Rock On Lukas
Saturday September 16, 2006
When it comes to the Rockstar Supernova reality show Lukas Rossi was my pick for the lead singer from early in the show. Yea Yea, I know it is always easier to pick a winner after the fact and I have not previously written on this subject, but I will explain why Rossi was the correct choice for the front man position.
It was clear to me from his first performance that I watched that Lukas was very talented. I don’t know if I caught the series from the beginning but I did manage to get all of the episodes after my first one. The first song that I remember Rossi doing was a cover of a Rolling Stones tune. Not only did he do a great job on the lyrics, he captured the essence of a Mick Jagger swagger in the performance. From that point forward I was a Lukas fan, a watching viewer that voted for Lukas in the only time that I voted following the program. The magic of the DVR dictates that the live voting was long since closed by the time I view the actual show recorded on the hard drive of my set top box.
To be sure there were a lot of talented performers on this season. The final four consisted of Magni, from Iceland, Toby from Australia, Dilana , a South African living in Houston, and Lukas the rocker from Toronto Canada. I feel that for the job at hand only Dilana had a serious shot at the lead singer position but despite talent and ability she ruined her chances when she dissed Rossi during the press conference portion of the competition. She dug a hole for herself that she would not be able to recover from despite some memorable musical performances. Magni, the Icelander gave solid performances each week but it was apparent that he was a devoted family man. This is certainly to his favor and by no means should be considered anything but exemplary. However rock and roll has a seedy side and the temptations of drugs and sex are always lurking in the background. For those that have suffered the heartbreak that can be associated with the lifestyle, it might be that he was passed over for this particular position. He certainly has talent and the exposure on national television will not hurt his career.
Toby Rand was a talented singer and did a good job getting the crowd motivated. The audience in Australia might get all excited when he waves the Aussie flag around but in this country anything but Old Glory is not what we want to see. The whole deal with the gimmicks was rather sophomoric. The bull horn and the "evs" were all a little too much.
So Lukas Rossi got the job and I think that attitude had a lot to do with it. Maybe everything. Lukas is the quint-essential rocker. An ex fry cook from Hooter's that was broke but humble. He wanted the gig but more importantly as the contest went on it was evident that Lukas wanted to be one of the guys in the band. He did not make puffed up statements that the band needed him. They had an opening and he needed the job. It is a good fit for both of them. He will front the band magnificently and I believe he will be a solid member of the band, not a lead singer suffering from lead singers disease. Rock on Lukas.