Siobhan Magnus and Crystal Bowersox dominated ladies' night last week. Last night, on the first show of the American Idol finals, the two ladies were 1-2 again.
At least that's how we saw it, but we doubt we'll receive too many arguments. With the possible exception(s) of Big Mike and Aaron Kelly, no one came close to these two.
Not that Crystal wasn't her usual, solid self, but if there was a clear winner Tuesday, it was Siobhan, who gave "Paint It, Black" dramatic flair on Rolling Stones night.
Her vocal range was amazing and the overall performance riveting. Kara DioGuardi compared her to Adam Lambert, which is not praise thrown around lightly.
She was a tough act to follow for Crystal Bowersox, whose rendition of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" seemed to suit her style perfectly. Typically solid.
It was Siobhan Magnus and Crystal Bowersox's show last night.
Any other week, it may have been tops, but Simon opined that Siobhan outperformed her. A good thing, he said, as Crystal is obviously legit but needs to raise her game.
Aside from Michael Lynche's "Miss You" and Aaron Kelly's tender "Angie," most of the other efforts weren't impressive. Who's going home? There are plenty of candidates.
Tim Urban's reggae style "Under My Thumb" and Lacey Brown's "Ruby Tuesday" struck us as a few performances that could result in a heave-ho. Who knows.
Do you agree with our assessment of Tuesday's elite? Who do you see going home on American Idol tonight? Here's how we rank last night's performances:
- Siobhan Magnus, "Paint It, Black"
- Crystal Bowersox, "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
- Michael Lynche, "Miss You"
- Aaron Kelly, "Angie"
- Lee DeWyze, "Beast of Burden"
- Didi Benami, "Play With Fire"
- Paige Miles, "Honky Tonky Women"
- Casey James, "It's All Over Now"
- Katie Stevens, "Wild Horses"
- Andrew Garcia, "Gimme Shelter"
- Lacey Brown, "Ruby Tuesday"
- Tim Urban, "Under My Thumb"
Click to enlarge photos of the finalists in action ...
April 25th, 2010 6:02 PM
Siobhan, Siobhan, Siobhan!!! Need I say more! She has it going
on!!! That girl can sing the "phone book"!!!
March 28th, 2010 10:50 PM
I love Siobhan! Best singer since Kelly Clarkson to come along on IDOL! Actually BETTER! She's a winner no matter what, but you know what? She's going to WIN!!!
March 25th, 2010 6:58 AM
My favorite guy is Lee!
March 25th, 2010 6:55 AM
Totally agree with Crystal called overrated. I mean she's good, but its mostly the same thing every week. Siobhan on the other hand always comes out with something different. And her vocal range is just amazing.
March 23rd, 2010 10:47 AM
Simon Cowell had it right, some will love what Magnus did and others will hate it.
Those of you who are criticizing Magnus for technical flaws are a bit off. Rock as a genre is kind of over the top and messy. i.e. Jagger was never completely on pitch or even on key during some of his most memorable performances, singers screech, smash guitars at the finish, etc. That's all part of the performance of rock. It is not opera where Pavarotti is booed for missing a note.
On a more cogent point, Magnus sold the emotion of the song, took the audience that was willing to listen to her on a emotional journey, looked incredible - yet edgy. Pretty amazing performance. And keep in mind that Siobhan Magnus is raw and very untrained compared to the Adam Lamberts' or Allison Irahetas' of the world, she does not have full control of her abilities yet, that will come in time. Still she is such a riveting performer that little of this really matters. Just enjoy her for what she brings to the table.
March 20th, 2010 8:21 PM
Siobhan Magnas has it all over Crystal Bowersox. She has great range and she can sign a variety of different songs from opera to rock and sing it very well.(I totally agree with Don's opinion! March 19, 2010) Crystal Bowersox on the other hand, her singing is not that bad, but everything she sings always sounds the same. I don't think she can change her style much. And America wants an Idol who can sing and perform all kinds of music!! Go Siobhan!
March 19th, 2010 10:12 PM
Siobhan is simply fabulous, i think she's pitch perfect, especially with the song where she started a capella and was perfectly on pitch when the orchestra joined in. and she's definitely not pitchy, hello, where have you been? as for saying she's screechy, can you even reach that note? i think the people who are criticizing her should reflect on themselves, who are they to judge the contestants when they don't even know anything?
March 19th, 2010 12:44 AM
Siobhan PITCHY??? are you DEAF?
her pitch is flawless. she is one of three or four singers on this year's idol who is basically incapable of singing out of tune. I think some people don't understand what the word "pitchy" actually means, or possibly they don't have very good ears for pitch themselves and don't really understand what they dislike about a performance.
but her pitch was flawless as always. one of the performers Randy said was either sharp or flat when in fact the performer was actually the opposite (like if randy said sharp the singer was actually flat) - even people at Randy's level don't always have the best ears, or at least not much real musical training.
Siobhan is wonderful and I can't wait to hear what she does next. I'm really growing tired of the rest of the copycat singers and how dull and boring they are.
Get the REAL musicians like Siobhan, Crystal, Didi and the guy who plays guitar well but is a somewhat forgettable singer to really duke it out on stage. Let them all do what they do best, even it's playing lead guitar. That would be a fun competition!
I'll be buying Siobhan's album as soon as it comes out - the far and away most talented musician in this year's idol.
Narrow minded people need not agree - but don't forget to vote for the person who's album you would buy. This is a singing competition - not a popularity contest or beauty pageant.
I do feel bad for people with real gifts and real experience and hard work under their belt like Crystal and Siobhan - to be lumped together with inexperienced and somewhat talented wannbes and being compared to them by the public who really have no idea about the complexity of music... well it's just such a popularity contest on idol that I get sad watching it sometimes.
Like Todrick Hall - he was an absolutely INCREDIBLE singer who was easily the best of the men. But the idiotic public votes him off because they care more about image than about true talent, musical training, hard work and potential.
Sad stuff.
GO SIOBHAN!!!
Cheers
March 18th, 2010 4:00 PM
I love Siobhan. I don't like Crystal, she's overrated. Why does she Crystal) always sing with her eyes shut...she has an uninteresting boring look. Siobhan is young, beautiful, and talented...I love Siobhan because she can REALLY sing.
March 18th, 2010 11:55 AM
I liked Katie Stevens' performance alot- I also liked Siobhan's and Crystal's performances. Big Mike's wasn't that impressive for me, but I still love Lee.