low rent

I was a huge INXS fan back in the mid-80's. I went to see them at the Shubert in New Haven with my friend Rosemary and we ran around to the back of the theater after the show and threw ourselves at Jon Farriss, the drummer, in all our perky schoolgirl glory. Anyway, I knew about the recent reality program that aimed to recruit a new singer, 8 years since their former lead singer, Michael Hutchence, died in a Sydney hotel room. But I never tuned in or witnessed the results. Up at 4:30 am (anxiety does that to me), I tuned into VH-1 and caught the band's new video, "Pretty Vegas". I guess the band -- or their label -- didn't want to take much of a risk. Maybe his job as an Elvis impersonator was the perfect preparation for the new gig because the new guy, J.D. Fortune, looks (minus the curly locks), sounds and even dances like Hutchence -- except he's a low rent version of all of the above.