If there are any other Rock Star: INXS fans out there: Jordis Unga, who started out really strong on that show, then kind of fell apart in the later stages, made quite the splash on the last episode of The Voice. Her energetic performance of McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” had three judges fighting over her, and she ended up on Team Blake.

Rock Star and The Voice had similar qualities that made me prefer them over Idol (which I don’t watch now—but I did see a few seasons of the Canadian one):

• No hopelessly delusional, bad-singer contestants. If they’re on air, they’re at least pretty good.
• Many ages represented, not just kids.
• An appreciation for a variety of voices and a focus on developing their own style, not on being able to sing everything.
• The judges get a say in who stays and who goes. (The people aren’t always right.)

The Voice‘s blind audition format also means that you end up with a wider variety of looks, and they cover a broader range of music than rock. Both shows had fairly insipid hosts, but you can fast-forward them. (Or, with PVR you can.) It remains difficult to warm to Christina Aguilera, she of the always over-tight tops and strangely mannered air, but the other judges are cool. And at least Christina really can sing.

Anyway, I’m really happy to see Jordis again, and hope with greater maturity, she can hold it together better this time. The video is of probably her best performance on Rock Star, singing Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World”: