Siobhan Magnus Season 9

[TopCatDC]

I have to admit that Siobhan made many bad song choices. On the brighter side, now that she is out of the competition she is not under the influence of Simon and Kara's uninformed advice any more. May be if Randy had taken a more active and assertive role as a judge he could have helped shape Siobhan as an artiste (and many other contestants for that matter). An artiste must be shaped in the direction they are naturally growing. But Simon and Kara were pruning the plant near the root. The idol kids are still young and impressionable and take the judges' advice too seriously out of respect for their age (which is always confused with wisdom).

I say "baloney" to all this "it's the judge's fault" hypothesis. Siobhan has a say in the song choice, arrangement, staging, and costuming. She is an adult and has responsibility as an artist for her own choices. Any contestant who watched Adam, Kris, David and the others that have trod that stage before would know that. There are eight previous seasons of good and bad decisions from which to learn.

And one of the lessons is that the judges don't know jack about how to fix a performance. They can give you a good measure as to whether you succeeded or not - but they can't steer your course. No previous winner has done so by collecting the various input of the judges and crafting an artistic approach based on their input. On the contrary, winners are guided by their own inner vision of what they want to give to the audience, (often to the aggravation of the judges). If you don't have that guidance inside, then you are toast.

In short, Siobhan made her artistic choices and we voted based on what we saw. The judges are not the main actors in this transaction - they play a very minor role. If you don't like the way it comes out, then in my opinion the blame has to be on either the artist or the viewers/voters.

[razorbacker]

The offers are going to be good for Siobhan.

Taylor Hanson offers encouragement to Siobhan Magnus -- and a guest spot at NYC show! | Idol Tracker | Los Angeles Times

It's barely been 12 hours since her elimination, but Siobhan Magnus is already getting offers from her own idols! Taylor Hanson, one-third of the band Hanson (above), whom Siobhan cites as one of her all-time favorites -- she has a lyric from Hanson's "The Great Divide" tattooed on her left wrist -- says he and his brothers Zac and Isaac would gladly welcome Siobhan to their stage. Like, tomorrow.
"We have two more nights of shows in New York," he tells Siobhan via Idol Tracker. "It may be across the country, but there is a guest spot onstage for you if you want to get on a plane." (Tonight they perform their 2007 album, "The Walk," at the Gramercy Theatre; on Friday, they return with songs from their new album, "Shout It Out.")
Like many of us Siobhan supporters, Taylor says he was "really bummed for her" when he heard about the elimination Wednesday night, but wanted to offer his words of encouragement to the girl who said that she saw Hanson at the Cape Cod Melody Tent at age 14 and that it was "one of the best experiences" of her life.
"First of all, she has already reached so many people -- me, for instance -- who were impressed by her presence and talent," he says. "'American Idol' is an incredible opportunity for anyone, but for someone with style, conviction and passion for their craft, like Siobhan has, it's just an impressive statistic on what will be a long resume. There are no stories of great artists that consist solely of the phrase 'And then they won.' Great artists will reach people."
Taylor says that even Hanson, which sold more than 10 million albums in its 15-year career, was "turned down by every record label in the business before we got signed by the one that turned us down three times."
And proving that passion and persistence can pay off, the band is enjoying a renaissance of sorts as their latest video, "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'," an homage to "The Blues Brothers" featuring a cameo by Weird Al Yankovic, has racked up nearly a million views. Check it out below and we'll keep you updated on any potential collaborations (hint, hint, "Idol" finale booker

[KennyLuv]

The offers are going to be good for Siobhan.

That is good news!

I say "baloney" to all this "it's the judge's fault" hypothesis.

