During the show's run, the 15 contestants - now winnowed down to three - have been covering some of the greatest anthems in rock history, including John Lennon's "Imagine," Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Pink Floyd's "Money."
Many of these songs have never been made available to prime-time shows or commercials, with the occasional exception of a telethon performance for disaster relief. Even Fox's "American Idol," consistently one of the most-watched television programs in the country (last season it boasted two finalists who billed themselves as rockers), hasn't been able to use most of the songs now playing on "Rock Star."
How did "Rock Star" - intended to find a new lead singer to replace Michael Hutchence (who died in 1997) - pull off what "Idol" couldn't?
"It's the William Hung factor," said the "Rock Star" executive producer David Goffin, in an interview at the show's Hollywood Hills mansion after a recent taping. Mr. Goffin is referring to the best-known "Idol" reject from the tens of thousands of truly awful singers who attempt to make the final cut.
Mr. Goffin is in a unique position to examine the differences between the shows because he served as supervising producer on "Idol" for its first three seasons. (A spokesman for he "Idol" executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, said Mr. Lythgoe did not have time to comment.)
To Mr. Goffin one reason "Idol" is a hit - the showcasing of self-deluded singers during the audition process - is the very thing that prevents it from getting the kind of cooperation it needs from the music industry. "From a music standpoint," he said, "the musicians who write these great songs either a) feel bad for the people who butcher these songs, and/or b) don't want their music to be associated with people who could potentially sing it very badly."
Which is why the long shadow of "Idol" hung over "Rock Star" for months when the show's producers first lobbied for music clearances. The process began a year ago with personal meetings involving Mr. Goffin; the creator of "Rock Star," Mr. Burnett; the show's music clearance supervisor, Jill Meyers; and music industry executives. "They were really skeptical," Mr. Goffin said. "Mark being there helped a lot, because he doesn't want to ruin his reputation. And Jill has contacts in the industry that go pretty deep. But it wasn't like they said, 'Oh, O.K., here's our music.' We had to prove that this was not going to be a William Hung-esque show."
The producers presented record company executives with a promotional tape that they said showcased the contest's more serious nature. INXS has three multiplatinum albums (one selling at least a million copies is called a platinum) and four platinum albums to its credit. "We've written literally hundreds of songs since Michael's death," said the INXS lead guitarist, Tim Farriss. "We really need a singer." The show, from the beginning, was limited to talented and mostly professional singers. An added selling point was that Dave Navarro, lead guitarist from Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, had been chosen as host. But even that wasn't enough, Mr. Goffin said. "It really came down to how we were going to treat the music," he said.
Mr. Goffin said that basic issue of trust was overcome, slowly, with help from outside singers and songwriters who wanted to support INXS. "The Doors, very early on, said yes," he said. The Doors also lost their own original lead singer, Jim Morrison, in 1971, officially from heart failure. "When we got the Doors, I believe we obtained legitimacy," Mr. Goffin said. "There was a snowball effect."
The contestants seem impressed by the music available to them. The Canadian rocker Suzie McNeil, one of the final four, said she had an anxiety attack after grabbing "Bohemian Rhapsody." "It made me face all my insecurities," she said. "I didn't know if I was good enough to sing the song."
"A lot of our peers are watching this show and have cleared some incredible music," Mr. Farriss of INXS said. "Some of them have rung up and said, 'That was so good, what else would you like?' "