Idol Hails Queen

This week the Top 8 contestants on American Idol 5 tackled the music of Queen. Going into the night, everyone, including the contestants, knew that this theme was a huge challenge. The positive side of the challenge, however, is that it made all of the contestants step up their game in their attempt to fill the shoes of Freddy Mercury. Almost all cranked up their energy and genuinely tried to entertain the audience whilst trying to do justice to the classic material. While the night didn't provide a showstopping phenomenal moment a la Constantine Maroulis, it was full of passion and ambition, which are rare commodities this season.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI5 Finals Round 5: Music of Queen.

Bucky Covington "Fat Bottomed Girls"
Destiny: I really liked Bucky's hair and overall look this week. He sounded great and was really comfortable onstage. Neat mic tossing, Bucky! He did about as good a job with this song as anyone could, managing to stay in control of it and not let it run away from him. The only major problem is that the song is probably not known by the majority of the young Idol audience, therefore it may not garner him enough votes to stay alive in the competition.
Score: 8.8
Tammy: I agree. Bucky was fantastic this week. Who would have thought that a countrified version of "Fat Bottomed Girls" would work? But it did. I could hear this song on the radio next wedged between Garth Brooks and Keith Urban any day of the week. It will be a shame if Bucky doesn't make it past this week.
Score: 8.7
Liza: Destiny, sadly, I don't think any Queen song other than "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" will be known by the younger audience, so I don't think it gives Bucky a major disadvantage. I actually heard "Fat Bottomed Girls" on the radio last night. It's the kind of song that is memorable, even if just for its title. Anyway, I thought Bucky gave a good start to the show. He showed an ease in performing this kind of music, and while he was a little hard to hear at times, I thought he gave a good performance.
Score: 8.5

Ace Young "We Will Rock You"
Destiny: Nice leather pants, Ace. Despite the seriously awkward clips the producers chose to put in Ace's video intro piece, he came onstage confident and the most in control he's been the entire season. The song choice may not have been wise, especially once the band pretty much forbade any tinkering with the arrangement, but at least Ace turned in good vocals and energy and did the best he probably could do with this song in those circumstances. I didn't hate it.
Score: 8.8
Tammy: Ace turned in good vocals? If anything, I thought this song highlighted his vocal limitations. Watching him perform, I felt bad for the guy, as he seems unable to put forth two strong back to back performances. The clips the producers put in Ace's intro piece were certainly awkward, rivaled only by his awkward stage movements. Out of his comfort zone, indeed.
Score: 7.3
Liza: If good vocals means singing out of tune, then I guess he turned in good vocals. The part in the middle of the song where he started to walk to the other side of the stage was painfully out of tune. And just as bad, I didn't buy any of this performance at all. Ace's sensitive pretty-boy meekness just does not make this believable at all.
Score: 5.0

Kellie Pickler "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Destiny: I loved the boldness of her performance. She took a big risk, and while it wasn't the best thing the Idol stage has ever seen or heard, it was entertaining. I give her major points for giving it her all and putting on a show.
Score: 8.8
Tammy: This was all sorts of terrible. From the house of horrors stage lighting to the ridiculous outfit to the unconvincing delivery of the song, it was a complete and utter mess. It made me appreciate Sweet Suzie McNeil's performance of the song this past summer all the more. The fact that the judges chose to ignore the degree of awful of this laughably bad performance is baffling.
Score: 2.0
Liza: The judges ignored it because they know Kellie's like comedy gold. From picking that song to standing on stage looking like Garth from Wayne's World to asking what "on paper" means, Kellie makes for "good tv" (although Kellie's "good tv" makes me want to throw something at the tv every week). I thought that, like Ace, she was unconvincing, and her girly country voice does not lend well to that song. Yet, scarily, as forced as that was, she at least showed more grit than Ace.
Score: 4.0

Chris Daughtry "Innuendo"
Destiny: Wow. That was majorly flat. Especially the opening. And parts of the middle. And a bit at the end. Yikes. To top off the major vocal problems, Chris irritated me by not choosing one of the well-known Queen songs. Simon was right on the money when he complained that Chris didn't take a chance and try to do something great. Paula and Randy, on the other hand, showed their two-sidedness by saying that song selection doesn't matter for Chris. Nice double standard, especially since one of their most common comments on AI is "song selection is so important."
Score: 5.0
Tammy: While I didn't think that Chris had that many issues vocally tonight, I do agree that it was a miscalculation in choosing this particular song. The performance was never quite able to lift off, due in part, perhaps to the fact that it's near impossible to pull of an anthemic song in under two minutes. Still, Chris put forth a believable and energetic performance. But yes, he could have made the night his if he'd chosen a different song.
Score: 7.8
Liza: I agree - Chris could have done so much better here with a better song, but he did well with the one he chose. Like most Queen songs, it's fairly rangy, and he pulled it off. I was also glad to see him lose some of the scary rock man looks, especially with that eyeliner.
Score: 7.5

