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07/03/08 - New AI Tour Media
I have added some videos from Youtube of Carly's amazing performances! Be sure to check out her official Myspace by clicking the link above to see pictures from the Glendale show
07/03/08 -Another American Idol Review: Glendale, AZ
Tattooed Carly Smithson opened with a loud and powerful take on Evanescence's “Bring Me to Life.” She is prettier than she appears on TV, and smaller, too. However, one imagines her lungs must take up a good portion of her body due to the sheer power she displayed. She closed with a killer version of the Cyndi Lauper favorite “I Drove All Night” that chugged along at a hypnotic pace.
To read the full review click 'Read More'
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07/03/08 - Live Review: American Idols Live in Glendale, AZ
Irish songbird Carly Smithson, No. 6, delivered a pro-worthy version of Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life," followed by a revamped cover of Heart's "Crazy On You." She wrapped up her enthusiastic set with Cyndi Lauper's "Drove All Night."
To read the full review click 'Read More'
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06/28/08 - Q&A: Carly Smithson
I must apologise for the serious lack of updates I have been extremely busy with various other things so far this summer but to keep you guys going her is an interview with Carly Smithson:
With American Idols Live! coming to San Diego on Wednesday as part of a 49-city North American tour, Rated 'G' reviewer Kelly Lin was eager to learn more about Idol's San Diego resident, Carly Smithson. So she came up with questions for the Irish-born singer-songwriter, who was the sixth-place finalist on season seven.
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06/01/08 - Q&A: Carly Smithson
Carly Smithson wasn't much like a lot of "American Idol" finalists: she had a rock edge, a load of tattoos and even had a record label deal before she joined the show. Read up on her international past, her plans for the Broadway stage and her former alliance with MCA.
Q: Everyone who watches American Idol' knows you were born in Dublin, but I don't think people realize you also lived in Johannesburg.
A: We lived in Dublin for about six months after I was born and then we moved to South Africa and lived there until I was about four. Mom went home for a Bruce Springsteen concert and decided that she missed Ireland a lot and never went back to Africa and told my dad to pack up all our belongings.
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05/16/08 - Idol Summer Tour
Tomorrow Idol Live Summer Tour Tickets go on sale, dont miss your chance to see Carly and the rest of the top 10 in your town this summer.
05/16/08 - More Icons
More icons have been added up onto our icon page. Be sure to check them out and tell me what you think by dropping us an e-mail or comment. You can also send an e-mail to us requesting graphics and anything else you would like such as MP3 of songs that are not already on our 'Downloads' page!
05/12/08 - Carly Smithson thinks she’s still alive on American Idol
According to reports from sources close to the competition, eliminated American Idol contestant Carly Smithson is having a pretty difficult time grasping that she’s no longer a competitor on the show.
“Yo, dawg, check it out, yo, I’m pretty sure Carly still thinks she’s on the show,” said one source who asked to remain nameless. “Every week she is showing up to rehearsals, practicing, following along with everything that’s happening, and then every Wednesday night, she walks around telling us all that she ‘can’t believe she’s still alive.’ I don’t know what to make of it, dawg, but I’m pretty sure she still thinks she’s alive.”
Indeed, ever since being eliminated several weeks ago, Smithson has been a fixture around Idol-related events, standing behind the judges table and clapping loudly for her fellow (ex-fellow) contestants and generally making sure that everyone knows she’s there.
“I’d say that I have an 80 percent chance of winning the whole thing,” Smithson told SCNN. “I would say that Syesha has a 12 percent chance, and that the Davids (David Cook and David Archuleta, widely considered to be the favorites) have about a four percent chance each. Of course, this could all change if I don’t nail my songs the rest of the way, so I will have to just make sure that I really get out there and sing it as well as I can.”
While most have dismissed Smithson as a few notes short of a chord, there was one person close to Idol, however, who was pretty agreed with the 24-year-old singer’s self-diagnosis. “I think Carly can do whatever she puts her mind to,” said Idol judge Paula Abdul. “If she wants to win this competition, she can certainly do that. She’s like a beautiful butterfly, floating through space, and if she decides that she wants to land on the hearts of America, well, that’s what she did.”
