'American Idol' Reject Magic Cyclops Panhandling on the Highway -- Spare Change?

Who says "American Idol" rejects are a bunch of hopeless losers -- we found one who actually managed to turn his flash of fame into a lucrative profession ... begging for money on the side of the road.

His name's Magic Cyclops -- and you may remember him as the air guitar-playing bandana-wearing weirdo who fired confetti out of his pants during his audition in Aspen last month.

The judges unanimously rejected him -- no surprise -- but now he's found success outside the music biz, panhandlng on the side of a freeway in Fort Collins, CO.

Magic tells us, since his massively public "Idol" rejection, no one has wanted to hire his one-man band -- because "now people know I don’t have the talent I thought I had.”

But after reading an article about homeless people making up to $30k a year just from begging, Magic was inspired -- and decided to hit the road with a cardboard sign ... earning an impressive $0.35 his first day.