Lead singer for new band Supernova to be chosen
from 16 hopefuls when the second series of ROCK STAR returns to FOX8
in July.
After months of speculation, Mark Burnett
Productions announced today that legendary musicians from some of
the biggest American rock bands have joined forces to form a new
band, Supernova, and will use FOX8’s hit reality series ROCK STAR as
the competition to determine the new lead singer.
Supernova will feature drummer Tommy Lee (Motley Crüe), Jason
Newsted (Metallica) and Gilby Clarke (Guns N' Roses). The second
series of ROCK STAR will premiere exclusively on FOX8 in July.
After the winning singer is selected on ROCK STAR, Supernova will
record an original album, to be co-written and produced by Butch
Walker (hit songwriter/producer for Avril Lavigne, Pink) that will
be released later this year before the band embarks on a world tour
starting in early 2007.
"I've toured with both Gilby and Jason. They're incredible musicians
and I've always wanted to play with them," said Tommy Lee. "Starting
a new band with old friends on worldwide television is going to be a
blast, and we're going to pull out all the stops to find the most
charismatic and musically talented lead singer to front Supernova. I
love breaking the rules."
Bassist Jason Newsted added, "This is a fantastic opportunity for me
to play with guys I've respected for a long time. It gives us a
chance to be innovators. This is a new thing. It's never been done
before. We're going to break new ground musically and on television.
The anticipation is building in me every day. This is a supergroup
in the truest sense."
Lead guitarist and co-writer Gilby Clarke proclaimed, "Rock n' Roll
is so alive and I'm so excited to be a part of ROCK STAR. This is
television history. Where else can you raid three historic bands to
form one great band?"
Butch Walker will join the project as co-writer and producer of the
new album. Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke will return as hosts, with
Burke returning to the stage for introductions and Navarro returning
to the judges' couch for input and evaluations.
"Last year, doing ROCK STAR: INXS was the greatest summer job of my
life," Navarro affirmed. "This year, I'm on the couch with my
friends Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newstead as they choose
Supernova's lead singer."
The second series of ROCK STAR will also feature some format twists
with a different music celebrity or rock legend each week. Said
Navarro, "Friends of mine, like Slash, Macy Gray, Moby and Rob
Zombie, will join us and throw in their two cents about who should
stay and who should go."
In the first series of ROCK STAR, rock sensation INXS found their
new lead singer in Canadian heartthrob J.D. Fortune. Since the show,
INXS has taken to the studio and the road, releasing their massive
hit single "Pretty Vegas" and selling out every concert in the first
leg of their world tour. Their new CD, "Switch," is currently going
gold and platinum in countries around the world.
"Millions dream of becoming a rock star…our show actually makes that
happen," said Mark Burnett, creator and executive producer of ROCK
STAR. "The winner of this series will not only play in huge stadiums
before sold out crowds, they will do it alongside legendary
musicians from three of America's biggest, all-time rock bands who
have sold a combined total of a quarter of a billion albums: Motley
Crüe, Guns N' Roses and Metallica. Fronting Supernova is the
ultimate rock ‘n' roll dream and it's about to come true."
Tommy Lee rose to stardom as a founding member of Motley Crüe. One
of the most successful rock bands in history, Motley Crüe has sold
over 40 million albums while also becoming the poster boys of rock
star decadence. Most recently, Lee released his third solo album,
Tommyland: the Ride, and announced a documentary project with
award-winning filmmaker Bruce Sinofsky. His candid 2004 memoir,
Tommyland, landed on The New York Times best-seller list.
Jason Newsted is a six-time Grammy winner and was a longtime member
of the legendary band Metallica, one of the most successful musical
acts of all time (100 million albums sold worldwide). After his
departure from Metallica, Newsted created the band Echobrain and, in
2003, he began touring with Ozzy Osbourne while also playing bass
for the iconic techno-thrash band, Voivod.
Gilby Clarke was the guitarist for the iconic rock band, Guns N'
Roses (90 million albums sold), travelling on their legendary and
infamous three-year "Use Your Illusion" world tour. He also worked
with Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Beck, MC5 and on the
Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert. He was a recipient of the MTV Video
Vanguard Award.
Butch Walker is best known as the songwriter, musician and producer
behind hit songs for Avril Lavigne, Pink, Bowling for Soup and for
Tommy Lee's recent solo album, Tommyland: The Ride. His song "My
Happy Ending" went to Number One for Avril Lavigne and was the key
track in her nine-time platinum album Under My Skin, leading to him
being named by Rolling Stone magazine as "Hot Producer of the Year"
in 2005. Pink's new album, I'm Not Dead, features two Butch Walker
compositions.
ROCK STAR is produced by Mark Burnett Productions. Mark Burnett,
David Goffin, Lisa Hennessy, Dave Navarro, Tommy Lee and Carl
Stubner are executive producers. Conrad Riggs and Eden Gaha are
co-executive producers.
Australian auditions for ROCK STAR will be held in Melbourne (March
28), Brisbane (March 30) and Sydney (April 5). Further audition
details can be found on
www.foxtel.com.au/rockstar
