MAM
MSN’s ‘Rock Star: INXS’ website attracts fans
MUMBAI: Fans of Mark Burnett Productions’ Rock Star: INXS have made the new reality television show’s official website on MSN a go-to destination, with significant growth in visitors’ activities throughout the interactive site at http://rockstar.msn.com.
To date, MSN Video has streamed 7.1 million clips of the rockers competing for the chance to become the new lead singer of INXS.
Every remaining contestant on Rock Star: INXS has appeared in the top 100 most downloaded tracks on MSN Music, and the contestant performances, along with unaired and behind the scenes footage from the show, are some of the top streamed videos on MSN Video.
The number of people voting for their favorite contestants through rockstar.msn.com is also growing rapidly. Voting on MSN continued its consistent week-over-week growth as the show completed its sixth week. In addition, fans are flocking to MSN Spaces, where each rocker has a personal web log (blog), to get the latest updates from the contestants themselves.
Visits to the contestants’ Spaces have more than doubled since the show’s premiere, which may be because the rockers aren’t keeping very many secrets when it comes to talking about their lives inside the mansion.
Beginning this week, fans who visit http://rockstar.msn.com will also have the chance to vote on the songs they’d like the contestants to sing on an upcoming encore performance show. People are wasting no time making their opinions known, casting hundreds of thousands of votes in the first 24 hours.
“This surge of activity on rockstar.msn.com attests to the outstanding talent of these performers as well as how much enjoyment fans have gained from interacting with contestants and each other through the website. Our goal is to help people find what they love, so we’re thrilled to be involved in exposing the great music and amazing people from Rock Star: INXS to an even broader worldwide audience,” said MSN Marketplaces and Digital Media general manager Mike Conte.
“It was just a few years ago that the only feedback producers would get would be from critics and ratings. Now, thanks to the Internet and specifically our relationship with MSN, very detailed feedback comes across through voting, message boards and blogs, and from the large number of video clips watched and songs downloaded. The music downloads specifically are an incredibly valuable measure of customer feedback, as there is nothing more reliable than when people vote with their pocketbooks,” said Mark Burnett.
Rock Star: INXS, airing on the CBS Television Network and VH1 in the US, debuted in July with a cast of 15 rockers competing to become the new lead singer for multiplatinum band INXS. Votes cast online by visitors to http://rockstar.msn.com help determine which contestant gets dropped from the show each week.
This is the first time that Mark Burnett Productions, the company behind such landmark reality TV series as Survivor and The Apprentice, has used online voting to influence the outcome of a show on a weekly basis.
The website also gives fans unique opportunities to chat, play games and view show-themed content in real time through MSN Messenger, watch exclusive Rock Star: INXS content on MSN Video, purchase contestant performances on MSN Music, buy INXS merchandise through MSN Shopping and learn about the contestants’ personal lives through their MSN Spaces.
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
