An odd assortment of performances tonight, in which some singers seem to be taking their own reviews too seriously, and the most interesting performances come from unexpected places.
The rundown:
Bucky, "Fat Bottomed Girls" -- Well, he's got physical energy to spare; it's a shame that not much of it gets to his voice. There are lots of pitch problems, and he's screaming his way through parts of the song. It's too bad, because the song suits his voice, and this could have been a high point for him.
Ace, "We Will Rock You" -- A disastrous song choice, as Ace has none of the rough edges this song needs. It's the most polite version of Queen imaginable, and among the worst performances of the season.
Kellie, "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- OK, yeah, I thought this would be an utter disaster, the sort of thing we'd all be telling our children about someday. And there are a few pitch problems, but Kellie is surprisingly effective as a rocker chick. I think it's the best thing she's done yet, and I enjoyed it immensely.
Chris, "Innuendo" -- Simon nails this one: On what should have been Chris's night to shine, he's blown it with an "indulgent" choice of a boring song. And we're back to Shouting Rocker Chris, which is disappointing after last week, when he showed that he's capable of more than that.
Katharine, "Who Wants to Live Forever" -- A difficult, wide-ranging melody, and Katharine sings it well, but there's something missing that keeps it from quite taking off. Maybe she isn't quite comfortable with the song, after making a last-minute change, but there's not a lot of personality coming through.
Elliott, "Somebody to Love" -- "I work hard..." are the first words we hear, and in that instant, it finally clicks for me what I don't like about Elliott. He does work hard; singing should never be as much work as this. He's pushing the first half of this song as hard as he possibly can, and we can still barely hear him over the band. The ending, I must admit, is very nicely done.
Taylor, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" -- At first, Taylor's hyper attitude and spastic dance moves were fun; they seemed like spontaneous expressions of who Taylor was. But now, it feels like he's been reading his reviews and is just giving us what we want. It's become a self-conscious piece of shtick, and though the song is sung well enough, the act is tiresome.
Paris, "The Show Must Go On" -- Absolutely fabulous. Paris even gets away with those silly "I'm a rock star, dammit" gestures, and shows a side of her personality that I not only hadn't seen, I hadn't even suspected it was there.
For the night: Paris, Kellie (!), Katharine, Taylor, Chris, Elliott, Bucky, Ace.
For the season: Katharine, Paris, Chris, Taylor, Kellie, Elliott, Ace, Bucky.
Deserving to go home: Gotta be either Ace or Bucky; they're consistently a notch below everyone else.
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