As theme nights go, this was remarkably better than most of the recent ones. Queen has such a broad range of songs to choose from that just about everyone could find something that suits them to a certain degree. This style requires singing with power and control while at the same time engaging the audience and drawing them in. This is not an easy combination to pull off, and is why Freddy Mercury was such a legendary performer.
So... how did our aspiring "Idols" do? On the whole, pretty well, but clearly not up to the original standard. The smartest moves of the night were by people who put a "twist" on the songs to make them their own, so as to avoid the inevitable comparison to Freddy Mercury.
Even still, it was a three tier night. Top top tier was occupied by Paris alone, for singing the song well and putting on an energetic and engaging performance -- she's the only one who pulled off both portions. Tier two (in no particular order: Bucky, Elliott, Katharine) comprises those who had a chance to do something really special, but fell short for one reason or another. The final tier belongs to those who just flat-out were disappointing.
Ok... here's how I saw it:
- Paris - I thought the vocal was strong and confident, and that she did a good job selling the song both with her voice and her stage presence. The only "knock" I have is a minor one: some of her movements seemed over-choreographed, which didn't fit in well with the rest of the time where she just seemed to be in the moment. My Grade: A-
- Elliott - The standard advice I would give to most contestants -- don't try to imitate Freddie Mercury -- really doesn't apply to Elliott. I think he would have done a better job trying to stay closer to the original than with this more "gospel" style. Still, I like the engagement he had with the audience; the best I've seen from him yet in that regard. My Grade: B+
- Katharine - This was an ambitious reinterpretation of the original, and she almost pulled it off. She had some technical problems here and there, but where this really fell short of being a great performance was that it sounded more like an intro to a longer and "bigger" song, than a performance in and of itself. I think she needed more of a mix of slow-tempo and up-tempo to have "sold" this. My Grade: B
- Bucky - Very, very good energy and a nice "rock-a-billy" style. If Bucky was a better singer, he's a good enough performer to win this thing. But his vocals are his weak point -- his voice just isn't up there with the others, and he continues to have technical problems as well. Diction was better this week, but he faded at the end of several phrases, and just lost whatever momentum he had going. My Grade: B-
- Taylor - Ok, he sang well, he got the audience into it, so why is he so low on the scorecard? Two reasons: 1) it was such a cliche and "safe" choice, and 2) seriously, he looked more like an aging, has-been rocker trying to act "hip" again at age 50 than he looked like an "American Idol". Taylor needs to choose better songs and focus less on gimmicks. My Grade: C+
- Chris - Anyone who tries to tell me this was anything other than 80 seconds of screaming into the microphone needs to have his head examined. Again, it was such a cliche, and with the entire canon of Queen to choose from, this was a horrible selection of song. It's as if Chris is flat-out admitting that he can't sing, and has to scream his way through something in order to perform it. The strobe light effects made it difficult to even watch him this week, which is where he makes up for his mediocre voice. My Grade: C-
- Ace - I'll give Ace credit for trying to adapt a song to his style, but this just didn't work at all. It's a stadium chant song, not a boy band number, and no matter what you do to it, that remains true. The song was "too big" for Ace in the first place, and he diminished himself further by a bad interpretation. My Grade: D+
- Kellie - Well, she gets the ambition award for the night, along with the "what the h*ll were you thinking?" award. She "styled" the song OK, but the vocal was nowhere near good enough. There was a brief moment after the opening and before the fast section where I thought she might actually pull it together, but then the wheels came off. Let's put it this way: Constantine's version looks like a masterpiece in comparison. Oh, and who still buys this act of hers? "What's 'on paper' mean?" For cryin' out loud... My Grade: D-
Overall rankings:
- Paris Bennett (+2)
- Katharine McPhee (-1)
- Elliott Yamin (+1)
- Chris Daughtry (-2)
- Bucky Covington (+3)
- Taylor Hicks (NC)
- Ace Young (-2)
- Kellie Pickler (-1)