Mike Hughes on TV

As I start to write this, Siobhan Magnus has been off of "American Idol" for all of seven minutes. I miss her already.

Some of this year's final five -- Aaron Kelly, Lee DeWyze, sometimes Casey James -- are good in a standard, everyday sort of way. Siobhan, by comparison, is distinctive.

She's distinctive in sound. That high-pitched note she usually saves for the end is amazing. Simon Cowell hates it, sort of like dogs hate high notes, but I think she uses it well.

She's distinctive in look. After lots of bad-hair weeks -- blame the "Idol" staff for that -- she was back to her original, great look tonight. Each week her clothes are eccentric and interesting; each week her face makes me smile.

And she's distinctive in approach. She simply feels different; I miss her. Here are a few of my other comments; please add yours:

1) Sinatra music next week, with Harry Connick Jr. as host? Michael Lynche will nail that one; so will Aaron Kelly and probably Lee DeWyze. Crystal Bowersox and Casey James may have to work a little harder.

2) I'm encouraged by the size of Crystal's fan base. Even this week -- with her only kind of bland, too-average performance -- she wasn't in the bottom three. We need her; in what was supposed to be a year of strong women, she's the sole survivor.

3) Lynche was in the bottom three, after singing his third straight soft song. Hint to Big Mike for next week: Sinatra sang show tunes, the thing that you do so well. Maybe it's time for something from "Guys and Dolls."

4) James was in the bottom two. He had a good week this time, but too often he's done bland, blah, middlin' songs.

5) Speaking of non-blah, there were great songs from Lady Antebellum and Sons of Sylvia. The latter guys have already been big on Fox, but you might not recognize them. They won the "Great American Band" competition, as the Clark Brothers.

6) And Antebellum? "Idol" contestants can consider this: Hillary Scott (the daughter of country singer Linda Davis) tried out for "Idol" in two different years -- and never got past the first audition. Her duet has reached No. 1 on Billboard's country chart AND No. 2 on the overall chart. So Siobhan -- who got way further -- shouldn't feel bad.

7) There was a wonderful cross-culture moment, when country's Rascal Flatts linked with Colombia's Shakira, backed by some people dancing in the Middle-eastern style. That makes sense, though; for all of her South American flair, Shakira is also Lebanese on her father's side. She brings cross-culture to everything.

8) In beween commercials, they had long plugs for a car and a movie. I could only hope that the show would return eventually.

9) The oddest moment tonight came when it was time for my local Fox station to put in a promo spot. It inserted one that kept telling about the features that would be on its newscast "in November." Were they getting six months ahead of themselves? My bet is that they were supposed to put in a promo for the "sweeps" ratings period. There's a sweeps (called the May sweeps) starting Thursday; there were also ones in February and November. Someone must have just plugged in a tape called "sweeps."

10) Now she's been gone for 34 minutes. I really, really miss Siobhan.