04-15-2006 – The State – Queen helps dethrone Bucky

By Neil White

He’s gone.

That’s right, weeks after many people predicted he would be banished from the fifth season of “American Idol,” Bucky Covington is gone.

His resilience finally faded on Queen week, when his rendition of “Fat Bottomed Girls” was deemed “mediocre” by judge Simon Cowell.

Viewers apparently agreed.

Covington was joined in the bottom three by Ace Young and Elliott Yamin. Young stayed alive even though he appeared on this week’s show to have had a spat with Queen guitarist Brian May over the arrangement of “We Will Rock You.” May later blamed the so-called “dispute” on selective editing by the AI producers, adding that he and Young parted on friendly terms.

Of course, Covington and Young weren’t going to look good compared to the dynamic performance by Taylor Hicks, who kicked out the jams on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

Covington’s demise leaves seven contestants, with the winner being crowned on May 24. Next week, the remaining singers will sing Rod Stewart songs as they continue their quest to be the next Idol. Here’s what our Idol Watcher bloggers had to say about this week’s shows.

Lorien Owens: “I found myself a bit sad to see Bucky go. I guess over the weeks I’ve seen more that he seems to be the opposite of pretentious (cough, cough, Kellie) and genuinely wants to sing. Unfortunately for him, he’s not that great of a singer. He lacks the outward passion for performing, probably due to the fact that he seems to be a pretty laid-back guy. Oh, I’m sure he’ll make a record or two, but this ‘career’ will probably just end up being a story he’ll pass on to his grandchildren. I guess a country boy can’t survive in Hollywood.”

Sarah Jaynes: “Taylor, and his Taylor Hicks band back in Alabama, were pleased to find that he was safe. Along with Katharine (yesss), Chris, Kellie, and Paris. Which, in case you aren’t as obsessed with the show as I am, makes the bottom three Ace (what a shocker), Bucky (the hits just keep coming!) and Elliot, which makes sense. The third could have been anyone. All three of them had a chance to sing again, which I really don’t appreciate as a person with working ears. Putting up with Ace killing Queen once is more than enough for me. Then, after 59 minutes of waiting, and actually really all season for this one, Ryan says those magic words: ‘Bucky, you will be leaving us tonight.’ Finally.”

Kandice Garcia: “What can really be said about (Tuesday) night’s show? The best descriptive word that comes to mind for me is, ‘Yawn.’ I mean really…what is Queen without Freddie Mercury? I think that question has gone unanswered since 1991. So in a nutshell, I was not impressed with the bone the show’s producer threw his longtime friends. These guys were in no position to critique up-and-coming vocalists. Hey America, was it just me, or did these band members have the look of someone who was only showing up for a paycheck and/or as a promise to a dear friend? There was hardly any interest in actually giving tips and helping out these budding artists.”

Leslie Smith: “Finally, the Taylor that most of us really love to see perform has returned. He did a great job with ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love‘ — very entertaining. I was afraid that Kellie would really stink it up with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ but it wasn’t so bad. I could have done without the twang in her voice but I guess that is just her thing. The judges hated Ace’s performance — but I didn’t think it was so bad. I guess I’m in the minority. The one thing that bothered me was the giant Frankenstein steps across the stage — what was up with that?? I really wanted Chris and Katharine to sing a Queen song that was well-known to us, blow us all away, and let us know that they have that ‘IT’ factor that Simon talks about, but I was disappointed with their song choices. They both gave good performances but just not memorable (ones).”