Siobhan Magnus reveals the etymology of her first name

In addition to being one of the more unusual performers in American Idol history, Siobhan Magnus also sports one of the most unusual names. Siobhan explained where her first name comes from today in response to a question from a fan on Twitter: “Siobhan is the Gaelic form of Joan, which is the female version of John.” She then quipped that “basically my name is John.” Elsewhere on Twitter, after someone referred to Siobhan as a “hot mess” she playfully fired back with “I’d rather be a hot mess than a cold mess. I abhor being cold. and I’m a hot mess who got to sing with Hanson. so there.”

Siobhan Magnus would have sung “My Way” tonight

Those American Idol fans wondering which Frank Sinatra song Siobhan Magnus would have performed tonight if she had survived another week in the competition now have their answer, thanks to the singer herself: she would have offered up her rendition of Sinatra’s 1969 recording of My Way, originally penned by Paul Anka. Siobhan says she would have dedicated the song to her ailing grandfather – in fact she previously performed the song for him for his retirement. While there’s no guarantee that Magnus would have ended up with the song if perhaps she and another contestant both wanted it, the admission provides in interesting glimpse into what might have been. Meanwhile, the five remaining contestants will in fact square off on Sinatra songs tonight; no word on whether any of them will perform My Way.

Would Siobhan’s performance of My Way have worked for you? What are your predictions for song choices for the other five contestants tonight?

“Showboat Magnus” is the only Siobhan insult Simon didn’t think of

It was never clear whether Simon Cowell truly didn’t care for Siobhan Magnus or simply thought he could spur her on to try harder by tweaking her, but the contestants’ recently concluded run on American Idol has reportedly left the judge feeling “sad” at her departure. We can’t help but wonder whether it’s because he thought she had potential or because he was hoping he’d have a few more weeks to hurl insults at her after each of her performances. Simon has always hard on Siobhan, much to the dismay of her fans, but no harsher than on her final performance of the show; while the other three judges seemed to think her rousing performance of a Shania Twain song put her back into the competition for the title, Simon effectively ended Siobhan’s Idol run by dropping a devastating insult about the song having sounded like she was “giving birth” after which voters probably couldn’t bring themselves to pick up the phone for fear of the creepy comment finding its way back into their minds.

One has to wonder what other insults Simon might have come up with if only he’d had a few more shots at the overly emotive contestant, and we’re particularly surprised that he wasn’t able to come up with the obvious “Showboat Magnus” in reference to her often showy performances (note how we didn’t use that name while she was still on the show, for fear that Simon might somehow find it and use it). Making fun of someone for their name isn’t exactly fair play, but since when would that matter to Simon? Besides, what are they going to do to him, fire him from a show that he’s departing from in a month anyway? On that note, one really has to wonder how the judge, who’s never much cared about the political correctness of anything he’s said on the show over the years, might start talking as he creeps closer to the end of his Idol run. On the other hand, his favorite whipping post of the season has already departed. At least Siobhan now knows that she’ll never have to be insulted by Simon again – unless he finds a way to work in yet one more insult when she makes her obligatory appearance during the season’s – and his – final episode. Come to think of it, we might end up being sorry we made the “Showboat” reference in print.

Siobhan Magnus debut album: rock, blues and soul

Siobhan Magnus isn’t likely to get the opportunity to start work on her debut album until after she fulfills her American Idol tour commitment, but that doesn’t mean the recently sent home singer hasn’t begun thinking about what she wants to do for the album when the time comes – and she’s spilled the beans on it, at least in general terms. Saying that she’s learned from her time on Idol that her biggest potential for success lies with the rock, blues, and soul genres, Siobhan says that she wants to “make a unique sound that’s a combination of those things.”

As far the much discussed topic of which Frank Sinatra song she would have performed on American Idol if she had lasted another week in the competition? My Way – dedicated to her ailing grandfather.

Siobhan Magnus American Idol reinstatement petition grows

Fans of recently dismissed American Idol contestant Siobhan Magnus sure seem to have a lot of fight in them. And many of them are convinced that she was wronged when she was sent home from the show this week, not just by voters but by what they feel was a glitch in the voting. Apparently a third party Facebook fan page dedicated to Siobhan was instead displaying the mislabeled voting phone number for fellow contestant Aaron Kelly, which in the eyes of Siobhan fans explains why Aaron wasn’t in the bottom three this week and Siobhan was. The more fervent of the group have taken to the internet, in the form of an online petition which has at this point gained more than four thousand digital signatures.

