Here it is, the big enchilada (when was the last time you heard that one? It used to be common, but I havent heard it in years).
In the first week, I picked Storm, Dilana, and Magni as strong competitors; and here they are, minus Storm who's only been gone two weeks. Of course I also picked Dana, who went out in week six; and I thought Toby and Lukas would have been gone weeks ago; but hey, can't win them all.
So this time, they do a "bottom two" instead of a bottom three, and send one home; to have a final three; THEN they do the final performances.
Last night, everyone but Dilana was in the bottom two; which means Dilana got the most votes last night by far.
The Eliminator:
Magni Asgiersson - Jimi Hendrix, "Fire": Magni goes for the high energy "fire" from a few weeks back; and he jumps right in hard on it. His voice sounds a bit rough tonight, but he's really got the energy up. Good performance; though not particularly memorable. On thing that strikes me tonight, as well as it did last night, is how well Magni performs WITH the band, as opposed to either Lukas or Toby. Of course this could be a disadvantage, because it means he doesnt stand out as much from the band.
Toby Rand - Billy Idol "White Wedding" : Again, when the chips are down, Toby goes to the punk, and comes back with White wedding. As with the first time he performed it, I think he's putting too much sneer and swagger into it, but he IS doing a Billy Idol cover, and the crowd is TOTALLY into it, so who can complain. EXTREME energy, hot crowd interaction, but his vocals are a bit uneven.
The Decision:
And Gilby pops out with the exact argument I just wrote; he's TOO good with the band, and he doesnt stand out enough in front, and they are sending him home.
I totally disagree with the logic, I'm sure that Magni is the best choice here if they want to make a real band out of Supernova; but it just means that the competition for the final three is weaker.
At this point I think it's clear, they don't care about a long term band here, they are looking for one high popping album; in which case Lukas has already won this because he'll guarantee a shitty album, with massive sales to teen girls, and no-one else.
The Final Three:
Lukas Rossi - The Verve "Bittersweet Symphony" : Nasty. He's flat, and warbling all over the blace. No breath control, no tambre... This is the worst he's been since before the vocal coach. He's got no volume, no power, all frog grunt, and the band is drowning him out. Good energy, good crowd interaction, but his vocals are just awful. Seriously, there's no way he should be getting away with that at this point.
Dilana Robichaux - The Police, "Roxanne" and original "Supersoul" : She sounds great here, though her voice seems a bit harsh. Great crowd play, good emotion, good power. Excellent performance, even though again the vocals were a bit rough.
Toby Rand - The Killers "Somebody Told Me" : And again the high energy, punkish tune. Kind of a broken record here, but as always with Toby great energy, and great crowd interaction. This guy REALLY plays the crowd better than any of them except Storm. Man he really needs to stagedive here. So far it's the best performance of the three, and if he would jsut do something to seal the deal... but no. Speed punk, and great fun... I dunno, I like his the best, but I wish he'd sealed the deal.
Victory or Death:
Ok, now I'm not silly enough to think the singing ability of any of them matters right now.
If, as I suspect, they are solely going for a one hit demographic pop, they're goig to pick Lukas, and relase one album with "Head spin" as the first single, and grab the cash and go.
They could actually do something interesting with Dilana or Toby (or Magni or Storm for that matter); but I don't think they want to do that.
Of the three, Dilana is clearly the best singer, and Toby is the best "performer"; but clearly the ratings are with Lukas, the demographics are with Lukas (more than half of all new music is purchased by girls between the ages of 9 and 16), and I guess they are in it for the cash afterall... but god he does indeed suck.
They talk up Toby before sending him home; and really I think that's best for TOBY; who is going to get a good punk contract out of this.
Anybody serious about music is wanting Dilana to win; but I just think they're going to go with Lukas.
"As any good band would do, we listen to our fans. Obviously we agree with our public, Lukas, you're our boy; welcome."
Commercially the right decision, artistically the wrong decision; and the band knows it. They know that Dilana, Storm, and Magni were the best; but none of them NEEDED Supernova to be stars, and Lukas does.
So, for their first performance as a full group, they sing "Be Yourself and other cliches", which is a pretty cool tune. It's got a great hook; but Lukas sounds like a dying cat singing it. His voice is completely gone.
I was hoping for so much more; instead we're going to get a protools masterpiece, with arty emo videos...
And they sing us out, with "It's all love", which Magni rocked weeks ago; and including Magni on guitar.
God Jason, how could you ov all people sell out like that. I can understand Gilby and Tommy lee doing it, they have no cred and no reputation left to squander, but man, what were YOU thinking?
Oh well, there's an album I won't be buying. On the other hand, Magni, Storm, and Dilana are definitely on my "to buy" list.
