Siobhan Magnus, the “Quirky” One, Exits on “American Idol” on April 28, 2010

The elimination show of Wednesday, April 28, 2010, eliminated the only other female contestant still in the competition. This seems particularly odd, since, at the beginning of this year’s season of “American Idol,” the girls definitely seemed to be stronger than the boys. Siobhan Magnus was the voters’ victim this week, and the other two in the bottom three were Mike Lynche and, surprisingly, Casey James.

Siobhan has been one of the consistently most unusual contestants. Her singing style, her dress, her seeming indifference to Simon’s constant criticism of her final high notes—Siobhan just did not seem to care. She marched to a different drummer, and even her father said, in a quick video clip, that she was a very “different” girl. Simon said to her, early on, “You’re a funny little thing, aren’t you?” He was right, and it may have been this edginess that doomed Siobhan amongst mainstream America. After all, if you had to vote between a 17-year-old cutie who had just sung a hymn of praise to his Mom or for Siobhan, who hit a high note that made Simon say it “sounded as though someone were giving birth up there,” which would you pick?

I expressed concern for Big Mike and Siobhan in my Tuesday night comments, indicating that it was anybody’s guess who might go home on Wednesday. Unfortunately for the extremely talented tattooed lady, it was Siobhan of the big voice who bit the dust. Thirty-three million votes were cast, and Siobhan did not get enough of them.

The biggest surprise, to me, was that Casey James placed in the bottom three. He did his best job of the competition on Tuesday, and he seems to have the rock star persona and good looks that young girls would vote for. I was much more worried that Mike Lynche (who was already the lowest vote-getter on another night) would be sent home this time, with no judges’ “save” to rescue him.

The remaining contestants are Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, Casey James, Aaron Kelly and Mike Lynche, and that is the order I see them leaving in, more or less. It was gratifying that America did not penalize Crystal for her mediocre song choice, and Ellen DeGeneres, when asked, predicted that voters would forgive her the only “OK” choice she sang during country and western night.

Other performers on the show this night were Sons of Sylvia, who tour with Carrie Underwood and were introduced by her. The Sons of Sylvia (“Love Left to Lose”) were a group of dark-haired, think-faced, small, ferret-like young men, some with teased hair. Carrie Underwood has been touring with them since leaving “Idol” 5 years ago.

Also performing twice were Rascal Flatts, who performed solo once and then sang a song with Shakira, which seemed an odd pairing. The song Shakira sang and played harmonica on was her new one, “Gypsy.” She wore a long dress with a gold bodice and a long red skirt. Behind her, two shapely dancer/singers danced barefoot in form-fitting black dresses. Her advice for the “American Idol” contestants? “Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.” (A presidential quote, she said).

Another performer this night with a big hit was Lady Antebellum singing their big hit ‘Need You Now.” They scored big on April 18 at the Country Music Awards

Notable quotes:  From Siobhan, before she delivered a spot-on rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “You Better Think:” “My baby sisters are my whole world.”(Odd, that. Siobhan’s of an age where you would think she would be thinking boyfriend or career or any of a number of other subjects as being “her whole world.”)  Randy said to her, as she exited the competition, “I think you have an amazing career in front of you. Do it!” Siobhan even hugged her nemesis, Simon, at the urging of Ryan Seacrest.

Some interesting bits in the show that didn’t involve singing were a behind-the-scenes tour of the recording studio where the new (and final) “Shrek” movie is being shot and the in-person appearances of two voices from that film series, Antonio Banderas and Cameron Diaz. (Ryan Seacrest has a small part in the latest film.)

Also, the obligatory commercial took the 6 remaining contestants into the woods and cast 5 of the 6 as vampires, with Big Mike Lynche their intended victim, who fends them off with a pizza that has “extra garlic.” The best vampire of the bunch was Siobhan, and now she’s gone.

Somehow, with that voice and her quirkiness, I think we’ll be hearing more from Siobhan Magnus in the years to come.

Next week, Aaron, Big Mike and Casey will be holding their breath, and I’m sure that neither Lee DeWyze nor Crystal Bowersox is feeling all that “safe.” The guest host next week for the songs of Sinatra is Harry Connick, Jr. With the remaining contestants, the best “fit” for Sinatra might be Lee DeWyze, but all will give his songs a shot.
Stay tuned for the final weeks of American Idol, with only 5 remaining contestants.