Truly Outrageous!
Suggested Theme:
Main Themes- Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous from Jem, "Jem is My Name - 2013 Remix" by Sam Silk
As they walk down from the stage, the Winx Club know, just know that they won. The crowd is still clapping and dancing like they want an encore. Some are even demanding for an autograph just because of their music and not because they were the ones that brought magic back to Earth! Even Riven is impressed by how well they did; well, he's more entranced by Musa at the moment. The girls can see Jason Queen walking up to them; they know he's about to offer them a recording contract for their performance, and they haven't even been declared the winners yet!
Then, all of the lights on the stage and in the Frutti Music Bar go out. The Winx Club almost transform on the spot, believing that this power outage might be Morgana's doing.
Then, a neon, pink sign lights up on the stage and reveals the name of who caused the blackout:
"Jem"
The lights turn back on to reveal four women on stage. These women are dressed like they came straight out of a cheesy music video from the 80s. Their hairs are big and poufy like they used too much aerosol on their mullets. Their hair are so similar that they only way to tell them apart is by their ridiculous colors of pink, blue, purple, and red. Stella winces at their outfits; the three with instruments clearly look like they play second fiddle to the one in pink, judging how tacky yet plain their clothes are. The pink one is wearing a pink dress that cuts diagonally and has a sash made of fringe. Her earrings are in the shape of giant, red stars that look like they belong on a Christmas tree. And their faces! They literally painted on their eyeshadows and almost laughably their eyeshadow is the exact color of their hair. The Winx Club pity the women on stage; they look so ridiculous!
"Jem,
(Jem is excitement!)
Ooou Jem,
(Jem is adventure!)
Ooou,
Glamour and glitter,
Fashion and fame!
Jem,
(Jem is truly outrageous!
Truly, truly, truly outrageous!)
Woo ooo Jem,
Jem, the music's contagious,
(Outrageous!)"
Musa almost wants to cover her ears. The instruments sound so ancient to her and rely way too much on synths! The lyrics are basically worshipping the singer, who most likely wrote the lyrics. And this "Jem" is hardly singing! The girls in the background are doing all the singing, while she just repeats her name. There's no way we would ever lose to them, Musa practically mimics Riven's smugness in her head.
"Jem is my name!
No one else is the same!
Jem is my name!"
Then, the lights go out again, except for the neon "Jem" sign. The Winx Club has a feeling that either Andy or even Klaus probably cut the power to encourage "Jem" to get off the stage before the crowd throws drinks at them.
"Showtime, Synergy!"
Jem touches her glowing earrings. The sign on stage blows apart and showers glitter and harmless sparks on the crowd. The stage lights up like a chaotic disco ball to reveal the band again. The Winx Club let out a collective gasp alongside the crowd. The women on stage have changed!
The lead guitarist's blue hair has flipped to her left side and covers the left half of her face. She's wearing a shoulder-showing, pink shirt and purple skirt with stockings and chains. The drummer has her purple afro in a Mohawk style with some cornrows on the sides of her head. She's wearing a small, white jacket over a short, purple dress that show off her voluptuous figure. The keytarist has her red hair in an ultra-tight ponytail that shows off her corkscrew earrings. She's wearing a white blouse with lavender accents and waist-length, lavender capris. They look far more individualistic now and their eyeshadows aren't as clownish as before. But they aren't as attention-grabbing as the lead singer.
Jem's pink hair is long, longer than Lucy's hair when she was competing to be Miss Magix. Her giant, red star earrings have become even bigger and blue. Her neon-pink dress has become bubblegum-pink and rose-pink colors. Her dress leaves her left arm and shoulder exposed to show off little pink stars dotting her shoulder blades and arm. The bottom of her dress cuts diagonally like the old one, but it shows off thigh-high, pink boots with little pink stars on them. She struts forward like she might nosedive into the crowd. She chooses to bat her left eye and then smirks at her stunned audience.
"Jem,
(Jem is excitement!)
