Back in 2005, a reality show featuring rockstars was aired. In 2005, INXS jumped on the reality show wagon and was the first band to be featured on the Rockstar series. Their show: Rockstar: INXS. Their mission: to find their next frontman. Fifteen singers joined hoping to become the next person to lead INXS.
More than three years later, where are they now? What’s happened to these 15 people? Was it a good move by INXS to go through the reality show route?
1. Currently on hiatus, INXS had a world tour after the show ended in 2005. Unfortunately, in 2007, they had to cancel the tour because of Garry De Beer’s medical conditions. Playing more than three shows in a room could permanently damage his playing hand. No word yet on their return.
2. JD Fortune went on to win the show and became the new INXS frontman. He toured the world as part of INXS from 2005 to 2007. Since INXS’s forced hiatus in 2007, JD Fortune has been working on his solo album, The Death Of A Motivational Speaker, set for release in 2008.
3. Despite losing out to JD Fortune, Marty Casey had no trouble building his career when INXS asked his band, The Lovehammers, to open for them on their US tour. Marty Casey is currently on a solo tour in New Zealand, for Canteen, a charity supporting young people diagnosed with cancer.
4. Mig Ayesa released his self-titled debut album, MiG, in 2007 in Australia and the Philippines. He also went on to star in the theater productions of We Will Rock You in Asia and New Zealand and Thriller Live in the UK.
5. Suzie McNeil was the last female singer eliminated in Rockstar: INXS. Since the reality show, she has moved to LA to concentrate on her music career. In 2006, she released her solo debut album to positive reviews. She went on to perform as one of the characters in the Canadian production of We Will Rock You. In July 2008, she announced her engagement to her We Will Rock You castmate, Scott Walters. Shortly after that, she released her second album.
Stay tuned for the other rockstars!
More info on MiG. Over the last couple of years, he has done several successful small tours in the Midwest, and is working on his second CD. MTV Asia picked up his video for “She Loved” in 08, and it became quite popular as a video and a single. For the second summer in a row, MiG will be one of four principles in the Queen Symphonic Spectacular in the UK. Also, he was picked to perform as “the Tenor” in PBS’s Handel’s Messiah Rocks, which was filmed in Boston with the Boston Pops last fall, for airing on PBS, most likely during the Easter Season, and will be also released as a DVD. You can find out more about MiG at his official website, http://www.mig-music.com or join other fans at the fan run forum on http://www.team-mig.com.