So, since some of you forgot to tape, I’m writing this as I watch mine….yes, it’s blow by blow, song by song Idol MAC:

It’s Queen night folks…strap yourself in, it could be a bumpy ride.

Okay, so we get clips of each singer rehearsing with the band, then they sing…

First up…Bucky sings Fat Bottom Girls (love that song!) and it’s the perfect choice for him. He showed a lot more of who he is in the clips with Queen, and actually seemed more comfortable on stage performing tonight than he has been. Surprising. He was flat - a lot - but it was an enjoyable performance that I wasn’t compelled to fast forward through (which is saying a lot with Bucky.)

Ace - well, he manages to piss of a very politic Brian May (an absolute idol of mine. I still have a sketch I did of him in high school art class around here somewhere…) by suggesting he rearrange We Will Rock You, but for a standard that’s been so overdone, he actually puts together an okay performance. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but it was watchable and entertaining…and kind of made me wish Brian hadn’t been such a prig about trying a new arrangement after all. Wow - Paula actually has possibly the most coherent feedback she’s ever given. And I happen to agree. (Was that a pig that just flew past my window?) Randy’s comments are valid, and maybe Simon had a point, if too strongly made, but I enjoyed watching and listening to Ace more than I usually do, so it couldn’t have been that bad, because I’m the queen of the TiVo FF button. And I didn’t use it. (Maybe it’s the past two weeks being so bad that anything sounds good. Or maybe Ace actually brought the pretty for me tonight. Who knows.)

So…two down and I’m still pleasantly stunned…whoda thunk given they couldn’t even do current songs justice, that they’d manage to make this fun? Well, I’m having fun so far anyway. Maybe they need to rock it out more often….

(Squee!!! Mickey Dolenz from the Monkees in the audience!! Hey Mickey, he’s so fine….. Well he used to be. I had such a crush…. God, I’m as old as dirt.)

Oh. My. God. I take it all back. Kellie is doing Bohemian Rhapsody? WHA? (If anyone, I thought maybe Paris or Kat had the voice for it, or maybe even Chris would grind it out.) But KELLIE? In a word? No. The band loves her, because, well, she’s Kellie and really, it’s genetic with her. But yeah…they were kind when they said she had a challenge ahead of her. Okay…I must listen now. If there is no more blog after this point, it’s because I was forced to jump out the window rather than hear this song completely destroyed. (Wasn’t it enough we had to live through Constantine doing this last year? Wasn’t it?)

Okay, I didn’t jump. Rockin Queen outfit. There. I said something nice. And yes, cracked me up when she did her Freddie growl in Simon’s face. Otherwise, it was really….different. But entertaining! Maybe not for the right reasons, but I’m learning not to be picky with this group. And Simon went for it. The in-your-face singing worked. Nice move, Kellie. On paper and off. Very interesting night indeed. I might have to watch that again.

Commerical! I need some ice cream…I’ll be right back.

So, I’m fortified with orange sherbet and vanilla and ready for Chris to Rock Me! Oh, wait, Ace just did that. (I know, I still can’t believe Ace did the rock anthem….) Hmm, what will Chris sing? We Are the Champions maybe?

Chris picks Innuendo, an obscure song that, in fact, Queen never sang live in concert - hello, Chris? Personally, I love the obscure stuff, but America has proven time and time again they don’t vote for songs they don’t know - very risky. Very. So, anyway, Brian and the boys love him and his voice. Off we go! Not bad at all, Chris in his element. But, see the problem with this is, popular or not, it’s not a standard anthem type rock song, and it’s not really accessible to new listeners. Viewers will largely have no idea if he’s doing it justice or not (he does) but…hmm. Makes me nervous. (Hi Camryn!) Wish he’d gone with something known. Would suck to be bottom three with his talent for making a stupid mistake, but it happens all the time. Ayla? Hello? (Are his eyebrows seriously penciled tonight or is it me? Put the pencil down, makeup person. He doesn’t need that kind of help.)

Very funny, Randy, but not really, with the fake out. Aaaaaaand Paula swiftly descends back into total irrationality. But it was nice to see her clear and lucid for that brief, shining moment, wasn’t it? Hold on to that. Simon? Yeah, I tend to agree on the bad song choice. See people? And here I totally, 100% agree with Simon. At the very least, if he wanted to choose a more obscure song, he should have picked a more accessible one. Hope people vote for him despite that. The talent deserved it, even if the song choice didn’t. But didn’t we say that about Mandisa last week?

