Although I predicted that Mandisa would be in the bottom three last week, I was actually shocked when she was the one that was ultimately voted off. And as if to rub salt in our wounds the American Idol producers cleverly left in a shot of her during the Idols big meeting with the legendary members of the rock band Queen, whose hits span well over 30 years.
Even though Queen has a vast array of hits, which include crowd pumping rock tunes as well as sweet ballads, in the opening segment, host Ryan Seacrest predicted that Queen’s array of songs would definitely put the Idols talents to test. And boy was he right.
Bucky Covington started off the night, with the 1978 song “Fat Bottom Girls”. Surviving Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor helped the Idols arrange their songs and they both thought Bucky was a great performer.
As someone with a little extra junk in her trunk, I personally loved the song choice. And like Brian and Roger, I thought Bucky performance was really good. I particularly liked the raspiness in his voice when he sang the song.
Judge Randy Jackson felt Bucky’s performance was a cool way to start off the show and that it exhibited a lot of energy. Although he said the song was a little pitchy, Randy said and that it was like being at a rocking, country Bucky concert.
Paula Abdul said the interesting thing about Bucky’s performance was that he kept to who he was and made “Fat Bottom Girls” a country song. She also told Bucky that she thought he did a great job.
As Simon Cowell, was about to impart his thoughts about the performance, Bucky mockingly quivered in his boots. Simon said he guessed it was a good song choice for Bucky, but he also thought the song was bigger than Bucky. As if that wasn’t enough, Simon had to top it all off by saying overall he would classify the performance as quite mediocre. I am more convinced than ever that Simon just does not like Bucky.
Ace Young followed Bucky. Since rock songs are a little out of Ace’s comfort zone, he wanted to put his own little spin on the classic hit, from 1977, “We Will Rock You”. However, Queen band member Brian May didn’t like Ace’s proposed arrangement and actually refused to play the song the way Ace suggested. Ace and the group ultimately worked out a hybrid of the original song for Ace to perform.
Before Ace sang, the group said in their taped interview that Ace’s strong suit was his interaction with the audience. Well I certainly hope Ace connected with his fans, because it’s going to take all of their support to get him past the poor performance he delivered.
Randy lamented that the song Ace picked was a big song. He then rated Ace’s performance about a 5 or 6 and said that it was just alright for him. Randy concluded with I didn’t get it ; it was karaoke for me.
Paula basically blamed Queen for not letting Ace sing the song the way he wanted to. She went on to say that she thought that the song was a little pitchy, but that she liked what Ace tried to do with the song and the fact that he took a risk.
Simon bluntly said he thought that Randy was being generous because the performance was a complete and utter mess. As usual the crowed responded with boos, but Randy quickly interrupted and confessed that Simon was right. Then Randy admitted that he was trying to be generous. Simon followed up by telling Ace that the performance just didn’t work. Simon said it was all over the place and that Ace even forgot some of the words to the song. Annoyed, Simon dubbed the performance “We Will Rock You” gently and basically summed up all of his comments by telling Ace that he really, really, really (that’s 3 times) hated it.
Next it was Kellie Pickler’s turn to pick a Queen song. And she picked a song that the band members described as a difficult and brave song to try. However, they both thought she did a pretty good job with the song during rehearsals.
The song Kellie chose was the 1975 hit, Bohemian Rhapsody. I have to tell you that I really hated the normally fresh-faced Kellie appearing on stage as a dark, Courtney Love look-a-like. I wasn’t wild about her performance either. I mean I liked the beginning of the song, but I really hated the so-called rocking parts.
Randy said when he first heard that Kellie was going to do this song, he was like ah man. But to his surprise Kellie worked it out and entertained him.
Paula said the song choice was extremely ambitious, but echoed Randy’s sentiments that Kellie worked it out. Paula also told Kellie that she showed the world that she is a rocker chick.
Simon applauded Kellie for being a very brave girl and not just for appearing in public looking like a cast member from the night of the living dead. Simon tried to explain that on paper, the thought of her singing this song sounds hideous. Of course this comment went way over Kellie’s head. Rather than try to explain the meaning of the phrase to Kellie, Simon proceed with his comments, stating that some people at home will still think it was hideous (that would be me) but that he thinks it worked.
Chris Daughtry took the stage after Kellie. Chris picked a song that Queen has never performed live, a 1991 song called “Innuendo”. Brian Mays had heard from his daughter how great Chris was and when he met him he thought so too.
This should have been Chris’ night to shine, but I thought he sounded much better in his rehearsals with the band than on the AI stage.
Randy reminded Chris that he has been a fan since day one. Then Randy told Chris that he was expecting big things from him and that he definitely didn’t disappoint. I think it’s safe to say Randy felt like Chris delivered.
Paula said that the reason Queen didn’t sing the song live is because they don’t want to and that probably only Chris could perform the song live.
