Carly Smithson

Carly Smithson

Carly Sarah Smithson (née Hennessy, born 12 September, 1983, in Dublin, Ireland) is a singer-songwriter and actress, associated with several acts. She recorded two solo albums, Carly's Christmas Album and Ultimate High, and was a finalist on American Idol in 2008. She also appeared in several small acting roles a a child. She is currently the leading vocalist for the band We Are The Fallen as of 2009.

Early life

Smithson began singing around the age of four. Before she started pursuing her singing career further, appeared in a series of child acting bits. Starting at age five, she appeared in commercials for Denny's sausage for three years. In 1990, she had a cameo in the movie Fools of Fortune as Young Marianne. She later joned the cast of Lés Miserables, starring in the role of Little Cosette, in 1992. At age 10, she released her first independent album, Carly's Christmas Album. Little else is known about it, other than that it was available for sale throughout the United Kingdom. In 1999, she moved to the United States with her father, shortly after which she dropped out of high school to continue her singing career.

Ultimate High

In 2001, Smithson joined with MCA records to release her second solo project, a pop record called Ultimate High. The album sold a disappointing 378 copies upon its debut, but sales shot up dramatically after her elimination on American Idol for a short period, appearing on the front page of Amazon's mp3 homepage, peaking in the Top 10 of their Top Selling Digital Albums. Otherwise, the album and its two singles, I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind and Beautiful You were generally a miss, reportedly because of the untimely merge of MCA with a parent company, as well as the unfortunate recent of preceding 9/11 attacks. She later met controversy with American Idol that nearly caused her to be disqualified because of this record deal.

Pre-American Idol

After her failed solo career as Carly Hennessy, Smithson took a break from her singing career. She worked in a local bar before meeting her husband, Todd Smithson. They married and owned a tattoo shop together called a "Nothing Sacred", which they still run to date. Smithson herself reportedly has nine tattoos, including a sleeve on her right arm depicting a Japanese Geisha based on a painting she owns. She waited until season five of American Idol to audition, receiving unanimous acceptance by the judges, but running into another mishap when her visa failed to clear in time.

American Idol

Devastated by the outcome, Smithson waited again until season seven to re-audition, this time with the song I'm Every Woman, again receiving unanimous acceptance. This time, Smithson made it all the way to the Top 24 before her previous record deal caused yet another bump in the road. The controversy was later cleared and Smithson continued to be successful in her Idol career, appearing as one of forerunners throughout the competition until being voted off after her rendition of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Superstar", finishing in the Top 6. Her elimination came as a shock to many, as Smithson was predicted to be one of the potential winners, causing many to speculate the show's voting process was erroneous or corrupt, possibly due to voting lines being jammed that night. This even prompted a press release from FOX, on which they denied to reveal voting tallies. Regardless, Smithson was eliminated.

Post-American Idol

On the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008, Smithson performed "Bring Me To Life", "I Drove All Night'", and '"Crazy On You". After the end of the tour, Smithson appeared on a number of talk shows, conversing about he experience on Idol and promoting her forthcoming solo album. Two original songs, Let Me Fall and Lay With Me were revealed before scrapping her solo project.