Rock Star: Supernova, August 15 - Pretty Vegas

They were kind of asking for that title, weren’t they?

It’s time for something interactive: So, if the original band Supernova gets their way and this Supernova can’t use their name, what should they call themselves? (Please keep it PG rated; we’re a family site!) I’ll post the list of suggestions (as well as my own) in tomorrow’s recap.

Brooke welcomes us to a special stripped-down acoustic hour of the show. Ooh, a string quartet! I love strings. Hi, rockers. Hi, Supernova (shhh!). Hi, Dave. He’s taking “stripped-down” literally and is taking off his clothes. I have no complaints. Tommy does the same. Brooke plugs Panic Channel’s latest album.

This week’s mansion footage shows the singers heading off to Vegas, as per Gilby’s announcement last week. They travel in luxury on a private jet. There’s drinking, of course. Toby says this is his first time in a private jet and his first time going to Vegas. This is stuff he’s only dreamed about that’s now coming true. Everyone goes to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Magni tells us they went to the Joint, where the winner will perform with Supernova. Ryan says it’s intimate but also feels like an arena. Storm says she imagined it full of people and that solidified it for her. The singers get to stay in the penthouse suite (with a bowling alley!) facing the strip. Tommy tells them to enjoy the life of a rock star and “put it in fourth gear and pop a wheelie.” Everyone parties. Ryan says it’s the kind of party you don’t want to leave. Toby tells Jason he’s smashed.

The next day, everyone sleeps until late afternoon. Toby tells Lukas that he looks the way he feels. The singers get a note from Supernova telling them that this week will be all stripped. Gilby will be performing again, this time on “Solsbury Hill.” Dilana wants the song, as does Toby. He wants to show that he has a realistic chance. Dilana tells him he can have the song if he strips and runs around naked. Toby does. It’s glorious, even pixilated. Thank you, Dilana! Toby interviews that he got the song, and that’s all he cares about.

There’s a twist to this week’s song selection process: there are only seven songs. The eighth singer gets to perform something original. Zayra immediately announces that she wants the original song. No one responds. Maybe they just want to let her make a fool of herself. Then Ryan says that he wants it, too. Zayra is surprised it’s just the two of them. (I’ve heard that this was edited to make it look that way, but in actuality, there were a couple of other singers who wanted the original song.) Ryan notes that he was in the bottom three last week, so he has to prove himself. Zayra notes appropriately that she’s always at the bottom. She interviews that she has to do this, and she’ll get it whether Ryan gives it to her or not. She saw a tiny piece of doubt in him that made her wait him out. Indeed, Ryan gives in. Zayra interviews that this is risky and she might be crazy (“might?” asks everyone in the country), but she’s also brave and is going for it.

Dave says that the censors got to him and Tommy, so they had to get dressed again. Tommy whines that Toby got to run around naked. Dave says that once again, he’s stunned that no one fought for the original song. If he’d been flown to Vegas and got to saw the life he might get to leave, he would do anything possible to prove he was right for the band. Jason notes that a lot of the singers made it to the finals based on their original music, so he doesn’t understand why they’re not fighting for this. He’s underwhelmed. Gilby thinks the singers believe they’ll last long enough to get another chance to do the original. They should see this as so important that they should fight for it every week. (So I guess this will be a regular thing now.) Gilby continues that they shouldn’t take no for answer. He adds that he likes that Toby ran around naked for him. Oh, I thought that was just for me.

Zayra has pulled a Scarlett O’Hara, turning her curtains into a skirt. She ran out of material for a shirt, though, so she’s just wearing a bra. She’s up first with her original tune (en español!), “Lluvia de Mar.” That means “Rain of the Sea.” Yeah, I don’t know. Zayra’s playing guitar, too. The song itself is beautiful; it’s a little dark and the strings fit perfectly with it. And, amazingly, Zayra actually sounds pretty good. Maybe she just needs to always sing songs that she’s comfortable with. My Spanish is pretty rusty, so I can’t give you any of the lyrics. I catch “like water from the sea” and something about “your presence,” but that’s about it. Okay, I still don’t like her, but that wasn’t bad at all. Plus, now we’ve gotten her out of the way and we can enjoy the rest of the evening!

Dave congratulates Zayra for having the guts to fight for this. Tommy loves Massive Attack, which her song reminded him of. He’s not sure they’re right for them, but he liked it. Gilby says the song was beautiful, but Zayra still needs to show them a rock song. Zayra promises to give them anything they want. Wow, she’s really mastered the art of the single entendre. (Please tell me someone gets that reference.) Jason asks how Zayra feels. She says this is “golden.” Brooke tells us that we can get the English lyrics of the song at the MSN site. (As of this writing they weren’t up yet, or at least I couldn’t find them. Lo siento!)

Magni, who’s wearing all white, is doing David Bowie’s “Starman.” With the way the stage is set up and the positions of the people in the crowd, I really want Bowie to come out and judge a walk-off. Magni sounds terrific. Storm is singing along. Darn it, Josh would have killed on this song. It’s very laid-back, but I guess we can’t expect anything different from “stripped-down” night. Magni even does great on the endless “la la la”s at the end.

Before the judges can give their props, Magni thanks Tommy for their last encounter, though he can’t remember much of it. Tommy agrees that it was awesome and says he can barely remember it either. He tells Magni he rocked the song and always sings well. Gilby tells him that as always, he was solid and sang great. He gets the audience to give it up for him. Gilby does note that Magni missed the golden opportunity to get the crowd to sing along on the la la las. Magni says that in the “old country,” the audience would sing. Magni : old country :: Jenn : motherland. Gilby notes that we’re Americans and have to be led. Jason wonders if this is the most dressed up Magni has ever been on stage. Magni says it’s not just on stage. Tommy wonders if Magni never had to wear a suit to court, since he’s had to.

Brooke claims that Patrice can rock. I beg to differ. Tonight she’s singing “Message in a Bottle” by the Police. The week Zayra sang “867-5309,” some of us RNO writers joked that they should have a stalker song night and someone should do “Every Breath You Take.” That would have been more entertaining than this. Patrice sounds pretty good, but she’s just… dull. I think Tommy’s asleep. Or maybe just still hung over. Gilby looks thoughtful. His long-lost twin is playing the piano. Wait, is that… Tom Petty? This isn’t how he should be celebrating the release of his latest CD.