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Dilana
escapes the Supernova by Joshua Maloni
When reality television became reality television, Dilana knew it was time to call it a day. The South African-born, Holland-bred singer entered CBS’ “Rock Star Supernova” last summer to bring national exposure to her soulful, raspy voice and unmistakable stage persona. Her intention was not to win the top prize, which was fronting a made-up band consisting of Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses), Jason Newsted (Metallica) and Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe). “The music is great for them, but it’s not for me,” she said during a recent phone interview from Montreal. Of course, the minute Dilana stepped on the Mayan Theatre stage in Los Angeles in episode one and performed Nirvana’s “Lithium,” she instantly became the show’s frontrunner. Dilana, 34, began her performance wearing black pants and a dark sleeveless hoodie that covered the top half of her head and left her tattooed arms bare. The bottom of her face was exposed, which revealed three spikes piercing through her chin. As Dilana worked the song’s first few lines, she remained still, even in the up-tempo bridges. As the piece continued, her pace picked up: she began jumping up and down across the stage before uncovering her head to reveal long, flowing black hair colored with magenta, yellow and blue streaks. At once, Dilana became the most recognizable of the 15 singers. Of course, Supernova was interested in singing chops, so Dilana’s theatrics would have been for naught had she failed to execute the song. She didn’t. On the next episode, her talent was acknowledged when the band asked her to sing an encore – the show’s most prestigious honor – and over the next few weeks, the singer consistently finished in the top tier with voters at home and with the Supernova judges. Just as things were clicking musically, “reality” kicked in. During week eight’s episode, a segment aired in which Dilana was shown, to quote host Dave Navarro, “bagging” on her fellow contestants. As a result of some super-dramatic television editing, the singer soon became vilified. “I, from day one, was totally myself. They decided to use what they wanted of me,” she said of what producers aired. “They hardly showed me as the real me. … I was livid. … I’m not here to audition for a soap opera.” All of a sudden, Dilana’s music took a backseat to the show, and she found herself in the bottom three. After offering an apology, Dilana mounted a comeback – though technically she just kept outperforming every other wannabe Supernova singer. She made it to the final episode, which was her personal victory: After all, Dilana just wanted to maximize her exposure. Of course, there was one problem. She was clearly superior to her final competitor, Lukas Rossi, and fans expected her to win. “I starting getting really nervous, because then I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve actually done too well, because there’s a possibility I could win this thing,’ ” she said. “And then I was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do … if I win this thing?’ ” Fortunately, Supernova chose Rossi, citing his ability to blend in over Dilana’s propensity to stand out. Since New Year’s Eve, Supernova has toured across the country to lukewarm reviews. Dilana has frequently opened for the band, now using “Rockstar” as its first name. The lot of them performed in Buffalo on Jan. 20. Dilana, though a citizen of the world, has found a strong fan base here locally. “In Buffalo, I had quite a group of supporters and that was really awesome,” she said. “And I actually knew that before I even got there because I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails and comments on MySpace from Buffalonians.” After completing a solo tour in December, a run that Dilana described as “by far the best tour that I’ve ever done,” the singer has worked up a number of original songs in anticipation of an album release scheduled for late spring. Dilana has worked with members of House Band – appropriately enough, the reality show’s house band – and No Doubt drummer Adrian Young. “It’ll be a lot of intensity; a lot of energy; and just messages from the heart, basically,” Dilana said of the album. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/dilanarox.
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