Kat is up…okay, she looks totally, completely out of her element, bouncing around all over the place. And then Brian very sweetly…totally agrees with me. Fish outta water. Poor Kat. So, smart girl, she sees the band sort of indulgently smiling at her as she mangles rock song Don’t Stop Me Now and switches up to a ballad from the soundtrack of Highlander, Who Wants to Live Forever. Another not well known tune, but possibly a good call (cause she looked really bad trying to be rocker girl, y’all You know it’s bad when Kellie pulls it off more convincingly than you do.) But I’m not crazy about either of the choices. Let’s see how it goes…

It does showcase her lovely voice, but again, no one knows this song. No one is going to care how lovely it is. And it is lovely. Very Star Search but lovely. (Where is Lisa when we need her?) A little shouty, but she does it justice. The judges concur. Still, I don’t think this is going to do her any favors with the voters. And it’s weird, but she looks like she’s a different font size standing next to Ryan. I know, I said font size, but that’s the only way I can describe it. It’s like he’s 10 point Times New Roman and she’s 12 point. THey both look normal individually, but something just isn’t right with the dimensions side by side.

Eliot! He’s looking pretty good with the Van Gogh. I’m liking it. Yay! A song we all know and love again. Somebody to Love. Freddie wrote it inspired by Aretha Franklin. I never knew that. Hunh. And Eliot has never heard the song before? WHA? No! I’m officially older than dirt. Brian doesn’t seem too thrilled. Another “challenge.” Well, Kellie pulled it out. I have faith in Eliot. Don’t let me down now!

Okay, Eliot can’t do Freddie. Just can’t. His pitch is too low. He gives it a go and he sings really well as always, but man, this is impossible for a non-Freddie. Eliot is totally a non-Freddie. But he does give it his all. Randy likes it. Paula loves it. Simon is pretty much where I am on this, but actually kinder than I’d be. Shocking, I know.

Taylor’s turn and he gets We Are the Champions… Hunh. I wouldn’t have picked this one for him. Ever. He’s been so totally off for awhile, I was hoping he gets all spazriffic on us again. I want the old Taylor back. And what do you know, after Brian compliments him, that’s exactly what Taylor says! I’m psychic! But wait! Last second switch up! He changes to Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Even better choice! Woot! Here we go…..

So, explain this to me…he’s all over the stage being his spazrific self and he looks his George Clooney bestest…and yet the song, for me, is strangely flat. And more shouty than singy. I know it’s kinda like that, this song, but…I don’t know. As Randy would say, “I’m just not feelin’ it dawg.” It was the first time I was itching to FF. Last note was the best. Lessee what the judges think… Okay, Randy is feelin it. Paula is whack, but actually funny. Simon…uncalled for, the drunk crack, but yeah, not feelin’ it either. Could be bottom three peeps -but he saved Chris I think.

Paris is the closer. That scares me. So Brian is totally blown away by that huge voice in that cute speaking voice package. And she sounds good to me, too. Hunh. Paris was totally digging it and Brian is in love. So here she is with The Show Must Go On. Whoa! Who is that chick and what did she do with Paris??? Dang, girl. She does a good job with this - it’s a very tough song and she’s so not a rocker, but she does a pretty good imitation of one. And then has this Paris sweet “thank you” to Randy right afterward. That just cracks me completely up. Randy likes, Paula is, well, Paula, and Simon finds it all a little weird. I’ll go for that. It was different.

It’s anybody’s night, people. (Oh, and is it me, or does Ryan look like he has a perfectly matched flak jacket on under his suit jacket? I know it’s a vest, but it looks very bullet-proofy. But considering how snarky he’s being lately, maybe it’s with good reason.)

So…not a train wreck after all, Queen Night. All in all, I’m still pleasantly surprised. It was far more entertaining (in a good way) than I’d ever expected. Looking back over them, I still have to say I found Bucky, Ace, and Kellie more entertaining, if less perfectly voiced, than the later singers. Just me? Maybe. But I was having more fun as a viewer, in general, during the first half than I did during the second.

My bottom three? Hmm. That’s a tough call. Based on tonight alone, and based on the combination of singing and performing, the ones that won me over the least (The FF Final Three) were, Kat, Taylor, and, I’m sorry, Eliot. I know!! I love Eliot and Taylor used to have my love. Top Three in terms of Overall Fun? It makes NO sense, none, but the three I enjoyed the most were the first three. Bucky, Ace, and Kellie. I had more fun watching them than I did for the rest of the show. Middle two are Chris and Paris - both excellent singers, but obscure songs. Had they done something more well known, Ithink they’d easily have been Top Three. Especially Chris. Great voice, mediocre song. Hope he’s not in anyone else’s bottom three.

What do you think?

Tags: Writing //