For all intents and purposes, the death of Australian rock band INXS' lead singer, Michael Hutchence, in 1997 ended the band's career. Despite being a phenomenal live band with influences that combined funk, new wave, and melodic rock, Hutchence was always the focal point of the band, and without his rock star charisma and, more importantly, his warm, soulful vocals, there really wasn't much point for the band to continue. They did make attempts, though, with both Terence Trent d'Arby and Jon Stephens fronting the band in the late '90s and early 2000s, respectively. But nothing worked until the band hooked up with reality TV impresario Mark Burnett for the extended audition show Rockstar: INXS, which found unknown vocalists from around the world competing to become the new lead singer of INXS. Forgetting for a second that Hutchence was one of the most naturally gifted and immediately recognizable singers of his generation and that replacement singers rarely work for established bands, it seemed unlikely that INXS would have any luck finding a suitable replacement among the motley group of men and women who showed up oversinging and pandering to the studio crowd on the first episode. However, if host Dave Navarro's segment on teaching the contestants how to dress like outrageous rock stars was any indication, it became clear early on that all the band was looking for was a relatively good-looking, relatively tuneful young man who could evince some cocksure rock smarminess in tight leather pants and karaoke his way through "New Sensation": enter J.D. Fortune. A former Elvis impersonator from Canada, Fortune introduced himself to INXS by bellowing through "American Woman," during which he not only took the opportunity to grab his nether regions, but also more disturbingly a woman's neck in the audience. INXS chalked the creepy performance up to opening-night jitters and Fortune rallied on, ultimately even beating out the odds-on favorite Aussie Mig Ayesa. ... Read More...

The title notwithstanding, this debut from the former Faithless singer is pretty angelic-sounding stuff. You're bound to think of Sin�ad O'Connor, but the comparison is as misleading as it is inevitable. Granted, Dido's ethereal vocals here frequently recall O'Connor; but Dido's...