Siobhan Magnus is too amorphous to become a real pop star in my mind. But she already knows where she might be at home: Broadway. That makes perfect sense for her sensibility and her voice.

In various exit interviews, she said she loves acting: “I’ve had a lot of experience in different kinds of theater—musicals and Shakespeare and I love acting. I do aspire to someday be in something like ‘Phantom of the Opera’ or ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’—any kind of opera or Broadway-type musical.”

And she admitted to loving all sorts of music and would like to meld it all, which makes no real sense in the real world as a musical artist but hey, that’s why she felt all over the place any given week:

From jazz and soul and R&B and blues to rock and punk and big bands—I love everything. I’ll hopefully eventually be able to create something that is my own sound but that also takes from everything that I ever loved—not just Courtney Love and Rob Zombie (laughs).

And yes – …

Continue reading Siobhan Magnus came up with the scream in the shower, wants to go into theater »

Former Atlantan Carly Smithson is making her first public singing appearance next Monday May 3 with her new band We Are the Fallen opening for HIM at Center Stage.

Smithson is one of the first “Idol” alums to sign on as a lead singer of a band that does not have her name attached to it. Three of the band members came from Evanescence, a group which had several hits back in the 2003-06 era — most notably “Bring Me To Life.” That’s a song Smithson sang on the “Idols Live” tour. She has been compared in the past to Amy Lee, who remains with Evanescence.

Smithson was originally known as Carly Hennessy and recorded an album with MCA in 2001 but it didn’t sell many copies. (An infamous Wall Street Journal page one story about the music business used her as an example.) After getting dropped from the label, she moved to Marietta from 2003 to 2005, a period in which she did not sing at all. But she did meet her husband Todd Smithson here when she was a bartender at Fado in Buckhead. …

Continue reading Interview with Carly Smithson, lead singer of We Are the Fallen »

 Loading …

In a bit of a shock, Siobhan Magnus is going home. And there’s no “save” for the judges.

She had a good voice but had trouble creating a consistent musical sound. And that screech was irritating. I also didn’t like her stiff performance style and facial expressions while she sang. I could never buy into whatever she was trying to sell.

But she sure was odd with her clothing picks and hair styles. Vote for the Worst can’t be happy about this at all. She was the immediate post-Tim Urban pick and wasn’t able to get the votes to keep her around.

Everyone was expecting Michael Lynche to go home again. In fact, I didn’t even have Siobhan among my bottom three picks. (I had chosen Aaron and Crystal.) Instead, it was Michael, Casey James and Siobhan.

And amazingly, “Idol” finished on time. Actually, it was early.

Next week: Harry Connick …

Continue reading Who is gone tonight on ‘American Idol’? »

Is it time for Michael Lynche to go home? And will Crystal find herself in the bottom three?

‘American Idol’ live blogging top 6 results

Continue reading ‘American Idol’ live blogging top 6 results show »

The “American Idol” tour is back as usual at the Arena at Gwinnett on August 1. There are 49 dates, a bit fewer than in the past.

Tickets go on sale May 15. Prices are not posted yet.

I expect attendance will be way off from a year ago and be comparable to season six. The show sells out this area almost every year, even off years, but it will just take longer.

-What Not To Sing investigated whether singing a familiar song or an obscure song matters or not whether you get eliminated or not. After an exhaustive sutdy, the conclusion: it doesn’t make a difference.

-Ratings continue to slump on “Idol.” The early numbers last night were just 18.8 million with a 6.6/19 share among 18-49. It usually goes up a bit in the finals but this is still well below last year’s comparable top 6 performance show, which drew 24 million. That’s about a 20 percent drop off year over year. And this compares to 20.3 million for “Dancing With the Stars” Monday with a 4.3/13 among …

Continue reading American Idol tour returns to Gwinnett Arena August 1; does song familiarity matter? »

 Loading …

I’m so sorry I wasn’t around for live blogging. I got caught up at a CNN meet-and-greet cocktail party in downtown Atlanta featuring local CNN talent (Rick Sanchez), execs (Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent), producers and guests such as Mayor Kasim Reed, “Apprentice” alum Wes Moss, “Real Housewives” alum DeShawn Snow and “Top Chef” contestant and Pure Vida owner Hector Santiago. It figures I recognized the reality TV participants.

