I agree totally with Commish's observations about Simon's trying to influence the show's outcome. I've been observing this since the beginning with his pimping of the obviously less than talented Kellie Pickler.
Here is my own recap....
I was thinking of titling this recap -- WERE YOU ROCKED ?, But instead decided to use the alternative title --- SOMEBODY TO VOTE (with apologies to Freddie Mercury ).
To those of you who are fans of American Idol but were born late in the 20th century, you might wonder who Queen is ( Nope, the name Elizabeth has nothing to do with it, neither is Latifah ). Queen is a rock band formed in the mid 1970's by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. Their music is so innovative that they have amassed an enormous worldwide fanbase that continues to exist to this day. They are what we call --- LEGENDARY. Unlike the Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block and other fadish bands, they have endured. Why you might ask ? Well, the 60's and the 70's were musically innovative eras ( can't say much for the 1990's folks ). The group Queen were pioneers of arena rock, hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock ( and any kind of rock you can think of ).
The group has also been cited as influential to many later artists, and in 2001 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. As mentioned in their 2004 induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame, Queen's promotional video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" is credited with "jump-starting the video era."
Of the four original members, Freddie Mercury died 15 years ago, and John Deacon has retired. Paul Rodgers ( founder of the group FREE and BAD COMPANY) has sort of "replaced" ( I used the word with quotes because Freddie Mercury is irreplaceable ) the lead singer and Danny Miranda of Blue Oyster fame has joined the group.
Queen is still playing in sold-out arenas but things have not been the same without the flamboyant half-man/half-woman ( yep, he can't make up his mind as to which side he is attracted to ), Freddie Mercury --- who died of AIDS in 1991. Most of the great songs that mix opera,chants,3 and 4 part harmonies with heavy rock came from Mercury's inventive mind. Needless to say, the songs they record are complex with very intricate vocal runs that will tax anyone who wants to do a karaoke version of it ( I'd say it is near impossible ). As a songwriter, Mercury produced a large number of memorable hits including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Are The Champions" ( all sang tonight ).
TRIVIA QUESTION ----> What is Freddie Mercury's real name and what country did he originate from ?
GIVE UP ?
ANSWER ---- Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to Indian Parsi parents. He migrated to the UK as a kid and grew up in England. So, if you can't quite place where his exotic look and moustache comes from, NOW YOU KNOW.
Well, on to the show ....
In the intro, we see the contestants banging their to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in the car (if the model isn't a FORD, someone from the company should sue) on their way to sing with the members of Queen. Well what do you know, Mandisa was still there when they did the scene.
. They got to see Queen rehearse & then took the stage with them. How cool is that? The director of AI, we are told by Ryan, was responsible for directing the same Queen video for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
As I Watched and listened to the members of Queen interact with the "Idol" finalists, the band looked as if they were wondering how they had arrived at a stage in their career where they were sharing the stage with a bunch of people who were not even born yet when they made their debut. Can they really appreciate their kind of music ? And you look further and begin to understand the band's concern --- a lot of them were trying to switch around the band's arrangements to make them easier to sing.
I was expecting a train wreck of an evening.....Surprisingly, I was entertained !!! Honestly I was. Let's find out why...
Before recaping each contestant, let me say firstly that if you hear the singing, almost everyone had pitch problems.
You expect that because Freddie Mercury's songs ( he being one of the premier vocalists in show biz) have a heaps of chord changes and are breath control nightmares, making them hard to keep up with. Randy and Paula noticed them early on, mentioned the flaws briefly and but moved on. The two judges ( forget Simon, his role is to bring people down to earth no matter how good because all he wants is to sell them and make MUCHO DINERO) were being quite lenient.
Bucky Covington - "Fat Bottom Girls" ( who woulda thunk that he'd be the one doing the tribute to the prematurely departed Mandisa ??)
I'm not sure why Bucky doesn't rock out more. Maybe he thinks that he can't compete with Chris. But he's countrifying the song if you get my drift. But I gotta say, I like Bucky singing rock. It worked out quite well if I say so myself. The important thing is he's having a good time and that's half the battle won right there. His raspy vocals are perfect for crap-kicking songs like this.
Bucky has one major problem (which Taylor does not have ) --- STAGE PRESENCE. You can see that he's an amateur. It needs a little work but he's improving as the weeks go by. He's looking more and more comfortable on stage.
Simon tosses out a standard phrase like --- "THE SONG WAS BIGGER THAN YOU". I realize that Simon wants to see Bucky go but I am telling you that there's a chance that he stays. He might make bottom 3 but I will not be surprised that he survives this week ( this coming from me who has been predicting his demise for 4 weeks. I NEVER EXPECTED HIM TO OUTLAST MANDISA ).
