So you want to be a rock and roll star

Dream on white boy
Dream on black girl
And wake up to a brand new day
To find yourself the new singer of INXS?

Reality TV is still going strong- I think I heard somewhere in the neighborhood of 87 reality shows in the U.S. this year alone. American Idol just started its fourth season, and there have been a number of other music-related reality shows.

Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor and The Apprentice, just upped the ante- here's a bit of the official press release for his latest show, taken from its website.

A new epic reality television series from Mark Burnett Productions - the creator of Survivor, The Apprentice and The Contender, today announced details for international auditions.

The 13-week series is embarking on a global search for the next rock 'n' roll sensation - male or female - who will become the lead singer of the world-famous Australian band, INXS. The series will screen in the United States on CBS in July 2005. Negotiations are currently underway with television broadcasters in international markets. Mark Burnett Productions announced that more than 20 cities worldwide across six continents will host auditions commencing in late January 2005. They include: Liverpool (England), Toronto (Canada), and 13 within the US, including Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Chicago and Boston. Sydney (Australia) will host the final audition in March.

Additional international cities are to be confirmed.

INXS. Huge band once, definitely world-famous- no Reality TV exaggeration there. The bands last album was eight years ago, in the Spring of 1997. In the Fall of 1997, the lead singer, Michael Hutchence, was found dead, "the victim of an apparent hanging", says allmusic.com.

The band sold over 30 million albums, but apparently didn't save much, as here they are, seven years after the death of the voice -and face- of their band, trying to cash in. Kinda sad.

I'm not saying I'm ruling out watching the show, but it's still kinda sad. I truly hope this is a one-off, and we don't see the same for Joy Divison, The Clash or -gulp- The Beatles. Then again, none of those bands were ever INXS, and I mean that as a put-down to INXS. Hey, INXS, you were fine for what you were- a commercially -focused, slightly alternative rock group- and your 15 minutes of fame expired years ago. It's a shame you'll only be known to the latest generation of music fans as "that reality show band", but I see nowhere on inxsrockstar.com where someone was forcing you to do this...