I believe that Randy is unbiased. Ellen is just there, so no complaints. But I would not even give the benefit of the doubt to Simon or Kara. What judges say does matter. It shapes public opinion. A lot of people who watch the show give weight to what the judges say. The next morning Entertaiment section of news outlets on the internet splash the judges' comments as headlines. That shapes public opinion too. Simon's "giving birth" comment was completely rude and insulting even for Simon's standards. That may have been the last straw that did Siobhan in (Ryan probably thought so too, hence he wanted Siobhan to part amicably with Simon). Not to mention calling a man "girly" is the ultimate all-powerful insult one can throw at a man. Simon has graduated from the "irrelevant", "karaoke", "cruise ship singer", "all over the place" kind of comments to borderline personal insults.

Not everybody is made the same. Not everybody reacts the same when faced with the same situation. Tim Urban just laughed in the face of criticism. That was his defence mechanism. Crystal will pooh-pooh criticism. She knows herself too well. Mike does not like criticism. But Siobhan let the criticism get to her. I think her spirit was broken to some extent. Yes, she is an adult, but barely. I bet Aaron will on stage if faced with harsh criticism that Tim and Siobhan faced.

I do think, however, that Siobhan didn't really listen to the critiques.
...
The vocals are coming out of Siobhan and not out of Kara, Randy or Simon.

Yes, in the end Siobhan decided her songs and her fate, but I am just trying to factor in the things that went into her decision-making. I think she did listen to the judges. For example, she did do the screaming in the middle of a song after Simon told her to do so. She was still criticized and then she did a very low range mellow song sitting on a stool.

Very well said! I couldn't agree more ~ with everything you said.

Thank you!

[I'm MEL]

That is good news!



I believe that Randy is unbiased. Ellen is just there, so no complaints. But I would not even give the benefit of the doubt to Simon or Kara. What judges say does matter. It shapes public opinion. A lot of people who watch the show give weight to what the judges say. The next morning Entertaiment section of news outlets on the internet splash the judges' comments as headlines. That shapes public opinion too. Simon's "giving birth" comment was completely rude and insulting even for Simon's standards. That may have been the last straw that did Siobhan in (Ryan probably thought so too, hence he wanted Siobhan to part amicably with Simon). Not to mention calling a man "girly" is the ultimate all-powerful insult one can throw at a man. Simon has graduated from the "irrelevant", "karaoke", "cruise ship singer", "all over the place" kind of comments to borderline personal insults.

Not everybody is made the same. Not everybody reacts the same when faced with the same situation. Tim Urban just laughed in the face of criticism. That was his defence mechanism. Crystal will pooh-pooh criticism. She knows herself too well. Mike does not like criticism. But Siobhan let the criticism get to her. I think her spirit was broken to some extent. Yes, she is an adult, but barely. I bet Aaron will on stage if faced with harsh criticism that Tim and Siobhan faced.



Yes, in the end Siobhan decided her songs and her fate, but I am just trying to factor in the things that went into her decision-making. I think she did listen to the judges. For example, she did do the screaming in the middle of a song after Simon told her to do so. She was still criticized and then she did a very low range mellow song sitting on a stool.



Thank you!

I think you are absolutely right. Of course what the judges say matters! And these kids are hoping to hear something they can use or from which they can benefit, but they weren't giving that to Siobhan. And it's been the same for many others.

You're right about Simon's critiques being personal insults. I think he's just about made himself "irrelevant" this season, but he was heading that way last season, with his preschool playground routine with Paula. He needs to leave the puns to Ellen.

[LuvThisStuf!]

[QUOTE=Tigerusty;3889523;]Yes ma'am, it is. I have been an Idol addict trying to catch that high I haven't had since the semi-finals of season 6. This vote is been the antidote that has cured me of my addiction.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you completely. I mentioned on another thread that I finally have my life back. The show is no longer interesting for me. I didn't think she'd win the whole thing, but I was expecting her to be in the Top 3. There's going to be an unexpected silver lining to her dark cloud, just you wait!

