Who do you think will win...

[Pono]

If INXS wants to play venues bigger than county fairs, they would be wise to pick JD. Without doubt he is the best possible choice of all the contestants.

First up, no way no how that a woman would be picked. That may anger some, but this is not an equal-opportunity profession, it is entertainment. INXS songs are written from a sultry male perspective and the music is arranged accordingly. A female voice can perform them adequately, but a high-pitched female vocal is so far removed from the music INXS has created, it just doesn't work.

Second, Mig is a freakin joke. He is proof that at least one of the Village People experimented with heterosexuality. His vocals are weak, yet not as weak as Marty. He lacks projection in his upper and lower register. His style is so effeminate I see it turning off both male and female fans of INXS. Pretty boy rockers had their chance in the 80's. It was a miserable failure. Australian viewer/voters are so intent on an Australian replacment it has clouded their objectiveness.

Marty is an interesting singer who has the illusion of intensity, but it only comes from the place inside of him that wants to win the show and become famous. It lacks a genuine quality. It doesn't come from a life of passionate experiences, nor is it the reflection of a person with an intense charisma. Couple that with his weak vocal control and you have two strikes against him. His attitude that he will "escort" INXS into the new millennium seals his fate for first-place loser. He is a fraud.

JD clearly is the best choice for a multitude of reasons. Like it or not, he has a raw sexuality that appeals to a large percentage of women, and indirectly, men. People can nit-pick about his nose or mouth, but Freddy Mercury had similar "flaws". If anything JD's semi non-conformist image is very appropriate for INXS. JD's vocal tone has a crispness and clarity that is unmatched by any of the others. He has a masterful control of his vocal tool. He doesn't pop his "p"s, he doesn't draw breath into the mic. His musical skills beyond singing are superior as well. His writing and arranging abilities are HUGE advantages that have a signature aspect to them. You can hear JD's voice and know without doubt that it is JD. Something that cant be said for the others. That is an extremely critical component for any musical performer. I am stunned by suggestions that Mig is "easier to get along with" than JD, therefore INXS should choose him. Great logic if your looking for a soul mate, not so good if your looking for a person with the proper vocal and performance talent needed to sell CD's. Some feel JD has an attitude problem. What I have seen is defensive reaction from the contestants who are intimidated by him, and redirect their fears as being "his bad attitude". A perfect example was Susie saying JD's criticism - of her criticizing him on the show - hurt HER feelings.

Finally, the non-verbals of the band very strongly point to JD as their personal favorite. The one-on-one interview with the band very much revealed them to be mentally rehearsing arguments as to why JD should be the singer, as opposed to their post-interview discussions with the other three which revolved around what each of them lacked.
If I was a betting man with $100, I would put $90 on JD, and keep the other ten for myself.

[dvm]

If INXS wants to play venues bigger than county fairs, they would be wise to pick JD. Without doubt he is the best possible choice of all the contestants.

First up, no way no how that a woman would be picked. That may anger some, but this is not an equal-opportunity profession, it is entertainment. INXS songs are written from a sultry male perspective and the music is arranged accordingly. A female voice can perform them adequately, but a high-pitched female vocal is so far removed from the music INXS has created, it just doesn't work.

Second, Mig is a freakin joke. He is proof that at least one of the Village People experimented with heterosexuality. His vocals are weak, yet not as weak as Marty. He lacks projection in his upper and lower register. His style is so effeminate I see it turning off both male and female fans of INXS. Pretty boy rockers had their chance in the 80's. It was a miserable failure. Australian viewer/voters are so intent on an Australian replacment it has clouded their objectiveness.

Marty is an interesting singer who has the illusion of intensity, but it only comes from the place inside of him that wants to win the show and become famous. It lacks a genuine quality. It doesn't come from a life of passionate experiences, nor is it the reflection of a person with an intense charisma. Couple that with his weak vocal control and you have two strikes against him. His attitude that he will "escort" INXS into the new millennium seals his fate for first-place loser. He is a fraud.

