Supernovarockstarfever

So the Icelandic nation is holding its collective breath, now that our man Magni is among the top eight finalists in Rock Star Supernova. Because as you may know, the victory of one Icelander is a victory for the entire nation [or something]. Never mind that the show is about as manufactured, commercialized and prone to emotional pornography as any ‘reality’ TV show can get, despite the raunchy bad-boy image of the Supernova rockers [the Icelanders have a name for them, gúmmítöffarar, or ‘rubber tough guys’, which I think is totally apt]. In fact, most people that now sit glued to their TV sets twice a week would probably never give the show a second glance if it weren’t for Magni’s stellar turns. Who knew we had such talent in our midst?

For those that don’t know, Rock Star Supernova revolves around a band [Supernova] that is looking for a frontman- or woman. [Evidently there was an earlier version of this, where INXS looked for a frontman – but of course nobody over here watched it because there was no Icelander competing.] The show is like a combination Idol-Big Brother, meaning that the contestants live in this [lavish] mansion somewhere in LA and are not allowed to leave the house. While there they are given tasks like writing songs etc. and are constantly under surveillance, the footage of which is edited and broadcast during the show. Once a week, they take to the stage to perform covers of various songs chosen by the band. There are two broadcasts a week on successive evenings [Tuesdays and Wednesdays local time in America – it’s shown live here in the middle of the night, and repeated later that evening]. During the first one there’s the usual footage of comments by the contestants about, er… mostly each other, and then there are the performances, followed by the judges’ commentary. After the show the polls are open for four hours [unfortunately for Iceland, because most people are asleep at that time] and – hear this – you can vote for your favourite contestant online.

The subsequent evening is the elimination round. The show starts by the judges asking one of the performers from the previous evening to do an encore of a performance they thought was outstanding. [Magni has been selected twice – I’m not sure if anyone else has been.] It is then revealed which of the contestants were in the bottom three of the voting. Those three then perform again and when that’s over, one of them is sent home. Last time, surprisingly, two contestants were sent home.

But back to our man Magni. He’s just acing it. I mean, there are some talented performers on that show and I’m not going to say he’s head and shoulders above the rest – that would be pushing it – but I’m pretty confident he’s going to be in the top three, and he may very well win. The judges seem to like him pretty well; comments like ‘you continue to raise the bar for this competition’ and ‘talent through and through’ certainly make the little Icelandic heart swell with nationalistic pride. His performance on the last show, for instance, an acoustic version of Dolphin’s Cry, was awesome – he was asked to repeat it the following night, with a band.

In my opinion, the thing that makes Magni unique among the contestants is that he never gets ahead of himself. While other contestants turn proverbial somersaults in order to impress, he simply gets up there and delivers, with intensity and grace. He’s a natural talent, has a lot of experience [fronts a band here in Iceland called Á móti sól] and it all seems to come to him without any effort. Whether he’d be the right frontman for this particular band – or whether he would even want to be – is another question… Magni seems to have no illusions about anything taking place over there, as witnessed by a recent interview in which he shoots from the hip [I will not repeat what he said because I’d be afraid it would jeopardize his chances – suffice it to say that the man has a good head on his shoulders and both eyes wide open]. However, I think this is a great showcase for his talent and I know I’m not alone in believing that he deserves every ounce of success he can get out of this.

Incidentally, news is filtering down here in Iceland that tonight’s show is going to be remarkable for some particular reason [it’s already been filmed]. Don’t know any more than that, but I’ll be sure to let you know – that is, if you don’t watch it yourself [and if you do, be sure to vote!].

AND TODAY’S SUPERNOVA WEATHER IS…
Clear skies, gorgeous sunshine but alas – winds from the north. Always a killer for our YT, on account of the whiplash injury that gets severely exacerbated in this kind of weather. Boo. Current temps are 15°C and sunrise was at 05.18, sunset due for 21.44.