Ooou Jem,
(Jem is adventure!)
Ooou,
Glamour and glitter,
Fashion and fame!
Jem,
(Jem is truly outrageous!
Truly, truly, truly outrageous!)
Woo ooo Jem,
Jem, the music's contagious,
(Outrageous!)"
Now, the music sounds less synth and more like a remix. The drums set the rhythm, while the keytar adds an almost alien beat to the song. The bass guitar offers some electric harmony when played with the other instruments. The lyrics didn't change, but the vocals did. The vocals seem to play off each other like they were exchanging jokes and wise cracks, but then they would harmonize into a giggly froth of energy. Or is it Synergy?
"Jem is my name!
No one else is the same!
Jem is my name!"
After the last verse, it's a solid minute of pure instrumentals and dancing. Well, dancing from Jem. She twirls and spins so much that her hair makes swirls in the air like ribbons of cotton candy. She creates special effects with her hands like summoning up blue and pink streams of lights. The Winx Club wonder if she might be magical, but they don't sense any magic from her.
"Jem,
(Jem)
The music's contagious,
(Outrageous!)
Jem is my name!
No one else is the same!
Jem is my name!
(JEM!)"
The show ends with a dazzling flash of blue and pink lights. Then, Jem points to the broken neon sign. The sign is swallowed up by the blue and pink lights to reveal new words:
"Jem and The Holograms"
The Winx Club clap respectfully, while the rest of the crowd cheers crazily. They ecstatically demand an encore from Jem and The Holograms, but the women disappear in a stream of blue lights like they've been teleported aboard a spaceship. The crowd chants for them to come back, but nothing happens.
Even after that performance, the Winx Club is still certain that they'll win. This is a music competition, not a special effects competition. They know that their song wasn't just repetition of the lead singer's name; their song was relatable and had depth.
Andy goes up the stage and thanks the crowd for coming out to support the local talent. Finally, he announces the winning band:
"The truly outrageous Jem and The Holograms!"
Author's Comments- I have never really liked the songs from Winx Club. I like some of their instrumental pieces, but, even then, I didn't really care. The songs can be well-sung and the lyrics may at times match modern pop lyrics, but they weren't catchy or memorable. On re-watching episodes, I would literally skip the music heavy portions (except, at times, the transformation sequences) because the music just didn't appeal to me. The only music I liked in magical girl shows came from these two shows: Sailor Moon and Madoka Magica.
Then, I decided to watch Jem when I just happened to be scrolling through Netflix. I had heard about how it's a classic 80s cartoon marketed to little girls and I happened to like the character designs. I could only sit through the first half of the first episode, but I did like replaying the intro because I actually liked the song. I can't say the same with any of the intros of Winx Club. I then decided to look up remixes of the song and found Sam Silk's remix. I loved his remix, but it was missing the vocal track. So for this story I decided to combine the original opening with his remix; well, after the women change.
And the women changing from their 80s cartoon style to more modern one is actually thanks to IDW's 2015 Jem comic book. I have only read the first issue, but I love it. I love how the characters' design have been modernize yet retains that awesome, outrageous style! Also, I don't have to sit through painfully dated animation. I'm an animation snob and if I can't stand the animation then I refuse to watch the cartoon; no matter how good the plot or characters are. That's why I'm only able to watch and love Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Animated. And maybe that's why I still watch Winx Club because I like the animation until it goes into CGI awfulness like whenever they go into the Infinite Ocean or with their Mythix forms.
Anyways, I thought it would be a good "passing on the torch" for Jem by having the women transition from their cartoon selves to their comic book selves. Plus, I desperately wanted to write about Jem and the Holograms trouncing the Winx Club, at least in this competition, because I enjoyed the Jem intro more than any of the songs from Winx Club. Also, please let me know if there's a mistake in grammar, spelling, or any typos. I am my own editor and I am not perfect. One more thing, if anyone else has watched Jem, do you get the feeling that the Trix might have been inspired by the Misfits?