JD clearly is the best choice for a multitude of reasons. Like it or not, he has a raw sexuality that appeals to a large percentage of women, and indirectly, men. People can nit-pick about his nose or mouth, but Freddy Mercury had similar "flaws". If anything JD's semi non-conformist image is very appropriate for INXS. JD's vocal tone has a crispness and clarity that is unmatched by any of the others. He has a masterful control of his vocal tool. He doesn't pop his "p"s, he doesn't draw breath into the mic. His musical skills beyond singing are superior as well. His writing and arranging abilities are HUGE advantages that have a signature aspect to them. You can hear JD's voice and know without doubt that it is JD. Something that cant be said for the others. That is an extremely critical component for any musical performer. I am stunned by suggestions that Mig is "easier to get along with" than JD, therefore INXS should choose him. Great logic if your looking for a soul mate, not so good if your looking for a person with the proper vocal and performance talent needed to sell CD's. Some feel JD has an attitude problem. What I have seen is defensive reaction from the contestants who are intimidated by him, and redirect their fears as being "his bad attitude". A perfect example was Susie saying JD's criticism - of her criticizing him on the show - hurt HER feelings.

Finally, the non-verbals of the band very strongly point to JD as their personal favorite. The one-on-one interview with the band very much revealed them to be mentally rehearsing arguments as to why JD should be the singer, as opposed to their post-interview discussions with the other three which revolved around what each of them lacked.
If I was a betting man with $100, I would put $90 on JD, and keep the other ten for myself.

Wow, Pono! Very eloquently put.

[Lois Lane]

Second, Mig is a freakin joke. He is proof that at least one of the Village People experimented with heterosexuality. His vocals are weak, yet not as weak as Marty. He lacks projection in his upper and lower register. His style is so effeminate I see it turning off both male and female fans of INXS. Pretty boy rockers had their chance in the 80's. It was a miserable failure. Australian viewer/voters are so intent on an Australian replacment it has clouded their objectiveness.

Pono, what you've said here is nothing that hasn't been said before by folks who don't think MiG is the right man for the job. But that he's the product of a gay man's dalliance with heterosexuality? Sorry, but that sounds like something a latent homosexual would say to cover up their own tendencies.

Do I think you're gay? No. Do I think MiG's gay? No. Does it matter if he (or you) are? No.

Also, to say that Australians are voting for MiG because he's Australian is pretty myopic and ethnocentric. There are plenty of Americans who are voting for him. Should I have voted for Marty instead, because he's American?

Are you Canadian? Is that why you're a JD supporter? If you are Canadian, does that take away from the fact that JD is moderately talented and you're only voting for him because he's a countryman?

[JLuvs]

Pono, what you've said here is nothing that hasn't been said before by folks who don't think MiG is the right man for the job. But that he's the product of a gay man's dalliance with heterosexuality? Sorry, but that sounds like something a latent homosexual would say to cover up their own tendencies.

Do I think you're gay? No. Do I think MiG's gay? No. Does it matter if he (or you) are? No.

Also, to say that Australians are voting for MiG because he's Australian is pretty myopic and ethnocentric. There are plenty of Americans who are voting for him. Should I have voted for Marty instead, because he's American?

Are you Canadian? Is that why you're a JD supporter? If you are Canadian, does that take away from the fact that JD is moderately talented and you're only voting for him because he's a countryman?

Thank you for putting a response in a much kinder and articulate way than I could have.

[snoopy]

Thank you for putting a response in a much kinder and articulate way than I could have.

and and and and I Think that the true talent will prevail. (JD has ego issues)

[Lois Lane]

Thank you for putting a response in a much kinder and articulate way than I could have.

You're welcome.

[Pono]

No I'm not gay. Does it matter if the lead singer of INXS is gay? Many a marketing expert would say yes. Again, this is not about fairness or equal-opportunity, its about cold cash.

