the top 8 vs. queen

bucky - "fat bottomed girls"
randy: "it was nice, man"
paula: "you did a great job"
simon: "quite mediocre"

i really think this guy gets better every week, and i applaud him for the song choice, but i agree with simon, it was mediocre.

ace - "we will rock you"
randy: "a 5 or a 6...just aiight"
paula: "i like what you tried to do"
simon: "a complete and utter mess...i really really really hated that"

again, i agree with simon. terrible. and was the preshow interview culled from the best footage they had with ace and queen? if so, was the part they left out brian may smashing ace over the head with his guitar? they couldn't have made ace look like more of an ass if they tried.
maybe they were trying.
or maybe he's just an ass. it sure seemed that way.
update: or maybe not. brian may speaks about all this...

kelli - bohemian rhapshody
randy: "i was entertained"
paula: "you worked it out"
simon: "i think it worked"

i dunno what was up with the lita ford outfit, but this started off okay. i thought she way lost it (along with her breath) at the end. it wasn't as good as constantine's version. like bucky, i was impressed with the song choice more than the actual performance.

chris - "innuendo"
randy: "you delivered, baby"
paula: "?" - she didn't really say anything coherent here - i think she was positive though
simon: "best believable vocal tonight"

great song, started off strong, but it got screamy, repetitious and boring, i thought. pretty seizure-inducing light show per usual though.

katharine - "who wants to live forever"
randy: "you did a good job all in all"
paula: "you did a great job"
simon: "almost the moment...one of the strongest tonight"

i liked this a lot, she showed some real emotion (the correct emotion - i'm looking at you, paris) and connected with the audience for the first time in a few weeks. one of my favorites of the night.

elliot - "somebody to love"
randy: "i loved you man...i thought it was really, really good"
paula: "the best vocal tonight"
simon: "you pulled it off"

scary song to try and sing (i was afraid we were gonna hear ace try it, after george michaels fucking amazing version from the freddy tribute concert), but he really nailed it. smooth, cool vocal - not trying to be freddy, just singing it like elliot sings it. another of my favorites.

taylor - "crazy little thing called love"
randy: "that was hot"
paula: "breath of fresh air"
simon: "i thought it was ridiculous"

i thought simon's comment was ridiculous. this was, all around, the most professional performance of the night - sans the missed micstand kick - he took a song a ton of idols have done a medicore job of, and sang the hell out of it. my favorite of the night.

paris - "the show must go on"
randy: "yes! you worked it out, baby"
paula: "you are the powerhouse"
simon: "i found it all a little weird"

i agree with simon. look, she has a great voice, but if you're a queen fan, i can't see how you would have enjoyed this. i think this song should have been off-limits. it's a deeply personal song about putting on a strong face while knowing you're in the last stages of life, written and recorded by the band while watching freddy rapidly losing his battle with AIDS.
...and you add some little hair-flip and gospelly "ha ha ha's" in the middle of it?
fuck no.


my favorites, in order, were taylor, elliot and katharine.

my bottom three? ace, bucky, and paris. i don't know if america's bottom three will be the same, but i think either way ace is going home tonight.