American Idol does Queen...and it's really not that bad
To quote Simon - on paper the Queen theme seemed like a bad idea, but in reality it was actually pretty good. If you're not Kellie Pickler you'll know what I mean by that.
Queen night was probably the most fun of the theme nights so far.
One drawback - could "Queen" have been less enthusiastic about the whole experience? And by "Queen" I mean guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. They had a "I know I've just sold my soul to the devil" attitude the whole time.
Apparently touring with Bad Company's Paul Rodgers as your lead singer and a bunch of studio musicians and still calling yourself Queen is just fine.
Here's my lineup from best to worst of the night:
1. Taylor Hicks - Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Amid reports of illness, last minute song switching and speculation that he had lost heart in the contest (I wasn't the only one) Taylor decided to prove to everyone that he is still very much in the game. His performance last night was great vocally and just an all around good show. He knows how to work the stage, the audience and still give a great vocal performance at the same time. He is so unstoppable when he takes the stage his missed kick to his mic stand didn't make him miss a beat.
2. Elliott Yamin - Somebody To Love. I thought this song started out a little shakey. He seemed awkward performing it at first, but seemed to settle in once he got going. As usual Elliott turned in a good vocal performance, but I disagreed with whatever judge (Randy or Paula) who said it was his best ever. I was unsure of how Elliott would do with Queen, but he was able to pull it off.
3. Bucky Covington - Fat Bottom Girls. I was suprised to see Bucky doing this song, but he pulled it off pretty well. This is one of my favorite Queen songs, and Bucky seemed to have fun doing it. Bucky's main weakness is that he can't hit the high notes well, so he was a little weak on the chorus, but I thought he sounded pretty good overall.
4. Kellie Pickler - Bohemian Rhapsody. I agree with all the judges who said they thought this would be a disaster, but it actually wasn't that bad. I did think the zombie in the spotlight beginning was very weird, but vocally Kellie sounded ok, and she improved a lot when she got to the rocked up "So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye..." part. It wasn't great, but not terrible, so I'll put her in the middle as being average.
5. Paris Bennett - The Show Must Go On. I'm still not sure of what to think of this one. I guess she sounded ok, but she went overboard in the showmanship aspect. I'm not sure what she was going for, but the black leather dominatrix outfit was not working for me. I did think it was unfair that Simon's only comment was that "It was weird." Paris obviously put a lot of work into the performance and she deserved a little more feedback than that.
6. Chris Daughtry - Innuendo. Leave it to Chris to pick some 1991, past their prime, obscurity. I had never heard this song before, and I kind hope to never hear it again. This song was boring and just not a good song. Chris sounded like he usually does, and his "Chris rocks!" fans probably liked it, but I doubt the general AI audience did. Maybe Chris should try having a little more fun with the songs for a change. The most absurd part of this was Paula saying Queen never performed this song live before because they didn't have someone as capable of Chris to sing it. What? Never mind that Freddie Mercury died in 1991, though they probably wouldn't have done this song anyway. Also, after weeks of Randy, and all the judges, talking about song choice, suddenly on this one Randy is saying vote for the performance not the song. I think he even said the song doesn't matter. Whatever.
7. Ace Young - We Will Rock You. Unlike Bucky, whom Ace followed last night, Ace can hit high notes, so why did he choose a song that doesn't have any? We Will Rock You is the worst choice he could have made, and may cost him his place on the show. Dude you are not a rocker, why are you trying? When AI started Ace said he was going to bring some soul to the competition, obviously not realizing Taylor would have the lock on that. I don't need to say that Ace didn't really have a lot of soul anyway, but he does have a passable boy band type of voice and he should stick to songs that fit that. I will say I felt sorry for him that the AI producers decided to leave in the part where Queen said they would not perform his arrangement of the song. Vocally Ace should be at the bottom, but I'll give him some credit for trying to so something different with the song because the most boring performance of the night goes to...
8. Katharine McPhee - Who Wants to Live Forever? Katharine decided to switch from whatever energetic and upbeat song she was practicing with Queen, to the boring stand behind the mic ballad Mandisa didn't get to do. The performance was boring and she was off pitch during all the big parts. What bothers me about Katharine is she is not as good of a singer as she thinks she is. Also - note to Katharine - just because your song is from 1986 doesn't mean you have to dress that way.
Bottom 3 tonight - Ace, Bucky and Katharine. Wildcard bottom 3 alternate - Chris.