Not everyone was as convinced as Abdul.
“I never know what Paula’s talking about, so that’s not news,” said Simon Cowell. “I’m not really sure what this Carly is talking about either, though. That’s the Irish girl, right?”
05/04/08 - Carly says she lost popularity votes to the 'adorable boys'
This season's "American Idol" has been tough for the girls, particularly for tattooed Irish belter Carly Smithson.
The Dublin-born singer with the Celine Dion and Heart-esque vibe struggled to please the judges, who seemed to have set the standard higher for her than for any other contestant.
"I was trying to beat myself every week to be better and better and better [even if] I felt that I... gave [every performance] everything I had," Smithson told the international media during a teleconference arranged by Star World.
Controversy
"I don't think the judges liked the pop-rock idea I have about myself," she said. "They want us to be stars, but I come from a bar and I have no idea how a star is really supposed to act."
The 24-year-old bartender from San Diego, California, entered the competition hounded by controversy over her previous experience in the music biz. Under MCA Records in 2001, the former Carly Hennessy released the debut album "Ultimate High," which flopped.
Asked if she considered "Idol" her second shot at a music career, Smithson said: "I'm not sure I even had a first chance. The album was never promoted. It just crashed beneath my feet when the record label imploded... I ended up back in Ireland with just a weird situation."
When other attempts to break into the industry failed, Smithson took a hiatus from professional singing and moved to Georgia. "I just wanted to [learn to] love [the music industry] again because... it was something so out of my reach for so long," said the singer-songwriter.
Working at the Irish pub Fado in Atlanta, where Top 10 finalist Michael Johns also used to sing, led Smithson to rediscover her love of performing.
"Michael Johns used to be the singing entertainer and... I was just the waitress," recalled Smithson. "We didn't work at the pub at exactly the same time, but it was funny for [the people at Fado] to watch ["Idol"]. I kept so quiet that I sang again only when I got to San Diego and they needed an act for New Year's Eve."
Expired luck
Smithson realized how much she missed music when she put together the band for that holiday gig. "We just had such fun that night that I [felt] the need to do it again."
Her Irish luck ran out during her first "Idol" audition in 2005, when she got disqualified because her visa expired. She made a comeback this season, three years after marrying tattoo artist Todd Smithson.
Comparisons to "American Idol" first season winner Kelly Clarkson and rave reviews on her vocals could not save Smithson from being a casualty of popularity votes. "I started out on the show with some bad press, and I don't think it really helped me that much since, early on, people accumulate their fan base," she explained.
Women power
"Women vote for this show, too, and they vote for the boys, who are adorable. The girls had more of a struggle this year with trying to get the popularity vote."
Inside the "Idol" circle, however, Smithson was no less popular to the other finalists who look to her as their camp counselor. She recounted, "I was always there drying everyone's eyes and saying 'you've got to pull yourself together, it's your moment.'"
The upbeat Smithson believed landing sixth place was no reason to be miserable. "Anywhere after Top 10 is just a bonus," she pointed out. "I made enough of an impact to reach a good fan base and now I get to be just me-without a theme night-and make a really cool record."
Before returning for the "Idol" tour and finale, she plans to go home for a two-week break with her family.
"I will work very hard and grab this opportunity by the horns, but I'm not going to change," said Smithson. "I still crave the things I used to do, simple things like my pots and pans."
05/02/08 - Carly wants to come home and rest before mammoth Idol tour
“AMERICA has voted and Carly . . . you’re going home tonight.”
American Idol host Ryan Seacrest looked, almost apologetically, into the sea blue eyes of Dublin-born Carly Smithson last Wednesday night as he informed her that she would be leaving the competition in sixth place.
Slightly shocked and a little teary, Smithson, 24, wrapped her arms tightly around fellow contestant Syesha Mercado, wishing her the best of luck in the rest of the competition, while graciously nodding her head accepting her fate. Smithson’s mother and sister, who flew in from Ireland for Wednesday’s show, looked on disappointingly, yet very proudly, from the audience.
Seacrest, who told viewers that Smithson would be missed dearly from the show, especially for her sense of humor, asked Idol judge Simon Cowell, known for his blunt opinions, to say a final farewell to Smithson.
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