Carly Smithson: American Idol Season 12 Top 10 Review

Does Carly Smithson have a strong voice? Yes. Is she a good performer? Certainly. But she certainly is not the one to beat on American Idol Season 12.

Carly Smithson performed Total Eclipse of the Heart, originally performed by Bonnie Tyler in 1983. Unfortunately, our viewing audience immediately noted that the back-up singer out-sang Carly.

There's no question Carly has a great voice and a unique presence. The question is more about the audience of American Idol, which is mostly pre-teen to teenage kids and soccer moms. Most of their votes are going to go to bubble-gum pop princess type Kristy Lee Cook and annoyingly adorable 17-year-old David Archuleta.

Carly is more like a clone of Celine Dion, and while Celine is a diva in her own right with an amazing set of pipes, she has somewhat worn out her 15 minutes of fame. I don't know about you, but the last time I heard about Celine, she was appearing on Oprah and performing in Canada. Celine, and singers who emulate her, don't have the staying power with today's pop generation -- the ADD-afflicted, IMing while also listening to the radio and watching Idol on DVR teenagers who power the pop music machine. They're better suited to the "light rock" soccer moms and dentist office elevator music stations.

Add in to this the fact that Carly really already has had her shot -- and missed horribly, to the tune of about $1 million of failed advertising and promotion by record label MCA Records. Sure, a few other Idol finalists have also had brief record deals, but Carly's was the most publicized.

While Carly certainly still has a shot, and likely won't go home tonight, she has to compete with the likes of Archuleta, rocker-phenom David Cook and Michael Johns (after his amazing performance last night, he's put a little fire to the feet of the other contestants).

Sources
Irish Idol: Smithson's Secret Past, Lindsey Parker, http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/13980/irish-idol-smithsons-secret-past