Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Were you were a fan of Siobhan Magnus’ scream?

Were you annoyed by hearing it week after week on American Idol?

Either way, the 20-year-old from Massachusetts explained its origin during her exit interview with the media Thursday afternoon.

She discovered the ability to hit and hold that high note back in high school, while in the shower, while singing a Kelly Clarkson song.

“I’m an avid shower singer, much to the dismay of my family and my neighbors,” Siobhan said. “I went to hit one note, and I reached it and I was able to resonate it in a different part of my head.”

It proved useful when she was singing with her high school choir, she said. And when she was singing with her band. And when she was singing Pink Floyd’s “Great Gig in Sky” with a friend’s group in a battle of the bands competition.

“I had a blast just wailing on those huge notes, and we won.”

On Idol, the high note, the shriek, the scream became her calling card.

It worked to her advantage in the semifinals. The big note near the end of “Think” earned rave reviews from the judges and earned her status as one of the front-runners among the Idol ladies.

She followed it up with a rendition of “House of the Rising Sun” that will go down as one of the more memorable vocals in an Idol season a wee bit short on memorable vocals.

More recently, the scream was drawing mixed reviews. Tuesday night, when Siobhan unleashed it during what would be her final performance show, Simon called it pointless and likened it to the sound a woman would make during childbirth.

But through it all, she developed a loyal legion of fans. That much was evident from reading Twitter after her ouster Wednesday night. Many Idol watchers were more than a little ticked off.

What would Siobhan tell those fans?

“I would say not to worry because this is the end of one thing, but it’s the beginning of a new thing,” she said. “And I have so many big ideas and things that I hope to come in the future that I probably wouldn’t have gotten a chance to do without this experience.”

As for those things … She’d like to record music, of course, creating her own sound from all of the influences she loves, from Courtney Love to jazz. She’d like to do theater, perhaps something on Broadway, where she can marry her love of acting and music.

She’d like to collaborate with her “artistic” siblings “to create a Magnus work of art.” She says older brother, Rory, for example, is an extremely talented filmmaker.

Oh, and then there’s the role in which she could really put her shriek to good use.

“I definitely aspire to at least make an appearance in a wicked, gory kind of horror film with all the stops and special effects and makeup,” Siobhan said.

Ah, yes, we probably haven’t heard the last of those magnificent screams.

Siobhan promised as much.

“I hope to take this as an opportunity to start to think more about what’s next for me,” she said, “which hopefully is going to be an array of things, from theater to film to recording and performing all over the place for whoever wants to hear me scream.”