I hope Deirdre was able to keep you up to date!

UPDATE: Okay, I’ve got it. I wasn’t quite as impressed with the performances tonight as the judges.

Who will go home? That’s going to be a tough call. I think the bottom three will be Michael Lynche, Aaron Kelly and for the first time, Crystal Bowersox. Michael will go home. I thought both Michael and Aaron pulled …

Continue reading ‘American Idol’ top 6 performance show recap »

I’ll hold off on the Carly Smithson interview – in which she didn’t get as snippy with me as she did with the Tacoma reporter when I dared mention that OTHER band. “I’m part of We are the Fallen,” she said, a couple of times. End of story. It might get more of a traffic bang tomorrow.

Anyway, Carrie Underwood is coming back to Duluth at the Gwinnett Arena October 27. Billy Currington is one of her openers. Tickets went on sale Saturday. Prices on Ticketmaster are $35.50 to $55.50, not too bad.

The $55.50 seats are already gone. I was able to get some pretty mediocre $45.50 seats (with $10.30 convenience charge) on Ticketmaster. There are $35.50 seats available, too.

- Is Crystal Bowersox acting a wee bit too defensive with her Tweets? She didn’t take kindly to the TMZ story implying she wanted to quit. And now she’s addressing her “haters.”

Crystal Bowersox: Hey now! There’s no room for hate on this page! I’d hug everyone of ya if I could, naysayers, too! Please don’t bash my …

Continue reading Carrie Underwood headlining tour at Gwinnett Arena Oct. 27 »

Sure, this is one of those “Idol” years that has made a lot of people decide it was time to watch “The Biggest Loser” or “NCIS.”

But thank you blog fans who are still with me on this. Let’s pick apart what we like least about the remaining six contestants, because it’s always about focusing on the positive, right?

Crystal Bowersox: She may have this competition in the bag, but she is unlikely to become a superstar a la Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. She will probably fall into the category of Taylor Hicks. Her style is reminiscent of Melissa Etheridge, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt. I’m sure 19 Entertainment will have a tough time marketing her or coming up with an album palatable to her and the label execs.

And while the fashion and makeup folks have done their best to doll her up, she still evokes a bit of that hippie-I-may-have-taken-a-shower-this-week ouvre. I can’t ever see her being comfortable hobnobbing on a red carpet.

Plus, there are plenty of folks who aren’t …

Continue reading What are the biggest flaws of the remaining six contestants? »

It’s the weekend so I’ll keep it lght: Katharine McPhee has gone back to brunette after a few inexplicable months as a blonde. Here she is at the Us Weekly Hot Hollywood Style party last week:

CREDIT: AP

An improvement? A past poll I posted here definitely favored McPhee as a brunette.

Continue reading Katharine McPhee goes back to brunette »

Danny Gokey, who was in town just a few weeks ago to do a Best Buy in-store appearance, is back quickly to Gwinnett County, appearing at Wild Bill’s tonight. The venue is huge: 5,000. But the good thing for Danny is the place tends to draw big crowds on Friday nights anyway no matter who the entertainment is. If Danny himself can add a few more to the pot, it should be a fun night.

In fact, I told him this because he did sound a bit worried given the last-second nature of the booking (which was announced to me just Wednesday.) He had no clue why it was added so late. I think he was worried he’d be playing to a mostly empty venue. I suspect that won’t be the case. Ticket prices start at $15 and you probably should just show up, no need to buy in advance. He starts at 11 p.m. or so. But if you want some comfort, you can buy them here at ticketmaster.

His single “The Best Days Are Ahead Of Me” is edging up the charts. He is deeply aware of its slow but steady progress. He is …

Continue reading Interview with Danny Gokey for his last second Wild Bill’s gig; ‘Idol Gives Back’ raises $45 million so far »