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Good assessments, as were the others from FReeperdom. Here are my two pennies, as always after taking in the performances twice (no small task sometimes):

Bucky - he always comes off a little bit better than I expect him to, and he did once again tonight. Still, Simon's word for him - "mediocre" - fits to a tee. Gets extra credit though, for making the veiled "get behind" gay remark about Mercury and for "eulogizing" Mandisa with song choice.

Pickler - Her singing was ok at times, off at other times. She masked the song well enough, though, with her look and performance. I really don't want to see her win this, but she sails through another week.

Ace - My pick to be gone tomorrow. He actually took a rock anthem that drunk hetero guys sing at every stadium, ballpark, and arena in America, and made it GAY. Ticking off the Queen guys by ruining their song won't help him either.

Chris - Hey, the 90s called, Chris - they want their vocals back! Wierd song, too much screaming. But he too will sail on. Sooner or later when the field is trimmed he will fall.

Catherine - I just don't get the judges love of her (besides her rack). Her singing gets awful when it gets loud. She jumps around in a song, at times indecipherable, never clear and smooth. Not a very good singer at all, sooner or later that will catch up to her, despite the judges.

Taylor - Gave the masses what they wanted, the "old" Taylor. His singing was actually quite good during all the histrionics. Personally I would have loved to hear his take on "Champions" instead. He kinda has an "young Elvis vs Old Elvis" thing going on in his alternating performances. But I believe he has a strategy to go far in this and his popularity is immense. I'm guessing internal polls have him way ahead. When he pops out "Georgia" at a later stage this thing could be all over but Simon's shouting.

Elliot - The man has a great voice, but there still is a disconnect. Popping up and down with your eyes bugging out is not the way to sell a song. Shame he cannot find a way to get a style to go with those pipes. The song was tough and well sung, but it was uncomfortable to listen to, as it jumped all over the place.

Paris - She did look strange. However, I thought her singing, as usual, was strong and sure. She is the best remaining female vocalist by far. That doesn't guarantee her anything though, up against the two overrated vixens.

All in all, Queen night was strange. In the future, I hope the braintrust at AI picks a rock group with more than just a handful of listenable songs. The contestants need a bigger bank to choose from.

Here's my list.

1 Taylor Hicks - Great song choice for him and he performed it great.

2 Chris Daughtry - IMO A good idea to pick a song not many people know so his singing could speak for itself.

3 Katharine McPhee - Good voice and the song gave her the range to show it.

4 Elliott Yamin - Good but could have been better

5 Kellie Pickler - Looked like a freaking Zombie and hacked up the song. I know the have a time constraint but they F'ed up that song by cutting it all up.

6 Bucky Covington - Queen and country don't mix.

7 Paris Bennett - Bad night for her

8 Ace Young - Why is he still on the show?