I am not Canadian, I am Hawaiian. I have no allegiance to any performers nationality, but I do believe that many Australians do. The early results have had Mig in the bottom three, only to have a huge number swing his late in the voting window lift him out of the bottom three. I don't think I need a Cray computer to analyze that. His image IS something that I can be critical of and I find its feminine-factor to be high, and incongruous with the style of INXS.

I thought I clearly detailed why I believe JD is the better selection for the interests of INXS. His talent, charisma, and marketability factors are all superior to the others.

[JLuvs]

No I'm not gay. Does it matter if the lead singer of INXS is gay? Many a marketing expert would say yes. Again, this is not about fairness or equal-opportunity, its about cold cash.

I am not Canadian, I am Hawaiian. I have no allegiance to any performers nationality, but I do believe that many Australians do. The early results have had Mig in the bottom three, only to have a huge number swing his late in the voting window lift him out of the bottom three. I don't think I need a Cray computer to analyze that. His image IS something that I can be critical of and I find its feminine-factor to be high, and incongruous with the style of INXS.

I thought I clearly detailed why I believe JD is the better selection for the interests of INXS. His talent, charisma, and marketability factors are all superior to the others.

Maybe you should consider when people who are MiG fans, that are not from Australia like me, see MiG in bottom three we vote for 4 hours to get him out of the bottom three. I know fans of MiG from the US, the UK, the Phillipines, Australia and other places that do that. MiG fans that vote a lot don't have to come from Australia.

[Lois Lane]

No I'm not gay. Does it matter if the lead singer of INXS is gay? Many a marketing expert would say yes. Again, this is not about fairness or equal-opportunity, its about cold cash.

I am not Canadian, I am Hawaiian. I have no allegiance to any performers nationality, but I do believe that many Australians do. The early results have had Mig in the bottom three, only to have a huge number swing his late in the voting window lift him out of the bottom three. I don't think I need a Cray computer to analyze that. His image IS something that I can be critical of and I find its feminine-factor to be high, and incongruous with the style of INXS.

I thought I clearly detailed why I believe JD is the better selection for the interests of INXS. His talent, charisma, and marketability factors are all superior to the others.

You did indeed list your points about why you believed JD was the likely candidate to win this election, I mean competition, and that was well thought out and presented. I have no argument with you there (except that you're wrong. Joke.).

My point, though, was that I don't think Australians are any more likely to vote for the Australian competitor than a Canadian is to vote for a Canadian performer (or an American is to vote for an American performer).

If you look at all the times they had those early ballot results, MiG was in the bottom 3 once. (Maybe twice? JLuvs can probably help me out with the figures). The show is pretaped (notice how Brookie doesn't SAY who the Bottom 3 are--just tells you to look at the screen). I never voted while the show was on. I didn't feel like moving away from the TV to the computer to do so until AFTER the show ended. I'm guessing a lot of people were the way.

I don't care if you're critical about MiG, but the way you started off your thread was just plain ugly. And why would the marketing people have any problems with MiG? He's not gay. He's married to a lovely dancer named Simone (yes, a real live woman). Now JD on the other hand...eye makeup...cries a lot. Ohmigod--what if he's gay? See what I mean? It's ridiculous...(and No, I don't think JD's gay.)

I don't find MiG to be feminine. Pretty, yes. (But some people here find him to be grossly ugly.) But you mentioned the word effiminate in your original post. Rock stars are preening peacocks in many ways. Part of that is putting on makeup like JD and Marty. Are they feminine for doing so? Mick Jagger. David Bowie. And yes, Michael Hutchence, too. And come to think of it, Dave Navarro isn't exactly shy about globbing on the mascara. I'm guessing all of them have had no trouble getting women to go back to their hotels with them.

On a different note, I find it interesting that you identify yourself as Hawaiian rather than American. (I'm not being a smart ass here. I truly find it interesting.)

I haven't read many of your posts before. I hope we'll be debating more in the future.

[Lois Lane]

I am not Canadian, I am Hawaiian.

BTW, your avatar scares me. What is it? (No, I really do want to know.) It looks interesting...but scary. Probably like how the mustard pants on my avatar scares Sweetpea...