For the final five, the reality that one of them will be the next
lead singer for INXS starts to sink in, and this
week they find new ways to let off steam. But it's not all fun
and games -- there's a clinic that puts the Rockers in the
public eye in a way they've never experienced, and INXS throws yet
another curve into the song-selection process.
The show begins with the Rockers at the Mansion sharing a
post-show meal. The shock of Ty's elimination hangs
over them. A subdued toast is made to the Rocker Suzie calls "a beautiful person" and
Marty describes as a "rock-and-roll
bad ass." But the person feeling most traumatized is Jordis. Wednesday was her first time
in the bottom three and feeling the chill of elimination has left
her shaken. "It should have been me," she tells the others. Most of
them look on sympathetically, but J.D. is having none of it.
"What you're feeling is totally of your own doing," he says,
advising her to use those feelings to "catapult" herself. Privately,
he says that the pressure might be getting to the youngest Rocker;
she's showing her age and lack of experience. If you're going to be
a member of INXS, he says, you have to be "ready for anything."
What that "anything" could be becomes apparent the next day as
the Rockers are taken to a photo studio where they are met by Dave Navarro, "Rock Star:INXS's"
stylist Ellie Mae and photographer Nathaniel
Welch. The stakes for this week's clinic are raised -- there
are real-world as well as theoretical applications. Dave tells the
Rockers that they are now the faces of the new national ad campaign
for Levi's: "A Style for Every Story," a step that Marty says
thrusts them "into the big time."
Ellie Mae tells the Rockers they're to make their individual
styles come through. Nathaniel advises them to think of the shoot as
a performance.
J.D. is up first, and before he gets before the camera, he asks
Nathaniel for some advice. He really didn't need to. Nathaniel says
J.D is comfortable with the camera, and he completely got into the
spirit of the moment, suggestively cocking his hip and giving the
lens a smoldering stare. MiG is also comfortable -- perhaps a
little too comfortable. In the close-ups, his bedroom eyes make him
too sexy, which Nathaniel suggests may not be appealing to the male
audience.
Jordis is their exact opposite. According to Nathaniel, she's the
"most difficult" Rocker with whom to work. "There are no words for
how much I hate having my picture taken," she says, and her
discomfort comes through in the photos. Marty has also never done a
professional photo shoot, but he takes to the camera like a
long-lost love, and Nathaniel is "very happy" with the results.
The last Rocker up for an individual shot is Suzie, who is
clearly at ease while dancing for the camera in the fan's breeze.
Back at the Mansion, it's J.D.'s birthday, and MiG and Marty
bring in a birthday cake -- two wings decorated like his tattooed
arms with the words "Human" and "Being." With the arrival of the
cake, J.D. asks the others, "Who's with me? Will you follow me to
the end of the earth?" He clearly is up to some mischief and starts
pelting handfuls of cake and smearing his fellow Rockers with the
icing. It escalates into a full-scale cake fight. "I don't think any
of that cake was eaten," a proud J.D. says. Covered in cake, the
group moves the party to the shower as they all squeeze into a
crowded stall. It's the most madness Marty has seen since he's been
on the show. They relieved their stress on one another, he says, and
if that's not rock and roll, he doesn't know what is.
The next day, it's time to get back to business. This week,
instead of the songs being posted on a bulletin board in the
ballroom, the Rockers discover a Dell computer, with the rockstar.msn.com Request Week Poll
results displayed on screen. "Rock Star:INXS" fans were given the
chance to vote on rockstar.msn.com for the songs they most wanted to
see the Rockers sing in an upcoming performance show and also
could write in to MSN Spaces to explain
their choices.
All the Rockers are excited to find out what songs the audience
has chosen for them to sing, and J.D. says it'll be really cool to
find out what the fans have to say. Marty begins to worry after
finding out the fans want him to sing Foo Fighters' "Everlong." The choruses are very
"screamy," he comments, and if he succumbs to temptation, he's
afraid he could be in trouble. Suzie can't want to find out what was
chosen for her and loves the fans' ultimate choice, Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," the song Deanna had trouble with in an earlier
performance show. J.D. is also pleased with the fan selection, Nirvana's "Come As You Are," but then he refuses
to look at the fan comments, even leaving the room after Suzie tries
reading a few of them to him.
There's one more surprise hiding on the computer -- a letter
from INXS letting the Rockers know that in addition to the requested
song, they'll each have the chance to sing an original song on the
upcoming Tuesday performance show. For Marty, this is an important
moment. INXS will now get a chance to see where each of the Rockers
come from musically and who they are. He sets himself to work on his
tune, "Trees," sitting down with his guitar and getting the song
ready. Jordis isn't sure her own song, "Try Not," is up to snuff and
fears it may be her downfall.
It's a fear that's magnified when she goes to rehearsal. Paul
says her song is "raw" -- the biggest problem being that it "just
sits there." The process isn't helped by her attitude
while working with the House Band. She has no
idea what she wants the band to do. As they rework the riff, finding
a new groove, Jordis sits back, at a loss about how to direct them.
When Nate asks what she thinks, she just shrugs and gives him a
blank stare, commenting later that the band turned the tune "a bit
poppy."
Will this song be Jordis' Waterloo? Can Marty tone down his
screaming, even on a song that calls for it? And how will the other
Rockers' original songs hold up? You'll find out the answers on
CBS at 10PM Tuesday. Then see who is sent home on
Wednesday's one-hour elimination show at 9PM (all times
ET/PT).