Did I spy Fantasia in the audience tonight sitting just behind the judges ? YES INDEED !!
Ace Young - "We Will Rock You" -
Ace's style is boy band, N'sync type of singing and this sort of hard rock venue isn't doing him any favors. People try to compare him to Constantine but the looks and come hither stare and the "see my scar" schtick only gets you so far. Constantine is clearly the more versatile of the two. Ace is of course now trying to throw himself at the mercy of sports fans all around the country by choosing this song, which is being chanted in many arenas all around the country. Heck, I even heard this song being sang in a large soccer game in Hongkong with the Chinese singing it this way : WE WILL, WE WILL LOCK YOU".
Ace is trying to make the song easy for himself by negotiating with Brian May to make the arrangements more suitable for his style. Brian May looks horrified at the suggestion.
At one point, May said something like, "I can't do that to my song." YIKES.
Ace looks like a fish out of the water on this one. Question -- How would Justin Timberlake do with this one ??
The song itself is one very limited melodically and the words are essentially repetitive and chant-like. Perfect for the sports chant the song has become. But, as far as stage performance, only a really muscular vocal and high energy could save this song from sounding boring.
Ace my man, WHY DID YOU DO IT ? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS SONG WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT FOR Chris Daughtry ? WHY, WHY, WHY ??
Ace just does not have the strong, hard edged presence to make it work and it shows -- BIG TIME ( as Dick Cheney would put it ).
Ace should have chosen a sweeter, more melodic song like say, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND.
The effort was there, but his vocals were a hodgepodge of styles that made the whole thing sound like a mess. He began with a bit of a British accent, changed the arrangement in the middle, and appeared to stumble on some of the words. Though he closed with a flourish, it was far from his best effort.
Did I see Micky Dolenz of the Monkees in the audience tonight?
YES IDID !! Are we going to have a Monkees theme week ? Whose gonna sing "I'M A BELIEVER"....
NOW TO THE PART I HAVE BEEN ANTICIPATING THE MOST ----> GALILEO, GALILEO, MAMA MIA, SCARAMOUCHE... the potential train wreck we have all been waiting for -- BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY.
Last year, Constantine absolutely (IMHO) nailed the vocal part of this song, so much so that he was invited to sing Freddie Mercury's part in the Killer Queen tribute album.
Want to listen to his version ? Go here and click on Constantine's name beside the song title :
http://hollywoodrecords.go.com/killerqueen/ Kellie (What's a Rhapsody ?) Pickler chooses to pick -----> "Bohemian Rhapsody" - BRAVE GIRL.
Her arrangement was really similar to last year's version. She knows she has big shoes to fill. What did the stylist do to her ? She looks like someone out of a horror movie. I'm just waiting for the fangs to come out. What's with the thick black eyeliners ? Anyone out there rolling their eyes and cringing at the thought of her attempting that song would be at one with the judges, the studio audience and everyone who loves Queen.
Does she do justice to the song ? You who have yet to see the show want to ask ....Well, how to put it ??
She looked like a kid trying to sing a grown-up song. And oh my--that little pelvic thrust when she dropped to her knees !! Trying to make the whole thing dramatic.
The vocals were WEAK and UNFIT FOR THE SONG's EMOTIONAL POWER. Heck, Mama, she just killed a man and she sounds like Snow White singing it. Her weak vocals were completely overshadowed by the band, and the arrangement all but excised all of the most interesting and difficult parts out of the song. There was no drama ( inspite of her attempt), no empathy, no passion. What was left was a hollow shell of a song. I'm sorry to say, it was not a credible performance at all.
Now, I'd like to see someone like Melissa Etheridge try her version of the song.
What infuriated me is the reaction of the judges. They were all positive (Simon included ). Add the expression "it looked bad on paper" to the list of expression Picker supposedly ( EMPHASIS ) is suppose to learn the meaning of. But judges, come on -- where is your honesty here ?? Simon says she did a good job (WHATTTT !!! ), and Kellie ( in keeping with the script ) tells us she does not understand his accent.
At this point I have come to one conclusion only those who are burying their heads in the sand refuse to see ----TPTB WANTS KELLIE IN THE TOP 3 AND ARE STOOPING AT NOTHING TO SEE THAT SHE GETS THERE !
That's the only explanation I can think of. Kellie is the weakest vocalist of the ladies ( Mandisa included ), but because she makes for great TEE VEE, they gotta keep her.
