Confirming executive producer Mark Burnett's Monday comments, CBS has announced that this summer's second Rock Star edition will look for a lead singer for a new band comprised of former Motley Cre drummer (and NBC reality show star) Tommy Lee, former Metallica guitarist Jason Newsted, and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke.
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"Last year, doing Rock Star: INXS was the greatest summer job of my life," returning Rock Star co-host Dave Navarro stated. "This year, I'm on the couch with my friends Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted as they choose Supernova's lead singer."
CBS' announcement ends months of rumors and false reports that Rock Star 2 would be fronted by an existing lead singer-less band like Van Halen or Alice in Chains. Although it hadn't yet revealed the identity of the band for which applicants would be trying out for, CBS had begun conducting open cast calls for Rock Star 2 earlier this month.
While format of Rock Star's second season will be similar to its first, there will be some small changes. In addition to raising the number of contestants from fifteen to sixteen, each week of Rock Star 2 will also feature guest appearances by other established musicians. "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," explained Navarro.
Brooke Burke, Navarro's first season co-host, will also return for Rock Star's second season.
According to Burnett's Monday comments to Toronto's The London Free Press newspaper, Rock Star 2 will also have something else in common with its first season: some of the same contestants. Unlike other reality talent competitions like American Idol, some of Rock Star's first season finalists will be allowed to once again compete on the show's second season. While a list of returning contestants has not been released by CBS, Suzie McNeil, a Toronto singer who finished fourth on Rock Star's first season, will reportedly be among those returning for a chance to front Supernova.
Supernova's debut album, tentatively scheduled to be released in Fall 2006, will be co-written and produced by reigning Rolling Stone "Hot Producer Of The Year" Butch Walker, a songwriter/producer who has previous worked with Avril Lavigne, Pink, Bowling for Soup and Tommy Lee.
"Millions dream of becoming a rock star... our show actually makes that happen," gushed Burnett. "The winner of CBS's Rock Star 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 Cre, Guns N' Roses and Metallica. Fronting Supernova is the ultimate rock n' roll dream and it's about to come true."
Last summer's initial Rock Star edition ended with INXS' surviving members selecting Canadian singer J.D. Fortune to serve as the band's new frontman. Since it ended, INXS has taken to the studio and the road, releasing a hit single ("Pretty Vegas") and selling out every concert in their North American tour. "Switch," their new album, debuted in the Billboard Top 20 and is currently going gold and platinum in countries around the world.
