Round of 7: Queen - August 6-7

We will, we will rock you! That's right, it's all about the music of Queen this week, as 7 singers are looking to rock Canada for their vote!

In addition to that, 2 members of Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor, have given them advice for this set of performances. After the judges' opening comments (which includes praising Queen and noting that the last 3 people eliminated were all female), we get into a bit of history behind the group in question. One of the most influential bands ever, they have sold over 200 million records around the world! And they even have a hit musical (appropriately titled "We Will Rock You") running in 6 cities around the world, including Toronto!

Let's get this thing started. When Brian Melo met this week's guests, they seemed impressed upon hearing how he was going to sing the song he chose this week. Now, he sings "Too Much Love Will Kill You" on the stage. Jake was completely moved by it, and he feels that Brian is definitely in the competition now. Sass thought he did the song justice, and she liked the juxtaposition between his rough and soft tones. Zack believed in the emotional context of what he did, but thought it was sketchy pitch-wise.

Moving on, Brian May and Roger Taylor could tell that Greg Neufeld has been singing for a long time, and Brian likes the way he interprets this song. This should be good, because Greg has chosen "We Are the Champions". Farley thought that Greg rose to the occasion, and he respects that. Zack thought that he was just short intensity-wise. But Jake disagrees with Zack, and thought that Greg did a fantastic job.

After another segment with the stylist working on the competitors' looks (and a break), we go to Carly Rae Jepsen. She wanted to try something extreme this week, and Brian May noted that she chose to sing some of the harder lines in her chosen song. Hopefully, she'll do quite well with those on stage, as she performs "Killer Queen". Sass was so impressed with that performance, considering it was such a gutsy move for her. Jake loved that she went with and accentuated the cabaret side of Queen. Farley thought that that was the best use of the stage that he has seen in a long time, and she did a good job.

Next up, Matt Rapley was advised in his meeting with Brian and Roger to be very careful when wiggling certain notes. Hopefully, it'll help, as he sings a song co-written by David Bowie, "Under Pressure". Zack said that he hit some really strong moments. Jake thought there were moments where he was drowned out by the background singers, but he brought it home like he did a couple of weeks ago. Sass felt that he did a fantastic job with a difficult song.

Let's see what Dwight d'Eon can do. Roger advised him to try and get more of the tune out, as his choice of song this week is easy to just shout out. We'll see if that works out for him, as he performs "Tie Your Mother Down". Jake gave the performance a 10 and the vocals a 7, and he thought the song was perfect for Dwight. Sass also thought it was perfect for his voice, and it was wicked. Zack simply said that he is back to being a contender.

Things are looking really good; can Tara Oram keep it going? Brian advised her to take some big, deep breaths when she can during the performance, and with a song like "Headlong", that would be a good idea. Farley felt that that was one of her best performances, bar none. Sass said that she's a born performer, and she injected a lot of energy into it. Zack noted that she kept a bit of her country pose, and he thought she really sang the hell out of it.

It's Jaydee Bixby's turn to close the show. Brian noticed in the run-through that he was smiling while singing, but this song has a lot of angst in it, and he wants to see more of that from Jaydee's performance. With that, he sings "I Want to Break Free". Sass thought that Elvis was possibly still in the building. Zack didn't know what to say, other than it was oddly appealing. Jake thought he sang it well, but he didn't get the message across, because he was smiling through it, despite being advised otherwise.

Being a fan of this type of music, I was thoroughly impressed for the most part. It's very tough for me to make predictions this week, since they all did quite well, but I'm going to predict that Brian and Matt will face some trouble, and for the 3rd straight week, this time due to apparently not listening to a guest's advice, I'm thinking Jaydee is heading home. Now I know what some people who may be reading this without being able to see these performances may be thinking after reading these recaps, and I'll just say this right now: I don't think Jaydee is Canadian Idol's version of Sanjaya. I actually think Jaydee is better than that. I just feel that he hasn't done as well as everyone else in this field in terms of singing, but he probably has enough of a fanbase that he has been able to stick around for this long. So, hey, I could be wrong again, but I feel it's a tough week to predict as it is, so I'm sticking to my predictions.

Tomorrow, we'll see if Canada proves me wrong again, and we'll get to see what promises to be some cool performances from the Top 7, Brian May and Roger Taylor, and the cast of the musical "We Will Rock You".

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Last night, 7 have rocked out to the music of Queen. Tonight, 1 will rock their way out of the running.

After a recap of what happened last night, we get to see the 7 go to a showing of the musical, "We Will Rock You". And hey, we get to hear some of "Bohemian Rhapsody" during this! If you ask me, it wouldn't be a week about Queen without it! Oh, but they didn't just go to see it; they got to do a one-time performance of "The Show Must Go On" with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, as well as the cast of the musical (which includes former Idol competitors, as Ben mentions)! I'm sure they'll never forget that! After that, we see the Top 7 live with a group performance, featuring "You're My Best Friend" and "We Will Rock You" (of course). And for "We Will Rock You", they were joined by Yvan Pedneault from the musical! Nice!

But now, it's down to business. Who is in the Bottom 3 this week? Let's see...

Dwight - SAFE
Carly Rae - Bottom 3
Tara - SAFE
Brian - Bottom 3
Matt - SAFE
Greg - Bottom 3
Jaydee - SAFE

So, this will be it for either Carly Rae, Brian, or Greg. Farley was surprised with this, thinking that, with respect to the Canadian public, seeing these 3 at the bottom was ridiculous. Sass says to them that if they really want to be singers, they'll do it anyway, even if it isn't through this. Zack feels that the world is upside-down, and predicts that Carly Rae is heading home. Jake thought that these 3 were the best of the group this week, and any of them can have a successful career.

Of course, before we find out who is going home, Ben has to save someone...

Carly Rae - SAFE

There goes Zack's prediction. It also means that for the first time since the start of the Top 10 phase, one of the men is going home...

Greg - OUT
Brian - SAFE

With that, Greg Neufeld is done for the season. But considering this was his second year getting to sing for Canada's vote (remember, he got as far as Top 18 last year), I'd say he was quite impressive this season. Well, Ben said that Canada got this one wrong (he didn't care if he wasn't supposed to say that), but that doesn't change what they did. And as Greg closes the week with "We Are The Champions", the other 6 had better get ready for next week. The next theme is "Pop/Rock", and Maroon 5 will take to the stage!