Next, we come to the guy who should feel the most at home in a rock arena....
Chris Daughtry chooses an obscure Queen song "Innuendo" ( Never heard of it myself ).
Anyone who likes Daughtry's signature style of shouting into the microphone had to be happy with his performance.
As for me ( and that's just me ). I can only take so much yelling and screaming. One or two songs is enough for me and anymore will cause my ears to explode. I mean, how much decibels can your natural ear drum take ??
Chris says Queen reportedly never performed Innuendo live. It doesn't take a genius to realize that perhaps the reason for that is that the song, melodically, isn't very good ( and I didn't like it ).
Considering he's the only one in the competition with anything resembling the persona needed to play arena rock, I guess he is the most logical person to revive it.
Chris came off sounding tuneless and screamy. What a shame. Queen should have been Chris's night to shine, but instead he was average. With the right song, Chris could have pulled off a show stopper. This night was definitely a wasted opportunity for Chris. So I'm with Simon on this one.
But does it really matter ? Chris has been, together with Kellie, the judge's favorite in the competition for obvious reasons --- SIMON KNOWS THE TARGET MARKET and it's easier to sell them.So, I expect Chris will sail through this week as always.
Katharine originally chose ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’. But she changed her mind to Mandisa’s song ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, a haunting ballad best known for being the theme song for the movie -- HIGHLANDER. She said SHE chose to change the song so she could stand there & sing. There is no denying the girl has technical talent but something is missing in her performances. I just can't put my finger on it. What's the word ??? AHH YES -- PASSION, SOUL, HEART... YOU NAME IT. There is a Major difference between being technically good and connecting with your audience. That has been Kate's one problem since the beginning ( Oh yeah, that was Lisa's problem too ). But notice that Kate has a little bit more passion than Lisa since she is 4 years older and probably has experienced her share of boyfriend break-ups.
The arrangement sounded strange to me, possibly due to some residual annoyance at having to change her song and start over so late in the week, but IMHO, it was a great decision to go with the slower song.
Katharine started off well enough on the quiet notes, but as soon as she tried for the big, big glory moments, her vocals started to stray off pitch. She was left trying to regain her bearing the rest of the way.
Such a pity because I have seen Kate really shine on these big, stagy power ballads. This could have been a WOW performance had she enough time to practice. But the rushed arrangement shows. Not one of her better performances.
The judges glossed over the pitch problems ( Simon included ). Well what can I say ?? She sang well enough to survive, although the fact that she's been in the bottom two before concerns me.
And what was the name of the brunette from the TV show OC again ? ( no not Mischa Barton ). Boy does Kate look like her sister !!
Ahhh, who do we have here ?? Yes, one of the better vocalists of the male --- my Bar Mitzvah kid -- Elliott Yamin.
Here are some of the jobs Elliott Yamin has had: Fast-food worker, corporate employee and a DJ on the air between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Does that make him a more sympathetic figure to vote for? After finishing with the second-fewest votes last week, he certainly hopes so.
Elliott Yamin chooses one of Queen's more melodically complex and vocally intricate songs ---- "Somebody To Love" - In Elliott's film clip, Brian May mentioned that Freddie wrote this song with Aretha Franklin in mind.
I would have loved for the back-up singers to sing the first part a cappela with Elliott fronting them. They skipped that part and went on to the piano intro and on with the main vocals. HEY SOMEONE -- HIRE ME AS ARRANGER !!
Elliott started off a little nervous. At first, the performance seemed a little awkward, with Elliott staring wide-eyed into the camera and clutching his microphone. His vocals a bit unsure at the beginning. But as he progressed, he found his groove. His vocals became strong and soulful. The last few notes were great. Elliott has a great vibrato that makes singing songs by Fredie Mercury a great fit.
I think he sang "Somebody to Love" well enough to earn increased support this week. Paula may make a lot of silly remarks, but her advise tonight will benefit Elliott if he takes it. His vocals are spot on, but he still moves around onstage like a teenage in a prom afraid to look awkward in a dance floor. He just won't move his feet unless an earthquake on the ground forces him to. This guy needs more performance experience. It's hard to predict what'll happen tomorrow. I personally feel that he has one of the best voices in this competition but his visiting the bottom 2 last week has me worried.
Now speaking of performer... let's go to the best of the lot ....
You want to be entertained ? Well be prepared for the best entertainer of the finalists.
Taylor Hicks chooses the most obevious song to perform for his spastic and manic style ----> "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (CLTCL).
Taylor was supposed to sing "We Are the Champions," but I hear he was asked to change his choice because this is going to be the song they sing in the GROUP PERFORMANCE on Wednesday. You heard it here folks !