Katharine McPhee "Who Wants To Live Forever"
Destiny: The lighting and camera work were nice and dramatic, but it was a little overkill. That being said, she looked and sounded great for the most part. Her decision to change songs paid off.
Score: 8.8
Tammy: Katharine bit off a little more than she could chew with this one. The lights and fancy camera work were all nice, and effective, but it was her voice that failed her more than once with this song. There were just too many off key notes, which is too bad, because she could have really had a 'wow' moment onstage.
Score: 7.7
Liza: I really liked this one, actually! Even though she was just standing and singing there, she showed great passion and theatricality in her vocals. That's so impressive to me.
Score: 8.25

Elliott Yamin "Somebody To Love"
Destiny: Fantastic. Elliott is the best singer in the competition. He was bold and in control and sounded awesome. I wanted to hear more! It was nice to see him show some personality, too, during his pre-song banter with Seacrest. He's so likeable!
Score: 9.4
Tammy: Elliott is on fire tonight! He was in the zone. And kudos to the AI stylists, for he was looking quite yummy as well. The only criticism that I would have is his continued tendency to bounce up and down in the middle of the stage with his hands clenched tightly around the mic. He needs to work the stage a bit more. Otherwise, a great performance.
Score: 9.4
Liza: The ending was fantastic, save for that dorky kick, but I think that's part of Elliott's charm. There were a few odd moments for me in the verses, but the chorus and ending were so awesome that I can easily ignore that.
Score: 9.0

Taylor Hicks "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Destiny: I am glad that Taylor decided to change his song choice from "We Are The Champions". "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" suits his voice and personality much better, and he needed to bring some of his energy back on the show after two weeks of lackluster performances. He did a good job.
Score: 9.0
Tammy: Although I would have loved to see Taylor perform "We Are The Champions" because of it's trainwreck potential, it was indeed wise for him to get as far away from that song as possible. With tonight's song, Taylor was able to bounce back from the lethargic mess that was last week and remind the audience of just why he was in the top 12 in the first place. Loved how he wrapped up the song. Taylor seems to have found his groove again
Score: 9.2
Liza: While I agree that Taylor showed a lot more life and got back to being Taylor, his performance style to me personally is more JPL spastic (the unsuccessful attempt at kicking over the mic stand is just one example) than Jacob Hoggard spastic, the latter of which would actually entertain me. Vocals were strong, and he was obviously having fun up there, but he comes across as foolish to me.
Score: 7.0

Paris Bennett "The Show Must Go On"
Destiny: Paris' voice is so appealing. Love that rich tone! She commanded the stage and sounded great. Way to go, Paris. Like Elliott, I wanted the song to last longer.
Score: 9.0
Tammy: I found my eyes glazing over after a few seconds. The hair and the outfit were highly distracting, and like Kellie, unconvincing. Her voice didn't thrill either. It looked like she was playing dress up, and pretending to be what she thought a 'rocker' looked/sounded like. Whatever that was, it just didn't work.
Score: 6.5
Liza: I think Paris' youth and her pint-size package are a detriment to her. Because she looks and talks like she's 12, it's hard for people to buy into her rock goddess performance. The outfit didn't help either. I must admit, I did find it to be a little weird, but I still believed her more than I believed Kellie, mostly because of the vocals. My goodness, that girl can SING! Plus, she threw herself into that performance 110%, and she really showed her versatility.
Score: 8.0

Who Should Be Eliminated
Destiny: Chris
Tammy: Paris
Liza: Kellie

Who Will Be Eliminated
Destiny: Bucky
Tammy: Paris
Liza: Ace

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We asked you, "Do You Like This Season's Results Shows?"
46% No! I miss the group songs!
30% Yes! I like to see professional artists perform on the show.
23% Yes, I like that they are short and to the point.
We asked you, "Who Did You Vote For On Country Night?"
26% Ace
17% Chris
14.5% I Didn't Vote
14% Katharine
10% Elliott
7% Taylor
6% Bucky
3% Paris
2% Kellie
0.5% Mandisa

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