In response to Paula’s comment, Simon abruptly stated that the reason the group doesn’t perform the song live is because it’s not a very good song. Simon admitted that Chris’s vocals were the best so far and perhaps the most believable up to that point (of course we are only half way thru the show). All in all, though, Simon said he was disappointed, because Chris had an opportunity to really have a moment and entertain the audience with one of the great Queen songs. Instead Simon felt like Chris’ performance was self indulgent.
Next it was Katharine McPhee’s turn at bat. Initially Kat chose the high-energy song “Don’t Stop Me Now”. But she changed her mind and decided to sing the more mellow song “Who Wants to Live for Ever”, a tune off of the 1986 soundtrack for the movie Highlander.
I am so glad Katharine decided to sing the ballad over the rump-shaking song. I mean heaven forbid that she would have to jump around stage and actually try to entertain us.
Randy agreed that it was a good idea that Kat switched songs. He pointed out that it was a little pitchy in spots and possibly a little too big for her voice, but that all in all he felt like she did a good job.
Paula said she loves when an artist makes a choice to change their minds and loved that Kat chose to just stand there and be glorious with her glorious voice. Paula added that it’s a big song that singers like Celion Dion and Barbara Streisand take on, and that Katharine McPhee can handle it as well.
Simon said Kat almost had a moment, but that he had to agree with Randy about there being some tuning problems with parts of her song. Then he gave her what I am not exactly sure is a compliment. He told her that she owed a big kiss to the director and the lighting director because they made her look amazing. I think she looked amazing on her own. Anyway Simon’s overall assessment of the performance was that it was one of the strongest of the night.
Elliot Yamin followed Kat, but before he sang he had a little sit down with Ryan. During their chat, we found out that Elliot had a lot of odd jobs over the years, most notably of which was being a late night DJ at a local radio station. Then Ryan gave Elliot an opportunity to showcase his DJaying skills by letting him introduce himself.
Elliot picked a Queen’s tune that was written with the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, in mind. The song Elliot sung was “Find Me Somebody to Love”, which was released in 1976.
I love Elliot’s soulful voice and I thought the way he ended the song was great. However, I must admit that it sounded like Elliot was ready to leave the show and pursue his other options. I guess I just didn’t think he gave the song his all.
Randy stated that the song Elliot picked was probably the hardest song performed the entire night. He also mentioned that he had been looking forward to hearing Elliot sing a Queen song, because he has that same bravado as the late Freddie Mercury who was the front man of the group,. After acknowledging that Elliot had some pitch problems in the song, Randy said he thought his performance was really, really good.
Paula called Elliot’s vocals the best of the night. She said Elliot took the best parts of the song and put them into a minute and twenty seconds. She felt like it was the best Elliot Yamin performance.
Simon told Elliot he chose the tough one. But overall Simon felt like Elliot pulled it off.
And then it was Taylor Hick’s turn to change his mind. Taylor was originally slated to sing the well-known Queen’s song “We Are the Champions”. He actually rehearsed the song in front of the band members and they both thought he had a good voice.
Alas when Taylor met with the AI band he informed them that he was now singing the song “A Crazy Little thing Called Love”. Minus the so-called dancing and the first failed attempt to kick the mic stand down, I thought Taylor made the right choice. In my opinion Taylor was the one who rocked the night.
Randy said that last two weeks he’s been wondering where Taylor had gone. Randy went on to say that tonight Taylor was not only back, but kicking a$$ and taking names too.
Paula said that even though we’ve heard that song so many times, it was refreshing and a breath of fresh air to hear Taylor sing the classic song. She was happy that the authentic Taylor was back. She concluded by saying she didn’t know if they should give Taylor a recording deal or a straight jacket.
Simon wanted to know if Taylor was drunk. When Taylor assured Simon that he was not, Simon said he thought Taylor’s performance was ridiculous. I think Simon might have been the one that was drunk because as Randy said Taylor’s performance was hot.
Closing out the show this week was the lone surviving baby girl, Paris Bennett. After meeting the pint-size powerhouse, Brian Mays of Queen said the thing about Paris is she is damn good. The feelings were mutual as Paris said meeting with Queen was one of the highlights of her American Idol experience.
I for one loved Paris’s rocker chick look. I didn’t like the song she sang, though. She picked the tune “The Show Must Go On”, one of the few Queen’s songs that was released (1991) during her lifetime. I think Paris did the best she could with what she was working with.
Randy said he knew that it was going to be a tough song to sing. He told Paris that she started off a little rough and was rough in the middle, but that she eventually worked it out.
Paula said that the whole country and every single rock group is finding out what a powerhouse Paris is. She also encouraged Paris to rock on.
Simon only managed to get in that he found the whole performance a little weird, before the director started playing the wrap it up music.
It is anyone’s game at this point. It’s hard to predict who will be voted off, but one thing is for sure “Another One Bites the Dust” on Thursday. I wonder why no one sang that song. Anyway, I would have to say based on performances Ace will likely be voted off.
