The First Punk

Siobhan Magnus was the first authentic punk rocker on American Idol. She's a 20 year-old glass blower apprentice from Cape Cod with the soul pipes and glory notes. And she got cut this week.

While Siobhan is acknowledged to be peculiar even by her family. She didn't want to be put in a box on Idol, nor did she construct her own box. Like Crystal Bowersox, the only woman left competing in the top five, her appearances had the power to transform the show into something distinct, their own show, their own time.

Coming from a large and musical family, her mother's favorite band is The Ramones and she grew up singing "House of the Rising Sun" with her dad. Her wild mix of influence yielded the show-stopping rendition of "Think" where she revealed her ability to hit and hold psychotically high notes, an entremely un-Idol "Wicked Game," a gorgeous "Across the Universe" and the one she wanted the be the one everyone remembered, "Paint it Black":



The judges dissed her for having too many contradictions, no knowing where to put her in their heads. She replied that it was point of pride for her that she wouldn't even put herself in a box, let alone expect other people to. That's the Joe Strummer-style punk attitude, which makes sense as she's the first Top 12 contestant to have sung in a punk rock band.

And, best of all, her demeanor when she isn't a song goddess walking the stage or owning a room and the airwaves with a note, is so much slower, with the big wacky eyeglasses, but also more considered, per this exit interview at USA Today:

You've had one of the most eclectic musical backgrounds of anyone on the show.

What do you look for in music that gets you from Hanson to Rob Zombie to musical theater?

I guess anything that moves me, anything that comes across as sincere and emotional and an honest expression. Music, to me, is an outlet. It's what you turn to when you don't know how else to get your feelings out. I can detect that in an artist. When somebody writes a song and you hear it and you can tell that they needed to write that song to explain how they felt, then it moves me, and I like it.

There are so many different kinds of music, and there's a difference between good polka and bad polka. Even if it's not your favorite genre, you have to appreciate that it's good for what it is. I'm just blessed that I had parents who raised me with such varied tastes in music, so that I was never closed-minded to anything.

When you like so many different kinds of music, does it get hard to figure out what you sound best singing? Because the music you love and the music you're good at aren't always the same thing.

A little bit, but I try not to take it as a bad thing. I try to see it as gaining versatility. I learn from everything that I love. I learned how to sing the way I do through imitating singers that I love. I try and encapsulate all of that and create my own unique sound from that. I try and use it as a positive thing, that I like so many different kinds of music.

I'm guessing, while there will always be some Siobhan haters out there, this girl will sell music and appearances.

It's about talent, but it's also about taste.