STAR' Turn -- Rock Music In Excess

(From The USA Today -- By Gary Levin)

You'll be excused for thinking CBS' ROCK STAR: INXS bears more than a passing resemblance to AMERICAN IDOL. It's a singing contest that features performances on Tuesday, followed by viewer votes and a results show on Wednesday.

The prize is a recording contract, this time as lead singer for INXS, the late '80s AUSTRALIAN band dealt a blow by the suicide in 1997 of frontman MICHALE HUTCHENCE. It's even being taped in studios next to IDOL's longtime home at CBS' TELEVISION CITY in LOS ANGELES.

But ROCK STAR (which premiered Monday, 9 pm ET/PT), the latest from SURVIVOR producer MARK BURNETT, adds a third weekly episode, and has other key differences:

* With no televised cross-country auditions, the 15 performers who start the show are all talented, and some are established singers. The youngest is 22, but the average age is 30. "We made a conscious choice to not try to get sensational ratings out of bad performances," Burnett says. "There won't be any WILLIAM HUNGS on the show."

* Unlike the pop-flavored IDOL, the new show's title reveals its emphasis. ROCK STAR turns its back on WHITNEY and MARIAH for songs from classic rockers including THE ROLLING STONES, THE BEATLES, THE WHO, THE KINKS, THE DOORS, and DAVID BOWIE.

* In the vein of Burnett's SURVIVOR and THE APPRENTICE, the back stories of each contestant are front and center. "You will know more about these characters than I know about CARRIE UNDERWOOD," executive producer DAVID GOFFIN (formerly of IDOL) says of that show's latest queen.

* Though viewers vote for their favorites online (at rockstar.msn.com) and by text message, making the least-popular three eligible for elimination, the band chooses who gets exiled each week. Viewers in CANADA, AUSTRALIA, HONG KONG, MALAYSIA, and SINGAPORE also get the chance to vote -- the series is simulcast or airs just hours later in those countries.

* There's no panel of nasty or nice judges. Instead, band members compare notes and offer feedback. Guitarist DAVE NAVARRO is mentor and coach, and host BROOKE BURKE serves as eye candy and host for performance segments.

"I'm there to help bring out of them what they already have," Navarro says. "Obviously they can sing. What's more important is trying to find somebody who can lead an existing rock band" as opposed to "simply standing up on stage with a microphone and it being all about them."

With the winner as lead vocalist, INXS in December is due to release its first studio album since Hutchence's death, followed by a tour next spring. Burnett has set up his own label with SONY's EPIC RECORDS and has exclusive rights to sign any of the 15 contestants.

Monday's first episode introduced the cast to a HOLLYWOOD MANSION -- replete with the obligatory reality-show hot tub -- but they're whisked an hour later to a club for their first performances.

In subsequent weeks, Monday shows (9:30 ET/PT) will recount their week in the mansion, show "clinics" in which they hone stagecraft and vocals, and follow them as they claim dibs on songs from a weekly list provided by producers.

Tuesday shows (10 ET/PT) offer performances, and Wednesdays (9:30 ET/PT) feature eliminations after the three lowest vote-getters separately perform INXS songs for the band.

Obtaining permission to use top rock songs was key. Goffin calls it an arduous process that has limited IDOL's range. "We started very early working on it. We had to overcome the idea this was ROCK IDOL. We had to overcome the fear that we were making fun of the singers or the music."

One question mark -- whether INXS is too far past its prime to interest viewers.

But Burnett expects that the show will appeal to adults who will recognize songs, from BOWIE's HEROES to NIRVANA's HEART-SHAPED BOX. And he sees an untapped youth market for rock music. "Kids these days are wearing THE WHO, PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN T-shirts. We have the possibility of reaching old and young."