week 2 discussions. So everyone go re-watch the episodes. This includes the reality show where they have the "Style/Peacocking" clinic, Marty's performance of "What I like About You" and the elimination of Neal.

[TinyDancer]

admin said:

Here's the deal. I had never seen the first shows until after the whole thing was over with. I had not started watching until the performance show of week one, after the intro show and the first elimination. So I cannot tell you my honest first reactions on seeing it the first time without knowing the outcome. The first show is actually quite good. Love the background on INXS and the tension of the very first performance. Marty was so sincere and this first performance was just an explosion of energy. But let's touch on a few of the more notable aspects of the first week:

1) Suzie tells Marty his voice sounds damaged. Boy, this clip is one of the most notable reality clips from the series and immediately it makes one want to pull for Marty and be suspicious of Suzie's motives. However, once we get to know Suzie a bit more later, I actually don't think she meant it to undermine his confidence, I think she was just being kinda a ditz and saying what she thought, not realizing how it might sound to Marty and its potential effect on his confidence. I love his reaction to her, how he shows this WTF? through his eyes and facial expressions.

2) Jordis Unga was really kick ass with her performance. I now see how electric her initial song was and how it fired up the whole room. She was really really good.

3) Marty's nerves right before his performance. Boy, my heart really went out to him watching him in the wings during Jordis's performance, knowing he had to follow that and had to psyche himself up to go out there and give it his all. I can sincerely say that had I been watching the show from the start, he would have been my special favorite based on the Suzie comments and how much I sympathized with him watching him try to hold himself together to go out on that stage for the first time.

4) Marty's performance. Wow! After watching him seconds before fighting the nerves, he just exploded on the stage. No one would have ever guessed that this was the same guy moments before who was literally barely able to stand before he went out on that stage. Yeah, the performance was a bit over the top at times, and wildly maniac. Yes, it was a very high energy club rock performance. But boy, was I impressed with his presence and how he just lost himself in the song.

5) And of course the ones that weren't so hot. Dana caterwauling; Suzie screwing up her song so badly--coming in at the wrong time and forgetting a verse; Wil's lewd lasciviousness; MiG's well-intentioned but misplaced happy Teen Spirit; and then JD was uncomfortably unwatchable to me. He seriously skeeved me out with his first performance. He and Suzie were both really lucky that Dana was so bad...they dodged a big bullet at elimination.

So then there is that singalong with Daphne... the only time she really just lets loose and really sings---if she could have actually sung like that during performance time, she might have stuck around a whole lot longer.

Next comes the second performance and this is actually when I really started watching the series when it was on this past summer. I flipped the channel and landing on Marty's rockin' performance and he hooked me in. I love how that hat just flies right off his head when he starts rockin' on Take Me Out. Heather's was the only whole performance that I missed that night and during the commercial breaks I watched in online at the Rockstar site. I voted as the rules stated that night---I placed a vote for all but the three I thought did the worst, but I voted several times for Marty and Jordis, my two favorite performances of the night. I admit, I voted for Marty twice as many times as I vote for Jordis... but I did make sure I selected 3 that weren't getting votes and stuck to it. Those three to me were Wil, Daphna, and Jessica. The elimination show was nothing spectacular... and it came as no surprise to me when Wil was sent packing.

Wil is actually a very nice person and he talks tohis fans individually quite freely. In his element with the type of music he produces, he is excellent! He just was not cut out for what they had him doing. He is very humble and sweet and I talked to him just the other day. I have purchased one of his albums and it is very good. On RS:INXS he really got off track I think and forgot to be himself instead what he thought INXS wanted him to be. ANyway, just wanted to speak up for Wil, that he is really is a genuine, authentic man that is a very talented artist as well. In his own element doing his own music, he is so incredibly talented and you probably wouldn't even recognize him if you heard his amazing music!!!!!!!

[mrsbud]

I missed the first week of reviews/discussion because I was on vacation with Hubby and Bratzilla all week. I'm looking forward to putting in my two cents worth from now on.

[chanvre]

I've been out of town, too, Mrsbud. I'm so in for next week's review!!!

[mrsbud]

Hey, my concert buddy. There's a thread for you in the Tour Talk section.

[Cindy]

Oh man! I want to add something to the week one discussion. My favorite quote from this week's episodes (and possibly one of my favorite quotes EVER on RS:I) comes from Heather. Sitting around the pool during the late night party that started up again early the next day.... she describes the atmosphere as this:

"We all keep coming together as a group, and we have all these harmonies.....It is kinda like being at church....but with alcohol!"

LOL! That is just great!

[peekaboo]

I totally agree with you Cindy - actually put that video on last night - I love that comment.....it was just so cool....

I loved when they were sitting at the table and Suzie mentioned how bad she went with stuffing up her lyrics and Marty pipes up and says "you stuff up, but you just have to keep going" (or something like that). Just the way he says it cracks me up. He puts his whole body into it.

[everlong]

I watched the first performance show and the elimination show. I didn't intend to since I don't have time to watch much TV and I had been expecting great things from Canadian Idol 3 since Canadian Idol 2 was so wonderful. Turned out CI3 was a total bust and Rock Star was the best music contest show ever.

My first impressions were very vague. I couldn't figure out who was who and I think 15 people is a bit much to get a handle on - but it does make for extra weeks to see your favourites so now I'm happy there were so many. All I knew was that everyone was far and away better than 99% of the Idol contestants and no one was singing the boring stuff that most of the Idol contestants sing.

I do remember INXS telling Wil not to sing to the girls in the front row and then seeing him do just that. It was no surprise that he was cut.

[amp26]

I missed the original screening of week 1 but i got to catch the RS:INXS marathon on Fox 8. Having already seen the finale and all those episodes i already had my favourites and in the first episode i kept a heads up for that few-second shot of Mig in his dakks (thanx for the heads up MiGcentral) but was severely annoyed at how bad the song choice, smells like teen spirit was for him. But he made up for it with 'All day and all of the night'.

Brandon - never liked Brandon. I mean no offense but i really have never dug that whole country thing. I mean his name is Calhoun. Calhoun. I don't even like the sound of it. As my dad said - 'Brandon Calhoun? sounds like an American country boy! heheh Go F*ck a sheep Brandon!' (sorry if that offended Brandon fans but when he said that i honestly thought it was the funniest thing ever)

Suzie - If Marty does have nodes, they are Sexy. I love his low raspy sexy voice. But good work on 'Call me' - its good to see some fellow women with low pitched voices - I can't sing high to save my life.

Dana - Did something crawl down you throat and die? And thank you for that vivid re-enactment of an exorcism - I'll be sure not to get possesed any time soon.

Deanna - kinda Joplin vibe coming from you. Chicks with low voices rule. And im jealous that your blessed in the chest.

JD. American Woman. What. The. F*Ck. Ladies and Gentlemen, JD Fortune Pre-Rehab. I'm sorry but he sucked harder than a guns 'n' roses groupie.

Jordis - Beautiful Voice. Love the dreads. Love that your a big boned woman (like me) and are passionate in what you do. Love your tattoo(s).

Marty - First impression: you were hot and active and crazy and wild and i like that. First impression on my dad: he thought marty was a serial killer. Honestly guys no offense meant but i find someone saying marty casey has the intensity of a serial killer really really sexy. It makes him more dangerous and gives him and edge and am i right ladies, dangerous guys are freakin' hot?

Forgettable performers: Wil, Ty, daphna, heather (although i like her tattoos), jessica, neal, Tara and anyone else that performed because obviously they were so forgettable that i forgot their name.