Subverting the Premise

Okay, after this week, there can be no question that Supernova is keeping Zayda around purely for entertainment value. There's no way in hell she should be fronting that band, ever. Phil, at least, fit the profile, even if he was a little dodgy with his vocals and his stage presence. While he probably wouldn't win, he at least had a legitimate shot at being what they were looking for. It was pretty revealing when they panned across the rest of the "rockers" after Phil got the boot. I don't think they've been that shocked by a decision since Matt got tossed in week one.

As big a fan as I am of Patrice, I agreed with Dave Navarro in his assessment of the Black Crowes tune, but then she absolutely hit it out of the park with "My Iron Lung." That the singers get to choose their own "safety" songs continues to be one of, if not the, most interesting part of the show. Zayda actually did well on that front this time, too, but I still want to hear her cover "Army of Me" from Björk.

The other really fascinating part of the show is the feedback from the band. Magni and Patrice both defended themselves well. Jill? Not so much. Toby seemed to lose some ground, while Phil, Patrice and even Dana picked up a bit. If we're going to go with a leaderboard, this is how I'd shake it out.

1. Lukas (-) Good job again of translating a somewhat more sedate song to an arrangement that played right to the band's expectations.
2. Dilana (-) Hasn't made any kind of missteps yet, although I still think she's a little too over the top.
3. Storm (^) I stick by the earlier claim that she would hog attention from the band members, but Tommy Lee might be the only one who would have a problem with that, and she's definitely a compelling performer. I get the feeling she's done that Dramarama tune before.
4. Magni (v) I totally agree that the less you do on stage with "Heroes," the better. That song stands on its own merits.
5. Patrice (^) You gotta love her fighting back against Navarro, and then laying down her Radiohead trump card.
6. Toby (v) Totally forgettable this week.
7. Ryan (^) Perfect song for his voice, which may help pull the stick out of his ass.
8. Dana (^) Performance was great, which outweighs equating "understanding rock" to "wearing a denim skirt." Still doesn't quite get it.
9. Jill (v) I want to give her points for teasing out weird rifts between Gilby and Dave on whether women grinding on stage is a good thing, but she's pretty much a two-trick pony: great body, huge voice.
10. Zayda (^) It's a dogfight for the bottom spot, but I'm still holding out for the Björk tune.
11. Josh (-) Continues to be totally wrong for this band.