American Idol's Siobhan Sways Kara's Feelings from Confusion to Satisfaction

Anyone who has ever been critiqued or interviewed knows the amount of risk-taking involved in being judged. Imagine the amount of courage that it takes to audition for and be judged before millions of viewers as an American Idol contestant. The contestants constantly await the unknown with hearts pounding before and after their performances, especially when confronted by the judges. In particular, one of my favorite Season 9 contestants, Siobhan Magnus, has had emotion-filled experiences when it has come to absorbing the judges' reactions. For the past few weeks Siobhan has defended her performances before the judges - but not this Tuesday night (April 27)!

First, let's recall three weeks back when Siobhan was moved to tears after the judges' critiques of her performance "Across the Universe" by the Beatles. Judge Kara Dioguardi expressed confusion in not really knowing who Siobhan was as an artist, which she has continued to feel for the past few weeks up until tonight, while Randy described Siobhan's performance as "Sleepy". The song, performed sitting down, had a soft, sophisticated vibe similar to the music of Susan Boyle, which the judges felt was a sharp contrast to Siobhan's spunky performances with her signature high note that has been compared to Adam Lambert. Siobhan asserted that "Across the Universe" had special meaning to her, devoting the lyrics, "Nothing's gonna change my world," to the love that she felt for her younger sisters who have been her sole motivation for performing on American Idol.

Fortunately, tonight Siobhan's spectacular performance of the song "Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain received high remarks from all of the judges. In particular, Siobhan swayed Kara's prior confusion into satisfaction as revealed in Kara's expression: "Guess whose back!" Her upbeat performance was enhanced by her movement into the audience. Randy also "loved it", Ellen thought it was "fantastic", and Simon voiced that "The song was perfect." Siobhan has definitely proven that her multi-faceted singing talent is an asset to the show.

Sources

"Siobhan Magnus - Season 9 Contestants." American Idol.