INXS ready to name singer

ZAP2IT.COM
In the Tuesday finale of CBS' "Rock Star: INXS," the members of the Australian rock band will pick a new lead singer from among the final four members of a talent pool that numbered 15 at the show's premiere July 11. That person will take the place of Michael Hutchence, who died in 1997.
For surviving contestants Mig Ayesa, Marty Casey, J.D. Fortune and Suzie McNeil, it's been a long, strange trip. Each has had years of professional experience, but the whirl of filming, performing, publicity and workshops conducted by INXS and others has pushed them to -- and even beyond -- their limits.
"This is definitely rock 'n' roll boot camp," says the lanky blond Casey, taking a break in the billiard room of the "Rock Star" mansion before performing in an acoustic jam session after the taping of the Sept. 13 episode.
"This is the experience of 10 years on the road without actually having done it," she said.
Along with the exposure and the opportunity to take on fear by conquering new challenges, the contestants have also had the benefit of weeks of comments and instruction from the members of a band that has survived for 20-plus years in the music business.
"INXS has been around for a long time," Casey says. "They have a lot of wisdom. They've been up; they've been down. They've been giving me advice, like, 'We worked with one of the best front men ever, so why don't you try cooling it down a little bit?' So I tried it one week; it really worked. 'Why don't you try screaming less and saving that potent scream for the moment you need it?' 'OK, you know what, I won't scream all through the song; I'll sing it, and I'll scream just at one point.' It really works; it's effective."