Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The cut from 11 contestants to 10 is almost always the cruelest on American Idol.

Finish 10th on the show, and you go home for a while, but return for the summer tour and benefit from the exposure and paycheck that go along with it.

Finish 11th, and you just go home.

Shannon Magrane finished 11th on American Idol this week, ousted by voters a night after the show announced the disqualification of Jermaine Jones.

“It’s definitely really upsetting,” Shannon said in a conference call with the media Friday afternoon.  “I really wanted to go on tour.  This is what I wanted to do since I was a little girl.  And I was so close to it.  I’ll always remember sitting in front of the TV (watching Idol) and telling mom and dad, ‘This is so cool. This is what I want to do.'”

She leaves with the satisfaction of knowing she accomplished most of her goals.  Not many 16-year-olds can say they made the American Idol finals and got to sing in front of millions of people, she notes.

Shannon was just 15 when she wowed the judges during the Savannah auditions last summer.

And she seemed to cruise through the early rounds in Hollywood.  Between her poise and her height — she was a 6-foot tall middle hitter on her Blake High School volleybal team — she seemed older than her age.  Perhaps even a front-runner among the gals in Season 11.

But she stumbled in the first round of the finals, and the judges took note.

She stumbled worse Wednesday night, singing Mariah Carey’s “One Sweet Day.”  And though the judges treated her kindly, it cost her on a show where females have little margin for error.

What’s next for Shannon?

Now 16, she says she plans to practice, practice, practice because she compares singing to a sport.

And she vows to come back stronger than ever and says she’s looking forward to making her own music and her own album.

“You guys will have to look out for me, because I’ll be popping back up soon,” she predicted.

Among the other topics she covered during the conference call:

* About Jermaine Jones:  Shannon said the other contestants were as surprised by his disqualification as the viewers at home.  “In the dressing room, we were all wondering, ‘Is this really happening?'”  She said she “feels bad” for Jermaine, because she knows how it feels to be eliminated.

* About the judges’ decision not to save her:  Shannon said she wasn’t surprised and didn’t expect them to use the save so early in the competition.  “There are people (on the show)  older than me, and who know more music than me, and who are a lot more experienced.  I think they (the judges) thought I wasn’t ready yet.  I feel, in my heart, that I’m ready.”

* About the male bias on Idol:  Shannon said she and the other girls are aware there’s been a string of male winners on the show (four straight), but are hoping the girls at home “stick with the girls” and show some “girl power” in Season 11.

* About Steven’s comment to her dad:  In the addition round, former Major League pitcher Joe Magrane asked Steven how things were in Boston.  His response: “Hot, humid and happening, just like your daughter.”  Shannon said her dad is a gentle giant and thought it was funny because “it made good TV.”  She admitted it made her feel a little uncomfortable when she first watched the edited segment. ” But looking back at it, I thought it that was funny that Steven Tyler — the legendary Steven Tyler — said that about me.”