Carly Smithson is a veteran of the American Idol process. A 24 year old originally from Dublin, Ireland, the singer actually auditioned in season of Idol, but was denied a trip to Hollywood because of Visa issues. Now with that cleared up, Carly Smithson and her abundant tattoos have a chance to make waves on a national stage. The judges seem to think that Carly will be a fan favorite, and she was relatively impressive in her San Diego audition.
Looking back, Carly had a tough break into the music industry. The Wall Street Journal previously released an article about her debut album flop, and this is what she had to say about it: "I kind of had a bad experience. It was nonsense. It was very damaging."
"It looked like I put out a record and it went nowhere," she continued. "[It] was kind of crazy. One article can have such a snowball effect. They believed everything in it."
Carly soon took a break from her music career and moved to Atlanta with her boyfriend, Todd. She said that during that time, music "wasn’t my thing anymore."
"At that point, I really hated the music industry," she admitted. "I just needed to take a rest, just be normal for a minute, have a normal job."
Finally, in 2007, Carly went out and auditioned for American Idol, saying, "I went, I queued up. I got sunburned and auditioned. I had a great time."
And when she landed a spot in the final 24? "When they said yes, they were nice and excited, tell you you’re good. For me, it’s so emotional. I was overjoyed. I kept telling myself to stop crying. I couldn’t stop."
Now that Carly is steadfast in her journey in making it to the top of the competition, she believes that everything has fallen into place after all her struggles.
"It was definitely meant to be. If I had everything when I was 19, I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it," she said. "Right now, I love life. With the bartending and singing in bars, I had been at the lows and the highs. Everything is a bonus compared to the life I’ve had."
Week 1: "The Shadow of Your Smile"
Week 2: "Crazy on You"
Week 3: "I Drove All Night"
Week 4: "Come Together"
Week 5: "Blackbird"
Week 6: "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Week 7: "Here You Come Again"
Week 8: "The Show Must Go On"
Week 9: "Without You"
Week 10: "Superstar"
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(Photo courtesy of FOX)