MUMBAI: MSN is giving fans new ways to take part in the reality-show craze by launching http://rockstar.msn.com, the official website for Mark Burnett Productions' Rock Star: INXS.
The show, which aims to find a new lead singer for the multiplatinum rock band INXS, premieres in India on Star World on 12 July at 9 pm. In the US, it will launch on 11 July on the CBS Television Network.
The fully interactive website will complement the TV show and bring viewers further inside the competition through weekly online voting, exclusive video, contestant web logs (blogs), music downloads and more. The site marks the first time a Mark Burnett Productions TV reality show has used online voting to influence the outcome on a weekly basis.
Rockstar.msn.com extends and enhances Rock Star: INXS by giving fans unique opportunities to connect with the contestants and with one another. Fans who log on will get the inside scoop on the contestants' dreams and struggles from childhood through today, as well as the fights and friendships that develop when 15 ambitious rockers are put together in one house.
Rockstar.msn.com also includes exclusive community-building features that allow fans to connect with one another to talk about their favorite songs and contestants as they vote on who will make it to the next round. Beginning 11 July, viewers can do the following:
Vote for their favorite contestants through http://rockstar.msn.com and MSN Messenger, which allows people to vote while chatting with friends about the show in real time. Wireless voting also will be available.
Watch exclusive Rock Star: INXS video not seen on TV, available only through MSN Video.
Watch streaming video of contestant performances on MSN Video to relive the highlights and the lowlights before casting a vote.
Purchase the contestant performances on MSN Music. Not only can fans download and own their favorite musical moments from the show, downloads of the original artists' versions of contestant performance songs also will be available for purchase on MSN Music.
Read contestant blogs on MSN Spaces that tell fans about everything from their backgrounds to what it's really like onstage, offstage and backstage.
Chat with other Rock Star: INXS fans through MSN Messenger and download special Rock Star: INXS emoticons, dynamic display pictures, backgrounds and winks to spice up their instant messaging (IM) conversations.
Play rock-and-roll trivia games created by Cranium Inc. for MSN Encarta.
Sign up for MSN Alerts and a weekly newsletter that give fans the scoop on everything related to Rock Star: INXS.
View weekly "Rock Star" photo galleries and rock-and-roll fashion features.
Buy merchandise featured on Rock Star: INXS through MSN Shopping.
Get weekly fashion tips from the Rock Star: INXS official show stylist.
Beginning 18 July, visitors to http://rockstar.msn.com also can enter the "You Be a Rock Star" sweepstakes to win a trip to Los Angeles, where one winner be treated like rock royalty. The winner will stay at a luxury Hollywood hotel, spend an afternoon at an L.A. celebrity spa, and be whisked by limo to the red-carpet finale of Rock Star: INXS and the exclusive post-show party. The winner also will receive $1,000 spending money, a digital music player with 100 free downloads from MSN Music, and a rock-and-roll makeover from the Rock Star: INXS official show stylist. Sweepstakes details and full rules can be found at http://rockstar.msn.com.
"We're thrilled to work with MSN to not only give fans the opportunity to get to know this incredibly talented group of contestants, but also bring them inside the competition. MSN's great combination of high-quality video and music services and interactive communications tools like MSN Spaces and MSN Messenger give fans an amazing opportunity to develop a powerful connection with the show and with fellow Rock Star: INXS fans watching around the world," Burnett said.
"The contestants on Rock Star: INXS are an amazing group of people -- talented, fun and unbelievably charismatic. Working with Rock Star: INXS gives us the opportunity to work with one of the best television producers in the game, while giving fans a great interactive experience and a taste of what it's like to live the rock-star dream," said MSN Information Services & Merchant Platform division at Microsoft Corp senior vice president Yusuf Mehdi.