We’ll go ahead and say it: online petitions never work, unless you’re trying to get Betty White onto SNL. But while the petition itself will accomplish nothing in terms of getting Siobhan Magnus back onto American Idol, and it’s far from the first time in which Idol’s viewers have decided that their favorite contestant getting sent home must have somehow been due to a voting irregularities, but it does serve to demonstrate just how passionate Siobhan’s fans are. We’ll now see if their claims of “never watching American Idol again” end up holding true as the show heads into its final few episodes of the season.

Siobhan Magnus early exit shows it’s really South and Midwest Idol

She wasn’t going to win anyway. But the early exit of Siobhan Magnus, which came three episodes before it probably should have, only serves to drive home a point that we finally learned last season after being teased about it for most of the past decade when it comes to American Idol: “America” isn’t voting. Just ask yourself why every single winner the show has ever produced has come from the nation’s south or midwest or southwest; not a single winner has ever emerged from a place like California or New York or New England.

It’s not the show’s fault, as they hold tryouts all over the nation prior to each season. And it’s not the fault of potential contestants from those regions, as the rise of SoCal-based contestants like Adam Lambert and Katharine McPhee in past seasons has demonstrated that talented individuals from places like Los Angeles have been willing to give it a go on the show. But whether it’s a matter of hometown pride in regions of the country where most people living in a given State were also born there, or whether it be the comparative lack of television watching that takes place in bustling big cities, the lack of votes being cast in places like LA and New York not only holds back contestants who are from those cities, it inhibits the rise of contestants who play well in those cities. You want to know why Adam Lambert lost last year? Because small towners considered him to be so weird that he scared the crap out of them. And while Siobhan Magnus may be no Adam Lambert (although surely her fans will disagree), the fact that the Boston native was by far the most oddly eccentric of the top contestants almost surely caused American Idol’s voters, most of whom are in conservative small towns, to send her packing sooner than her potential as a pop star might have suggested.

Looking at the top five we can see that this season’s winner of American Idol will come from Illinois, Ohio, small town Pennsylvania, Florida or Texas. Sound familiar? It’s not the fault of the people in America’s south and midwest, who do most of the voting; they’re just voting their honest preferences. But in hindsight, is it really any surprise that Siobhan Magnus, whose musical stylings were the least likely to play well in America’s small towns of any of the top contestants, was sent packing when she was?

Siobhan Magnus on Ellen: “We’d all rather laugh than cry”

Thirty-six hours after her elimination from American Idol, Siobhan Magnus was reunited with Idol judge Ellen Degeneres today on The Ellen Show. In an interview segment, Magnus described how the remaining contestants had dinner with her and her family after the elimination; she decided to take the opportunity to turn the occasion into a roast of her fellow contestants, because “We’d all rather laugh than cry.” Magnus then performed House Of The Rising Sun.

For her part, Ellen reiterated to Siobhan the fact that she had been a fan of hers from the beginning and that she’d been certain (as were many Idol viewers) that Siobhan would make it into the final three. Ellen also commented that her father was shocked at the elimination. The episode is set to air on television today at various syndicated times.

What’s next for Siobhan Magnus?

Siobhan Magnus is far from the first contestant to get booted from American Idol, but her fans seem particularly upset over last night’s results, as perhaps most clearly evidenced by the fact that so many of them have landed on Beatweek via search terms along the lines of “Siobhan Magnus what next?” So for those Siobhan fans who aren’t familiar with how this works, here’s what’s next for your favorite Idol: she’ll continue to make appearances here and there during the rest of the season, particularly during the final episode during which you’ll see quite a few familiar faces. After that she’ll head out on the road with the rest of the top then for the American Idols Live tour during the summer, and after that she’ll presumably sign a record label (either RCA/19/Sony, which Idol contestants most often end up with, or possibly another label who wants her), and then she’ll get to work on her debut album. If history servers, her first record is likely to see the light of day in late 2010 or early 2011. Along the way the twenty year old will likely get several more tattoos (we’d stop her from doing that to herself if we could), and considering the passion her fanbase is demonstrating today, she’s likely to sell some copies. No matter what she does in future, however, Simon Cowell is likely to find a way to disapprove.

