So our homeboy Ryan Star checked in to drop a bombshell: He recorded a live album yesterday and it’s coming out next week. Seriously.
Since getting kicked off of “Rock Star: Supernova” last week, Star has been rolling full steam ahead on his solo career, even hitting No. 1 on MSN Music with his original song “Back of Your Car,” ahead of Beyonce, Nelly Furtado and The Pussycat Dolls. And Star, who hails from Dix Hills, says he was thrilled to learn that “Rock Star” producer Mark Burnett had become a fan.
It was Burnett who came up with the idea to record the live album quickly with the “Rock Star” house band yesterday, in front of hundreds of Star’s fans, and release the album online next week, in time for the “Rock Star” finale.
“You know me,” Star says, adding that if anyone else suggested pulling together an album that fast, he would have laughed it off. “I like to take a lot of time to make sure things are perfect. But since I started the show, I’ve learned to move quickly.”
The final songlist for the album hasn’t been finalized, though “Back of Your Car” is a sure thing. Star says he performed originals “We Might Fall,” “Sink or Swim,” and “O” yesterday, as well as “Losing My Religion,” “In the Air Tonight” and “Enjoy the Silence.” (Star's solo album "Songs from the Eye of an Elephant," with stripped-down versions of his songs is due in stores on Sept. 19 from Stone Crow Records. It's at iTunes now.)
Star says performing “Back of Your Car” on network television was “the greatest moment of my life, a rite of passage.” “I’m going to show that to my great grandkids,” he says. “I was living the dream. That erased all the disappointment. That was for my band Stage, for Harlan [Friedman, music director at WLIR-FM], for Newsday, for bands like Bandcamp. I wanted to make Long Island proud.” (More...)
Learn how to get Star back for another performance on "Rock Star" here
Listen to "Back of Your Car" here
More "Rock Star"
PHOTO: Ryan Star on "Rock Star" by Danny Moloshok/Blue Pixel for Mark Burnett Productions
Throughout the season, the Supernova guys, as well as host Dave Navarro, talked about how much Star had improved his performances. Star says that now he has seen the shows, he can see the exact moments when things changed for him.
“There’s a moment in ‘I, Alone’ when I jumped off the drum riser that I felt like ‘This is my home,’” he says. “You can see my whole face changes.”
Star says he really wanted to win “Rock Star: Supernova” because he wanted to be in the band, which features Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, former Guns 'N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and Metallica bassist Jason Newsted. However, as soon as they decided to send him packing, his mind switched back into focusing on being a solo artist.
“With me as your singer, I feel like you could have made 20 years of great music,” he told the band. “But I respect your decision, so good luck. And I’m going to return to being a solo artist. So I’ll see you on the record charts, ‘cause that’s where I’m gonna be hanging out.”
Star laughs when asked about how he meant those comments. “I was just being [expletive] honest,” he says. “I thought about every word I said. I wanted it to be clear to them what they were giving up. I was going to be, like, ‘Thank you for teaching me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. After they kicked me off officially, I’m potentially their peer.”
And nothing would make Star happier than to return for the finale to perform as the “Fan Favorite,” a contest where fans vote for which of the singers cut should get to sing one more song on the show. (Find out how to vote here.)
In the end, though, Star is excited about the new energy surrounding his solo career. And he’s ready to come back home to Long Island to enjoy a bit of what he has missed all summer out in California. He plans to return to New York next week, after the finale, though his plans are sketchy beyond a stop on the Opie and Anthony show, which will be his first New York concert in months because the radio jocks were so supportive to his “Rock Star” campaign.
Star says a little relaxation will also be in order.
“I’m a home body,” he says. “And having a summer being away from Long Island, not in the Hamptons or the beach in Montauk was hell. But the positives of this experience far outweighed the negatives.”
Comments (2)
heyyyyyz i luvvv ryan star he rocks nd he's my fav i was really bad wen he went out of z prog:(
Awesome article! Thanks for featuring him!