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Queen guitarist: ‘Idol’ misrepresented me

Brian May says show's editors made his comments seem negative
/ Source: msnbc.com

Queen guitarist Brian May, who appeared along with other band members on last week's “American Idol,” says the show distorted his comments to “Idol” wannabe Ace Young.

“It was edited in such a way that it looked as if I was purely negative,” May said in an April 12 posting on .

The guitarist for the legendary British rock band, which thrilled audiences through the '70s and '80s, had nothing but praise for the “Idol” contestant from Denver, who performed Queen's stadium classic, “We Will Rock You” in front of the band members.

The judges were lukewarm on Young's interpretation of the hit. But May said he had enjoyed Young's somewhat more toned-down interpretation of the hard-hitting anthem.

“It was actually pretty damn good, I thought, for a quick attempt,” May wrote, “and he sang it very well live.”

Yet the final clips that appeared on the show left May dismayed, with some less-than-praiseworthy comments inserted to appear as though May was offering criticism after Young played with the veteran rocker. Those comments had in fact come before the two joined together to play, May said.

May said he regretted that his advice had been caught on tape. “But the even more unfortunate thing is that you are then in the hands of the video editors, who seem to seize with glee anything that looks negative,” he continued.

Some of the guitarist's comments were reported earlier by Contactmusic.com.

In a later post, May said he was “happy” about the band's decision not to perform on the top-rated Fox show, and noted there was “never a plan” for them to do so.

The band, known for such hits as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Another One Bites the Dust,” formed in 1970.  After the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991, remaining members May and Roger Taylor continued to play, adding veteran rocker Paul Rodgers to the lineup last year. Bassist John Deacon retired from the band some six years ago.