[RealityLovesMe]

I have to admit that Siobhan made many bad song choices. On the brighter side, now that she is out of the competition she is not under the influence of Simon and Kara's uninformed advice any more. May be if Randy had taken a more active and assertive role as a judge he could have helped shape Siobhan as an artiste (and many other contestants for that matter). An artiste must be shaped in the direction they are naturally growing. But Simon and Kara were pruning the plant near the root. The idol kids are still young and impressionable and take the judges' advice too seriously out of respect for their age (which is always confused with wisdom).

Uninformed? I don't understand why one would say their advice is "uninformed" unless the person had a super ton of experience in the music industry. David Foster, is that you?

Anyway, I do think the judges can have different visions for the kids and that different judges may give conflicting advice. I really don't think Siobhan followed their advice closely.
I do think that sometimes contestants focus too much on what the judges say and they go home as a result of that. I don't think that was the case with this girl.

[razorbacker]

Uninformed? I don't understand why one would say their advice is "uninformed" unless the person had a super ton of experience in the music industry. David Foster, is that you?

Anyway, I do think the judges can have different visions for the kids and that different judges may give conflicting advice. I really don't think Siobhan followed their advice closely.
I do think that sometimes contestants focus too much on what the judges say and they go home as a result of that. I don't think that was the case with this girl.

I don't think these judges had any vision at all for Siobhan. Kara kept repeating the " I just don't know who you are" mantra. Now what help is that to anyone. Simon hasn't had a helpful comment in years. Kris was like eating ice for lunch. Kellie Pickler was a naughty little minx. Numerous others have been cruise ship or lounge singers. That crap isn't any advise, it is personal insults. Frankly, I think Simon should have been booted years ago. These judges are insignificant when it comes to helping these kids. Otherwise there wouldn't be a need for mentors.

[waywyrd]

Siobhan is going to be singing House of the Rising Sun in a few minutes on Ellen, if anyone wants to catch it.

[MrMet]

I say "baloney" to all this "it's the judge's fault" hypothesis. Siobhan has a say in the song choice, arrangement, staging, and costuming. She is an adult and has responsibility as an artist for her own choices. Any contestant who watched Adam, Kris, David and the others that have trod that stage before would know that. There are eight previous seasons of good and bad decisions from which to learn.

And one of the lessons is that the judges don't know jack about how to fix a performance. They can give you a good measure as to whether you succeeded or not - but they can't steer your course. No previous winner has done so by collecting the various input of the judges and crafting an artistic approach based on their input. On the contrary, winners are guided by their own inner vision of what they want to give to the audience, (often to the aggravation of the judges). If you don't have that guidance inside, then you are toast.

In short, Siobhan made her artistic choices and we voted based on what we saw. The judges are not the main actors in this transaction - they play a very minor role. If you don't like the way it comes out, then in my opinion the blame has to be on either the artist or the viewers/voters.

Well said. I got the feeling that Siobhan really misunderstood the music industry, and where the judges are coming from. She obviously marches to the beat of her own dream, and is very comfortable doing so. That's an admirable quality for sure. But it can only get you so far in the music industry. If you want to sell millions of records, then you've got to be willing to bend a little, and do not what is fun for you all the time, but what the audience wants. Lots of time, the two work together, and that's great. But sometimes, they don't, and the difference between a pop star and a great singer is a willingness to do what you don't want to do, because the audience wants it. Cyndi Lauper has to sing "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in every concert whether she wants to or not. Siobhan always seemed so determined to remain true to herself that she never seemed to understand that what the judges were telling her was how to alter for success with the audience.

If Siobhan is content to forever be a glass blower who sings to small to moderate size audiences on the side, then she made exactly the right choices. But if she aspires to be a huge recording star and sell out arenas, then she needs to start showing a willingness to alter things to what she's being told the audience wants.

[ibot2much]

Being a recording star appears to be the judges' only goal for AI contestants. None of them have any interest in any other kind of music than pop. I see SM doing Broadway. She may not be interested in being " a huge recording str and a sell(ing) out arenas". Good for her for remaining true to herself and not listening to the CONFLICTING advice of the judges whose view of music is pretty limited.