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By AARON ALPER
Published January 28, 2005
Aaron Alper
Michelle Copello wasn't chosen as the new leader of INXS, but she's always got her gig as a biology teacher.
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Reality TV, which certainly has found no shortage of willing Tampa Bay residents, came to Central Florida last week as Mark Burnett's production company staged tryouts for a new show called Rock Star.
The premise is this: Would-be rock-n-rollers audition to be the new lead singer of the Australian rock band INXS during a world tour.
Those are tough shoes to fill. Michael Hutchence set hearts to throbbing on both sides of the aisle before his untimely death in 1997.
What would it be like at the auditions, trying to tailor your act to fit the image of a well-established rock 'n' roll band?
At least 60 people showed up last Saturday at The Club at Firestone in Orlando to give it a try. We sent tbt* correspondent Aaron Alper to hang out with Michelle Copello, a 29-year-old biology teacher from Largo High, who was following her dreams of stardom. Here's a report from the Reality Front.
The scene: The venue was taken over by a crowd of feathered hair, leather pants and big dreams. And despite the occasional misguided soul with a bad toupee or morbid impersonations of deceased frontman Hutchence, everyone seemed ready to rock.
The crowd shared a casual camaraderie, exchanging comments about "obvious losers," audition songs, favorite musicians and even the overblown local security that insisted on accompanying everyone to the bathroom, whether you were auditioning or not.
Our contestant: Tampa resident Copello, who was only one of six women to try out, said she felt like she had a shot. "(INXS) has said they wanted a total change. They're alluding to something different. They said it could be either male or female."
Copello has had rock 'n' roll dreams for a long time now. "I have actually been singing since the third grade. I used to sing show tunes, but my voice got deeper so I started singing rock." She says now her voice is more like Stevie Nicks than Julie Andrews, and that estrogen could be an edge. "In rock, you really don't have a lot of solid women rockers," says Copello. "I think the industry could go that way."
The competition: Of course, the boys were nothing to balk at. Local guitarist Kenny Kutler kept it diverse by trying out Brit-rocker songs by Oasis and Jet, and Michael McGoorty, a doppelganger to Hutchence, braved it by singing old INXS songs.
Did she make it?: Copello called earlier this week to say she didn't get a callback. Those that did will go on to more auditions and a decision in May.
But no matter the outcome Copello says she is going to keep on chasing the dream.
"This is something I'm serious about," she said. "... I will hopefully find a group of people that are willing to go all the way with it."
[Last modified January 27, 2005, 15:55:22]
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