Siobhan Magnus fans launch petition to get back on American Idol

Siobhan Magnus may not have had enough fans to propel her into American Idol’s top five, but her fans sure are a passionate bunch. After discovering that the phone number listed on a Facebook page listed as the number to vote for Siobhan was apparently instead a number for casting a vote for Aaron Kelly, Siobhan’s fans have taken to the internet in the form of an online petition which argues that all six of the contestants should be carried over to next week’s episode in fairness. While the petition has precisely zero chance of working, the seven hundred plus digital signatures appended to it in the hours after Magnus was sent home from the show do serve to demonstrate just how fervent her supporters are (we’re expecting “Siobhan got screwed” pickets signs next). However, online campaigns aimed at altering the course of television shows never work – unless it involves getting Betty White on Saturday Night Live, of course.

Siobhan’s departure was a surprise to most viewers, fans or otherwise, who widely expected Aaron Kelly or Michael Lynche to exit the show over the next two weeks, leading to a final three of Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, and Siobhan Magnus. She was not widely expected to win the competition – but the clearly demonstrated enthusiasm of her fans may bode well when it comes time to release her debut album.

Siobhan Magnus: American Idol fans respond to her being sent home

Siobhan Magnus came as a surprise choice for an early exit tonight on American Idol, and many Beatweek readers have responded with shock at the fact that voters sent the contestant home. Among the comments posted in the last half hour:

“This is insane. Siobhan blows everyone else away. There is something seriously wrong with this show.”

“As bad as this season’s talent and performances were – NOW—- BORING. Siobhan was the only reason I kept watching. Who cares now?”

“I am sooo glad that Siobhan is off American Idol. Now I can quit watching that tripe because there is no one with any talent left.”

“this makes me so sick to my stomach, i will NEVER watch this show again. stupid mike with his pouting all the time should have left! i love you siobhan!”

“Idol just committed suicide. The show just lost 25% of its audience for the rest of the season. Siobhan was the only reason I tuned in and I won’t be back.”

“How more fixed can this show get?”

On the other hand, some Siobhan Magnus fans are already seeing a silver lining:

“Well Adam Lambert didnt win but look how succesful he is. It will happen to her to companys will probably be jumping to have her.”

Siobhan Magnus voted off American Idol

Siobhan Magnus seemed to know it was time. Someone had to be sent home at the end of tonight’s episode of American Idol, and although the judges seemed to mostly approve of the contestant’s performance the night before, the voters apparently didn’t feel the same way, deciding that Siobhan Magnus wouldn’t be continuing on with the show into next week. Casey James was the second lowest vote getter of the week, while “Big Mike” Michael Lynche was the third lowest.

Meanwhile the remaining “top five” will face the challenge of performing the songs of Frank Sinatra next week, as Harry Connick Jr drops by to serve as contestant mentor.

Feeling bummed, Siobhan Magnus fans? Check out our recent interview with another fellow non-winner, Adam Lambert, who career seemed to turn out alright.

American Idol’s Crystal Bowersox does “People Get Ready” guitar-free

If you’ve got a secret, you apparently can’t tell it to Ryan Seacrest. After reports surfaced that American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox had tried to quit the show only to be dissuaded by its host, Bowersox told a friend that she’d been “betrayed” by Seacrest and that the whole thing was nothing more than a moment of weakness, implying that the host exaggerated situation publicly (if it was an attempt on the show’s part to garner attention, well, it worked). However, an unfazed Crystal, who (coincidentally?) was the last performer of the evening, took advice from mentor Alicia Keys on singing “People Get Ready” sans guitar – Keys referred to her as “one of my favorites .. I know that people are gonna love this performance.” Bowersox broke down in tears on the song’s final lines. Randy Jackson promptly offered a standing ovation. Bowersox explained that her emotionality was a result of her father being in the audience.

Meanwhile, Keys also had nothing but praise for contestant Siobhan Magnus, saying that “She’s doing thing that I don’t think most people can do” _ However, the judges weren’t nearly as fond of Magnus’ performance of Miracles.

Michael Lynche performed an acoustic version of “Hero” originally by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, leaving the judges (except for Kara) seemingly pleased with the fact that they’d saved him two weeks earlier – although Simon Cowell did make the obligatory snide remark about it being a “song about Spiderman.”