Well, I'm glad he decided to perform CLTCL instead. It's been performed before on Idol -- Twice in fact. BOTH FORGETABLE. Do you remember Fantasia doing it ? NO ? Well that explains my point. David Radford tried to channel Michael Buble's big band version and survived one more week after that.
This song is one of Freddie mercury's tribute to Elvis Presley and has been performed by at least 5 or 6 well known singers. From Dwight Yoakam, to Michael Buble to Josh Kelly. Vocally, it isn't the most challenging, but to perform it, YOU MUST HAVE THE ENERY *AND* THE PERSONALITY FOR IT. No one in this group has the panache to do it but Taylor and he does it with GUSTO.
Some people love Taylor's spastic, spazzy dance moves, some hate it. I belong to the former camp. THAT's WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE OTHERS -- MEMORABILITY.
I really wasn't too worried about his song choice tonight even when it has been performed twice. It's the kind of song that can sound like a novelty, but I had a feeling Taylor had a few tricks up his sleeve and that he wouldn't disappoint. He didn't. I thought tonight's performance was the perfect blend of entertainment and great vocals. After last week's detached performance, it was awesome to see the old Taylor back--connected to the music and to his audience. I had fun and that's what it's all about when you watch TV isn't it ? And oh yeah --- the missed mic kick gave me a guffaw. LOOOVED IT.
And Simon, bless his big mouth, is losing his stash of insults to use... how many times has he thrown that "you'r drunk" schtick to us ?. C'mon man, let's be original. At least Grouch Marx and Don Rickels had a million of them.
Simon does not know the difference between being entertaining and being clownish. He thinks that all dance moves are a clown act. Did he watch Freddie Mercury's video of the same song complete with polls and hip swiveling ?
After the applause died down, Randy said the last 2 weeks he has been wondering where he went & tonight he is back. That was hot. Paula said they’ve heard that song so many times & it was a breath of fresh air. Simon asked him if he is drunk. No surprise there. Simon just hates it when the white guys dance. Ryan asked Randy what’s wrong. Randy said he thinks Simon is drunk.
Taylor takes over and again gives his shoutout to the SOUL PATROL. You can be sure he'll be safe.
Paris Bennett closes the show with "The Show Must Go On".
Brian May likes everything about her and thinks she is fantastic. I think her wig tonight worked for her ( hmmm... another hair change ?? ). This girl is Mary J. Blige with better range. Fantasia must be envious.....
Simon said he found it "All a little weird" True. Her outfit looks like that of a dominatrix with boots and all, ready to whip a man tied to his bed into shape. IT JUST FREAKS ME OUT THAT THEY'RE DOING THIS TO A 16 YEAR OLD KID !! And note, her grandma is in the audience... why are you allowing this ??
Her performance was sort of like Gloria Gaynor-meets-Queen. However, I found it oddly compelling. This was one of Queen's signature songs as AIDS was slowly eating away at Freddie Mercury. I think he wrote this as his last will and testament.
Like most everyone else, there were some parts that faltered, rough in spots, but I thought she was pretty good. It was one of the more interesting interpretations of the night. It's amazing how ordinary Paris can sound when she performs an ordinary song. But given interesting material, she can be simply amazing. It's even more amazing when you hear the girl speak. THERE IS A TOTAL DISCONNECT BETWEEN HER CARTOONISH SPEAKING VOICE AND THE SINGING VOICE THAT COMES OUT OF HER. What's great about her is she's able to adopt to a style of music that's way outside her comfort zone. She'll be more comfortable when the show goes back to featuring actual pop music themes instead of hard rock.
Folks, Dialidol.com were right on the money last week. They predicted based on their scan of busy signals who the bottom 3 would be and were SPOT ON UP TO THE BOTTOM 2.
Can they do it again ? I'll bet on it.
MY CHOICE FROM BEST TO WORST
Taylor
Paris
Eliott
Chris
Bucky
Katharine
Kellie
Ace
WHO SHOULD GO : Ace
WHO WILL GO : Ace
Next week, I hear that we should be prepared for the GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK. Four Albums of American Standards performed by none other than Rod Stewart. That's close to 60 songs to choose from.
Anwar Robinson absolutely thrilled us with his version of "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" last season ( an American Standard), will it be sang again ?
Here's a question to you folks out there ... is GEORGIA ON MY MIND considered an American Standard ? Will Taylor Hicks finally get to use this bullet. I certaintly hope so. I've heard his version on CD and he just HAS to be given the chance to perform this live !
