But is that more Rock & Roll than auto-asphyxiation?

Rachel (charming lass and Grande Dame of we Magnolia Sitters) has a new obsession. It's a television program called "Rock Star: INXS" wherein a group of rockers vie for the opportunity to fill the vacancy created by the death of the band's lead singer, Michael Hutchence. The picture is of JD, Rachel's least favorite contestant, slipping one by the censors. It's discussed in slightly more detail here.

I haven't watched much of the show, but nonetheless it FASCINATES me. Produced by Survivor's Mark Burnett and hosted by Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke it appears aimed at Americans but INXS ran out of gas in the states well before Hutchence shuffled off this mortal coil. Apparently they're still huge in Australia and, to a lesser degree, the UK. Unfortunately, American's aren't terribly popular in the rest of the Anglophone world right about now. So what do you do? You've got a band that probably can't afford to take on an American lead singer in a reality show produced for Americans (who just don't like accents). You guessed it: Canadians. They're the perfect answer in the "Price is Right" game of international sensibility stroking -- the closest one can get to American without going over. Here's a list of the contestants:

01) Brandonn (USA)
02) Dana (USA)
03) Daphna (USA)
04) Deanna (USA)
05) Heather (USA)
06) JD (CAN)
07) Jessica (USA)
08) Jordis (USA)
09) Marty (USA)
10) Mig (AUS/UK)
11) Neal (USA)
12) Suzie (CAN)
13) Tara (CAN)
14) Ty (USA)
15) Will (USA)

As you can see, four out of the fifteen performers are not American and three of those four are Canadian. Which is maybe a bit odd, but certainly doesn't appear too strange. But check this out, the show has been airing for nine weeks now, and they're down to the final four:

01) JD (CAN)
02) Marty (USA)
03) Mig (AUS/UK)
04) Suzie (CAN)

That's right, 10 of 11 Americans are gone while only one of four non-Americans have been dropped. Weird, huh? Start polishing your conspiracy theories now and keep your eyes open for a Van Doren to take the fall.