Rock Star: Supernova – A Case for Zayra Alvarez

Over the past four weeks, I have read a lot of articles on Rock Star: Supernova, with nearly all of them being united in criticizing the efforts of Zayra Alvarez. She has received, by far, the harshest condemnation of all the contestants over her singing ability, outfits (costumes), stage presence, musical arrangements, and overall fit within Supernova.

For the first few weeks, I had to agree with some of the criticism I read – but I have to admit it, I am now a fan of Zayra. I know exactly when the turning point was for me. She was placed in the bottom three for singing “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks. I thought her performance was dull, but when she opted to sing the same song again to save herself from elimination, I thought that she was crazy and just begging to be eliminated.

I paid close attention to her second performance because I wanted to see what she would do differently to save herself. This time, I really liked it. I liked the intensity she added and, unlike the first performance which was more sexual and playful (which is not necessarily a bad thing… Storm, I love you), she really changed her persona on stage into a woman who is willing to express some anger. That really worked for her in establishing herself as a rock and roll artist in my opinion. I was glad to see her stay to perform another week. Almost every performance that she has done since (with the exception of “Not an Addict”) has been great entertainment.

I am living in reality, so I know that her chances of winning this gig with Supernova are very low, but I think that she is a better fit for this band to make a true artistic statement than most of the other contestants for the following reasons:

Singing ability: I admit I am no expert in this area – I am not a singer and although I can tell when someone is off a couple of keys, I won’t notice if someone is slightly pitchy or slightly off. But I listen to a lot of music, of all different styles, and I really like the sound of Zayra’s singing voice. It’s different, intriguing, and with some more vocal lessons (which almost all of them need) and some experience through “rock and roll boot camp,” it will only get better. This is rock and roll, after all, and some of the best rock and roll bands out there do not have excellent (by American Idol judging standards) singers – but their music is amazing just the same. Just listening to the singers on stage, I think Zayra’s sound is more interesting than most of them, and unlike anything I have personally heard in a rock and roll band, which may be a good thing if Supernova wants to do something different with their sound, as they have claimed.

Outfits (Costumes): That girl has got some crazy costumes. Some of them are laugh-out-loud funny, but that works in rock and roll. If I get a laugh out of seeing what some rock star is wearing on stage, I am entertained, which is a step in the right direction to making the price of admission worth it. Of course, I am a big fan of Jane’s Addiction, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Marilyn Manson, Kiss, and other bands whose singers aren’t taking themselves too seriously.

Stage Presence and Musical Arrangements: I think that Dave Navarro summed it up nicely last Tuesday in his defense of Supernova’s decision to eliminate Phil over Zayra during the week she sang “Call Me” and “Not an Addict.” She does something different every week. I think that is the most important reason that I am a fan now. She may not have had the best performance on any given week (although, in my opinion, her version of “Everybody Hurts” was one of the best performances on the show), but she is definitely the contestant that I am most looking forward to hearing on Tuesday night because I know that her performance is going to be great or just odd enough (such as “867-5309/Jenny”) that it will still come across as great entertainment. She keeps me interested in what she is working on next. When she performed “Not an Addict” to save herself from elimination, I didn’t like her version of the song that much (just like her performance of “Bring me to Life”) and this classic is one of my favorites from the ‘90s. I should have wanted her eliminated that night just for that but I still hoped that she would stay because she was more interesting than boring Phil and I see her potential to be so much greater than some of the other contestants at keeping people interested. (Yes, Lukas, I’m talking about you.).

Overall Fit with Supernova: Up until this week, I didn’t see a fit between Zayra and Supernova because she doesn’t even come close to matching the type of sound created by James Hatfield, Axl Rose, or Vince Neil. Although I really like her performances, I didn’t see where a Latino-influenced singer could possibly mesh with these rock and roll legends (Gilby, by default, for putting up with Axl Rose for as long as he did). That is when I realized the beauty of having her potential influence on the band’s sound. Rock and roll with a Latino influence could be just different enough to make Supernova stand out with an artistic statement and not be just another super group. She’s eye candy with a big voice, and enough stage personality to make this band interesting enough to win fans outside of those who watch Rock Star religiously every week, as I do. The only other contestants who have shown themselves capable of demanding that kind of attention are Storm, Dilana (when she is in her scary persona), and sometimes Magni.

Things may change for Zayra in the next week, but right now she is interesting and she is being unfairly criticized for her performances. I don’t believe for a second that there are enough people out there with nothing better to do but to vote for the person the majority of the critics have chosen as the worst contestant. People vote for the underdog who is being unfairly criticized or for the contestant they like. It’s just too easy to dismiss the intentions or credibility of the voting public, when contestants not popular with the vocal critics stay longer than they feel they should. Zayra has proven herself to be fun and entertaining. If she proves capable of creating thought-provoking lyrics as well, then she will have all the ingredients for stardom with or without Supernova. I can’t wait to see what she does Tuesday!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent articles on Foxes On Idol:

Tom Austin is a reality TV junkie and fan of Foxes on Idol.

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