More on Queen
From idolonfox.com:
“Tuesday, we turn to the iconic music of QUEEN. Don’t miss a note of what will surely be a legendary night, Tuesday 8/7c. Then come back for the *1-hour results show, at a special time, Wednesday 8:30/7:30c, which will also feature a live performance by QUEEN.”
There better be a damb Pointy Pose in there somewhere. You promised. <whine>
New Greatest Hits Compilation by Queen
So check this out. A new CD, filled with Queen classic cuts will be available April 11th, but can be pre-ordered now through Amazon and iTunes.
From the site: “You saw your favorite Idols perform these classic Queen hits, now own the original Queen songs that inspired American Idol Queen week.” A preview of Idol performances to come? Heh
Here’s a track List:
Tie Your Mother Down
Fat Bottomed Girls
Another One Bites The Dust
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
Radio Ga Ga
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Show Must Go On
These Are The Days Of Our Lives
I Want It All
Stone Cold Crazy
Bonus tracks
All Right Now*
Can’t Get Enough
*(Performed by Queen + Paul Rodgers)
Play Match the Song to the Idol! It’s fun! Hee.
Honestly, I think the Idols are more likely to cover the tunes on this Queen tribute album. There are songs here arranged in different genres like Country and Alternative Rock that can be ripped off whole.
What’s up with Taylor Hicks?
Almost immediately after Taylor Hick’s uncharacteristically disengaged performance of “Country Roads” Tuesday night, the speculation started. The message boards were buzzing, “What happened to Taylor? Was he sick? Did he mysteriously have to switch songs at the last minute? Is he unhappy? Is he trying to lose?”
Two rumors eventually surfaced.
Rumor the first: Taylor had Strep throat and a high fever while he was performing–confirmed by his grandmother. Wow, if Taylor had Strep, it’s a wonder that he even got through the song. Though this rumor spread pretty quickly through the AI fan community, I have yet to see an original source.
Rumor the second: An old bandmate of Taylor’s claims that “Country Roads” was not Taylor’s first song choice. Contestants will choose a song and begin rehearsing it, while the legal team works on acquiring the song rights, which can be a lengthy process. If the rights are not procured on time, the contestant has to pick a new song, sometimes at the very last minute. Of course, every time this happens, especially to a contestant the producers are trying to de-pimp, the cynical among us don our tin-foil hats. Heh.
This bandmate, however, goes on to offer up some unnecessary spin–that Taylor, “Couldn’t put his soul into a song he wasn’t happy doing.” Make your boy look like a pissy little whiner! Way to go dude! Taylor is a professional. Throwing a performance because he didn’t like the song sounds distinctly unprofessional. This rumor? Is unconfirmed as far as I’m concerned.
Taylor’s brother, Sean posted this message at idolonfox.com, mentioning neither sickness nor last minute song choices:
“So country theme week is over. Next up, Queen. My favorite type of music (please don’t crucify me) is heavy metal, and Queen helped pave the way for it. I have some great ideas for Taylor that I’ll share with him when I talk to him tomorrow. Today was rough for him. He woke up and went to breakfast, and on the way back he was listening to Seacrest’s radio show and the only thing he heard was a caller saying she thought Taylor Hicks should be kicked off tonight. Then he got back and saw something like “Taylor Hicks Bottoms Out on Country Road” as a headline is USA Today. So he called me this morning and woke me up, talking in his sad puppy voice usually reserved for lamenting about girlfriends. It’s not apparent from watching the show, but those contestants are on an island out there. LA doesn’t care much about Idol. Taylor really has no idea how popular he is. We tell him, but I still don’t think he gets it. I give him regards from the SP every time I speak to him, though. And last but not least, THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR VOTING! These theme weeks are all about survival. Taylor is dying to get to the point where he can pick a song to sing and is given more than 80 seconds to sing it. If we have our way, he’ll get that chance!”
The next morning after a less than stellar performance has got to suck. All a contestant can do in this case is pick themselves up and face a brand new week. In Taylor’s case, he was lucky to have a large and loyal fanbase willing to forgive a bad performance.
I’ll admit I found Taylor’s demeanor Tuesday night really off and unusual, and wondered if there was something going on. Of course, there could be extenuating circumstances. But ya know, it’s possible that Taylor was just having an off night. Maybe it’s just that simple. No spin or excuses necessary. We all have our days, don’t we?
Thanks to the readers who left the links. If anybody has more information or better sources, I’d love to hear from you.
I’ll be back in a bit with a bunch of Mandisa interviews…
And screen caps are coming.
