Suzie McNeil
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Suzie McNeil (born October 15, 1976) is a Canadian rock / soul vocalist based in Toronto, ON.
In 2005 McNeil was a contestant on the CBS reality show Rock Star: INXS, a televised competition to find a new lead singer for the band INXS. McNeil made it to the final four of the competition and was the last female singer to be eliminated.
During the course of the competition, McNeil gained a great deal of respect from the INXS band members as well as the fans. She was nicknamed 'Sweet Suzie McNeil' by show host Dave Navarro. The band INXS was impressed by her talent as well as her tenacity. Despite her rave reviews, Suzie faced the Bottom Three a total of six times throughout the competition, prompting her to create a hat which read "Queen of the Bottom Three." In the Bottom Three, contestants sang INXS songs. McNeil excelled at singing INXS songs, likely explaining her survival of so many eliminations. Some standout performances throughout the show (excluding her INXS songs) were the The Rolling Stones's, "Start Me Up", R.E.M.'s hit "Losing My Religion" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." During the competition, McNeil performed an original song called "Soul Life" which she co-wrote with fellow Rock Star: INXS contestant Ty Taylor. Suzie met her elimination in the Final Four, where there was much speculation that INXS had finally agreed upon a male lead singer. On September 24, 2005, McNeil performed a sold-out show at the Revival Club in Toronto.
McNeil is featured on a few tracks on INXS' album Switch. Examples are "Us" and "God's Top Ten."
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[edit] Post: Rock Star: INXS
In January 2006, Suzie moved to L.A. where she is developing her music career. On January 26th, Suzie announced plans to record her first CD with Executive Producer John Kalodner and Producer Marti Frederiksen. In the summer of 2006, Suzie performed as a backup singer for Pink on Pink's North American tour. She has just joined "King Ben's Injection of Perfection" on a radio station in Sydney, Australia, as King Ben's Rockstar Correspondent.
Suzie's first single, "Believe", is now available to download on iTunes. It has been featured on NBC's promo for "The Biggest Loser" reality weight-loss show. The song was exclusively debuted by "King Ben's Injection of Perfection" in Sydney on the 9th September, 2006, to positive reaction.
Suzie appears on the new Clay Aiken Album A Thousand Different Ways as a guest vocalist on "I Want to Know What Love is", a cover of the Foreigner song.
Suzie's new single "Hung Up" has already gained radio airplay and is also available on iTunes.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- TBA (2007)
[edit] Singles
- Believe
- Hung Up
[edit] Rock Star: INXS Performances
"Remedy - In the first performance, Suzie missed her cue and then switched the first and second verses. Despite this, her vocal performance was praised - and she narrowly escaped elimination.
"Call Me - Suzie's rendition of Blondie's "Call Me" was considered "a ballsy choice," but INXS thought she "nailed it." Still she was in the Bottom Three.
"Roxanne" - Again, the judges felt Suzie "nailed it" - and her performance was finally enough to garner the votes to evade the Bottom Three.
"Superstitious" - Stevie Wonder's hit was met with positive review - she began with a harmonica riff.
"Get Back" - The first Beatles song in the competition, Suzie expressed an honor in performing it. INXS felt that her dropping back while band members did instrumentals was "a joy to watch."
"Losing My Religion" - Going into this week, Suzie originally planned to go into the song a capella. Her actual performance followed the advice of J.D. Fortune with a steady rock beat in the background. This was called "a brilliant move" by INXS - as it highlighted Suzie's voice. Shockingly, she landed in the Bottom Three.
"Bring it On Home to Me" - After surprisingly landing in the Bottom Three the previous week, Suzie hoped to escape it this week. Having never heard the song before, she was unsure of how to approach it. Her final product was called "fantastic," prompting a band member to tell Suzie her voice was "one of the best in the competition." Despite her effort, she was again placed in the Bottom Three.
"Start Me Up" - Suzie truly hoped to nail this performance, as she no longer wanted to be in the Bottom Three. Her performance had high energy, ending with a mosh pit. Her comments from INXS were especially encouraging. "I am in total shock that you've ever been in the bottom three," host Dave Navarro said. A band member agreed, "Tonight was exceptional." A second added "Looked like you meant business, and you sounded like you meant business." Not only did she escape the Bottom Three, but it was revealed that she was the ONLY contestant not to be in the bottom three at any moment in the voting process. She won her first encore performance.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Considered by some to be the pinnacle performance of Suzie's in the competition, the Queen classic proved to be quite a success for Suzie. INXS continued to give shining feedback. “That was one of the most spectacular things I think I’ve ever seen...That was a show!" ... ”That’s gotta be the best performance I’ve seen through the whole show -- ever.” ... “I’m so proud that you want to be part of our band.” This comment, in particular, caused Suzie to "faint" in joy. She again evaded the Bottom Three AND won the encore performance.
"Can't Make You Love Me" and "Soul Life" - INXS claimed the first song was a test of her power. Immediately following her performance, they claimed that she "sold it." The second part of her performance - "Soul Life" - was an original song of Suzie's - and it met with good review, but some minor question. One member of the band was unsure of whether the song could ever be played by INXS - another argued that, with some tweaking, it could. For whatever reason, Suzie was - once again - in the bottom three, but was not eliminated.
"Interstate Love Song" and "What's Up?" - Suzie's performance of the two songs were back-to-back, and both met with positive review. INXS stated that Suzie had "the best voice in the competition." They called the performance "fantastic." Fans were not so positive, however; the Interstate Love Song was called "less than stellar" and "What's Up?" included a vocal glitch, particularly on the word "revolution." Suzie was in the Bottom Three for the final time this week - eliminated.