Going home - Ace.
Remember results show is on at 8:30/7:30 central tonight.
Queen night was probably the most fun of the theme nights so far.
One drawback - could "Queen" have been less enthusiastic about the whole experience? And by "Queen" I mean guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. They had a "I know I've just sold my soul to the devil" attitude the whole time.
Apparently touring with Bad Company's Paul Rodgers as your lead singer and a bunch of studio musicians and still calling yourself Queen is just fine.
Here's my lineup from best to worst of the night:
1. Taylor Hicks - Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Amid reports of illness, last minute song switching and speculation that he had lost heart in the contest (I wasn't the only one) Taylor decided to prove to everyone that he is still very much in the game. His performance last night was great vocally and just an all around good show. He knows how to work the stage, the audience and still give a great vocal performance at the same time. He is so unstoppable when he takes the stage his missed kick to his mic stand didn't make him miss a beat.
2. Elliott Yamin - Somebody To Love. I thought this song started out a little shakey. He seemed awkward performing it at first, but seemed to settle in once he got going. As usual Elliott turned in a good vocal performance, but I disagreed with whatever judge (Randy or Paula) who said it was his best ever. I was unsure of how Elliott would do with Queen, but he was able to pull it off.
3. Bucky Covington - Fat Bottom Girls. I was suprised to see Bucky doing this song, but he pulled it off pretty well. This is one of my favorite Queen songs, and Bucky seemed to have fun doing it. Bucky's main weakness is that he can't hit the high notes well, so he was a little weak on the chorus, but I thought he sounded pretty good overall.
4. Kellie Pickler - Bohemian Rhapsody. I agree with all the judges who said they thought this would be a disaster, but it actually wasn't that bad. I did think the zombie in the spotlight beginning was very weird, but vocally Kellie sounded ok, and she improved a lot when she got to the rocked up "So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye..." part. It wasn't great, but not terrible, so I'll put her in the middle as being average.
5. Paris Bennett - The Show Must Go On. I'm still not sure of what to think of this one. I guess she sounded ok, but she went overboard in the showmanship aspect. I'm not sure what she was going for, but the black leather dominatrix outfit was not working for me. I did think it was unfair that Simon's only comment was that "It was weird." Paris obviously put a lot of work into the performance and she deserved a little more feedback than that.
6. Chris Daughtry - Innuendo. Leave it to Chris to pick some 1991, past their prime, obscurity. I had never heard this song before, and I kind hope to never hear it again. This song was boring and just not a good song. Chris sounded like he usually does, and his "Chris rocks!" fans probably liked it, but I doubt the general AI audience did. Maybe Chris should try having a little more fun with the songs for a change. The most absurd part of this was Paula saying Queen never performed this song live before because they didn't have someone as capable of Chris to sing it. What? Never mind that Freddie Mercury died in 1991, though they probably wouldn't have done this song anyway. Also, after weeks of Randy, and all the judges, talking about song choice, suddenly on this one Randy is saying vote for the performance not the song. I think he even said the song doesn't matter. Whatever.
7. Ace Young - We Will Rock You. Unlike Bucky, whom Ace followed last night, Ace can hit high notes, so why did he choose a song that doesn't have any? We Will Rock You is the worst choice he could have made, and may cost him his place on the show. Dude you are not a rocker, why are you trying? When AI started Ace said he was going to bring some soul to the competition, obviously not realizing Taylor would have the lock on that. I don't need to say that Ace didn't really have a lot of soul anyway, but he does have a passable boy band type of voice and he should stick to songs that fit that. I will say I felt sorry for him that the AI producers decided to leave in the part where Queen said they would not perform his arrangement of the song. Vocally Ace should be at the bottom, but I'll give him some credit for trying to so something different with the song because the most boring performance of the night goes to...
8. Katharine McPhee - Who Wants to Live Forever? Katharine decided to switch from whatever energetic and upbeat song she was practicing with Queen, to the boring stand behind the mic ballad Mandisa didn't get to do. The performance was boring and she was off pitch during all the big parts. What bothers me about Katharine is she is not as good of a singer as she thinks she is. Also - note to Katharine - just because your song is from 1986 doesn't mean you have to dress that way.
Bottom 3 tonight - Ace, Bucky and Katharine. Wildcard bottom 3 alternate - Chris.
Going home - Ace.
Remember results show is on at 8:30/7:30 central tonight.
posted by Sherry L at 6:28 AM
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