''Making the Band'': Facing non-musical issues

”Making the Band”: Facing non-musical issues

Okay, first, before we get to the episode, a couple of things about names.

Last week on TRL, the Making the Band 3 ladies announced their group’s name: Danity Kane. Really? That’s the name? That’s worse than Dream. That’s worse than the WB’s Popstars band, Eden’s Crush. (Well, maybe not.)

Danity Kane is apparently the name of a female anime superhero Dawn draws. Well, I love that Dawn draws anime and that the girls will be coming together, without a clear lead singer, under this one superhero name. (I can already picture a great music video for ”Show Stopper”: The band members combine their lady powers and save a city from Godzilla or the Pussycat Dolls in front of a crowd of screaming fans.) But I suspect that if even if the band lasts, the name won’t, at least not without some slight modification.

And speaking of modification, let’s get to the second name issue: D. Woods? Wanita introduced us to her stage name in the last episode, and now she’s no longer Wanita in the credits. Does this mean that pretty soon calling her ”Wanita” will be like calling Diddy ”Puff Daddy”? I don’t know if I like the name D. Woods, but at least Big Daddy Kane won’t have a reason to sue over it.

Aside from her name, D. Woods was clearly the best at the live show. When the girls first came out to perform, they were a mess. Their dance moves looked in sync, but their vocals weren’t great. And by their vocals, I mean their speaking voices.

Every one of the girls put on a fake voice to address the crowd at the NBA All-Star Game party. It wasn’t just Aubrey, though she was easily the most cringe-worthy because not only was her voice different but she used slang that didn’t seem to really fit in her mouth. She also seemed to be the only one who got booed when she spoke. (Was that just me? Did you hear a boo?) So I understand why Diddy singled her out to shame her after the show. The only girl who spoke in her own voice was D. Woods — and she was the only one the crowd responded to well.

As first performances go, it could have been worse. All of the girls are likable and talented. And after D. warmed up the crowd, the ladies seemed to relax, and they did much better. I think D. is going to become a break-out leader in the group. Aubrey could be a leader, too, in a fun, wacky, spring-break-companion kind of way, and Aundrea will be the pep-talk-giving BFF who keeps things together behind the scenes. (How sweet was she talking to Dawn?) But I can’t decide whether the ladies’ strong personalities are going to make them unstoppable or make trouble. I know their next step is supposed to be focusing on competing with other bands instead of each other, but I’m sure they’ll do both.

But back to D. Woods for a minute. How out of line was Diddy talking to her about her weight? She is not fat, nor is she ”one burger away” from it, as he said. His comment was egregious, and it shouldn’t have been delivered in front of the other band members. I know it’s a reality show, and he probably just did it to create drama on a relatively drama-free episode, but still, what a jerk. Like he’s so perfect — he wore sunglasses inside at the all-star party, which was held in a dark room. (Did he wear them because Danity Kane’s future is so bright he’s got to wear shades?) Anyway, I’m glad D. Woods didn’t let the comment or that extremely embarrassing wardrobe fitting ruin her performance.

And about the wardrobe — did anybody else think that after all that fuss over having to shop at the Orlando mall, the designer clothes that Diddy had delivered to the girls didn’t look much better? Dawn’s dress looked like a beach cover-up with a belt. Aundrea’s was cute, but equally casual. And while D. Woods’ outfit may have been more flattering and comfortable than some of the other outfits she tried on, it wasn’t anything special — not first-live-performance-special. I was expecting something more, but I guess they have to save something for the season finale, or at least episode 3.

Sigh. Until then, what do you think? Was Diddy too hard on D. Woods? Would you pay to go see this group in concert? And can you offer some band names that are better than Danity Kane?