Don't you think Paris is going to get Mandisa's votes?
No, I don't. Mandisa was a Patti Labelle singer in a 75% Queen Latiffah body. Paris has been pure pop the whole way. Idol, thank God, has NOT been about race -- but it has been about presence. Mandissa couldn't pull off a Queen Latiffah look (and yes it is about looks). I don't think her fan base will look for the next black chick. Not most of them.
Ace and Katherine did fine.
Ace made a great Queen song into a 98 Degrees/nSync Boy Band interpretation. At the most musically dramatic points, he had them arrange it to a MAJOR key. Respectful rock fans (even if they didn't like Queen) will want to punish him (I suspect he sealed his fate by disrsepcting Rock so much). The chicks and gays won't hold him aloft that much longer.
McPhee acrtually moved herself from a strong "looking good Mamacita" spot to one where no one could figure ut what the heck she was doing. I think she thinks she is in the elite circle (she isn't). She was pitchy and chose a wierd song and was foregettable (which is death on AI).
Bucky and Kellie were better than I expected.
Carrie, Jr. is one of the Holy Trinity and therefore felt safe to mess with an iconic song on National TV.
Her version of it was so truncated and her S/M outfit made it clear she isn't the ditz she continues to portray. As I said before, she could have burped the alphabet and still stayed. Some will hold a grudge for her dissing BH, others are tired of "Elly May Clampett 'I don' know nothin' about singin' outside of chapel" shtick. But she hath been crowned and will stick around.
As for Buckteeth, uninspired isn't the same as "good." Bucky could have "owned" Fat Bottomed Girls, but just chose to change the tempo and twang it a bit. Freddy Mercury was astounding for his CLEARLY UNDERSTANDABLE singing in many genres. Bucky's loud mumbling is the opposite and it showed (will be bottom 3 this week).
Elliot did great with the hardest song.
People don't necessarily respect the song difficulty. I agree with your assesment, but don't forget this is not decided by musical effetes. He was pitch and he didn't generate excitement. I give him a 50/50 chance of being bottom 3.
Taylor was back to being himself.
Yep. We all love him and he is destine for top 2. But he went "safe" to make sure he was "back to being Taylor." Good decision to have the pitcher send himself a softball across the plate.
Chris was screaming incoherrent words
But he sounds so cool doing it. I don't do alternative music, but a LOT of Gen Xers do -- and they vote. He was interesting to watch and that primitive proto-Bono thing sells.
Simon was right, Paris was just odd.
And odd one out. She was an octave too low for the song (of course Freddie was two octaves above everyone else other than Mark Farner and Roy Orbison) and was -- odd.
She doesn't fit in the current milleu -- my prediction to be next gone.
Mandisa's votes went to Elliott and Paris tonight. Look at the Dial Idol board and you will see it clear as day.
Elliott had the crowd up and moving. He had a lot more energy and excitement than last week and showed that he can sing better than the rest of the male vocalists.
Chris did the same tired schtick that he does every week. I am finding him to be a tribute band frontman, not much more.
People want to rave about Taylor but he gets praised for singing safe songs and doing his retarded dancing on stage.
McPhee oversang a sad song. Pickler should be working a pole at a Greensboro strip dive.
The only assessment of yours I agree with. Paris has the range and should have sung the song an octave higher.
Catherine, Paris, Ace and Chris all move well on stage and look GREAT as well as sing GREAT. Ace and Catherine have the best stage presence. Taylor who delivered the best performance of all HIS performances, falls WAY short in all categories by comparison, his voice has no range (and is good for only the simplest of songs) and as Simon said, he looks ridiculous.
BTW, I LOVE Queen. I disagree with the judges about Ace's performances. For once his voice wasn't nasal. It was strong and on pitch and this was his best evening. I agree with Ace's own self-assessment. He ROCKED!
This was one of the few times I actually undterstood Bucky's words, and I thought he did a good job. I hope you're right about Paris, don't like her much.
I found it very hard to not compare the songs last night to the originals in most cases. Freddie's voice was just so pure and so good that he set the standard for rock vocalists. Anyway, on to the performances:
Bucky - Fat Bottomed Girls - typical Bucky. Sang it in a country-rock fashion. Wasn't great. Wasn't horrible. It was just Bucky.
Ace - We Will Rock You - As I posted before the show when I read he was doing this song, it's not his style. Ace trying to do rock did not work. Brian May was right in refusing to change the song. It was not good at all.
Kellie - Bohemian Rhapsody - The judges "praise" was based on it not sucking as bad they thought it would. Folks, take your eyes off the shiny stilettos and bouncy breasts and listen to the vocal of that song (Link). Absolutely horrible. That was a cold blooded murder of one of the best rock songs in all of history. People seem to be giving her credit for trying the song. So what. She tried it and it was dreadful. It was pitchy and she did not have enough support for the power required in that song. She obviously used Constantine's arrangement which was the easiest parts of the song but it was nowhere near as good as his and his was mediocre at best. That being said, the Kelliebots will vote her through easily. I've said it before, America loves a dumb blonde. It's no wonder pop music sucks...
Chris - Innuendo - Agree with Simon a bit here, great vocal, good performance, bad song. He had an opportunity for greatness and it came up short. It was classic Chris though and alternative rock fans are extremely loyal. You might not understand "it" but, well, they could give a sh*t...;-)
Katharine - Who Wants To Live Forever - Nice production but once again failed to connect with the song and the audience. V-E-R-Y pitchy in spots. I thought she was better than that. It just wasn't very good.
Elliot - Somebody To Love - I really wanted to like it. I was excited when I heard he was singing this truly great song...unfortuately it lived up to my past impressions of him. Decent but I was not blown away by any stretch. I just have never had that "wow" moment with his voice.
Taylor - Crazy Littel Thing Called Love - Perfect song for him. As I also said before the show, would it be the best vocal? No way. Would it be a great performance? Yep. Taylor was Taylor again and his joy for music and performing came shining through. Simon the wank did his best to rip him because, as SirLinksAlot has said, he has no idea how to make any money with him. The Soul Patroller's were very pleased though and took umbrage to Simon's comment and likely put him in the top vote getting spot.
Paris - The Show Must Go On - Actually, I thought this was the best vocal of the night. As Brian May said, "she's damn good." I enjoyed the vocal but not necessarily the performance.
Top 3 - Vocally: Chris and Paris. Performance: Taylor in a league by himself.
Bottom 3 - It should be Ace, Kellie and Bucky. It will be Ace, Bucky and Katharine (the surprise could be Chris as I'm not sure it played to the masses)
Going home: Ace