American Idol contestant Carly Smithson performed the song "Without You" on the April 15, 2008 episode of the hit televised singing competition. She played the piano.

1. Randy: "I liked that you challenged yourself with a big song. The power parts were cool, but you need to trust in yourself in your lower range too. Pretty good."
2. Paula: "I actually think that that I like that you showed vocal restraint. I like that you choose different parts and made it your own."
3. Simon: "I wanted to hear you sing this song. I don't think you pulled it off. I think you are over-thinking everything and you are wound up. It's holding you back. Believe in yourself."

• YouTube Video: Carly Smithson "Without You" (Time: 1:53)
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• Google News: Carly Smithson Without You
• TMZ.com: "Glitter 2" -- "Idols" Sing Mariah (April 15, 2008)
• Idol Chatter: Carly Smithson "Without You"
  • Carly, dressed tastefully, chats a bit about how boring things are without Michael. Carly gets Without You (a Mariah song by proxy, remember; it's originally a Badfinger song popularized by Nilsson in the early '70s). She's going for the mature, grown-up vibe tonight, and starts it low-key and restrained. That will change, I'm sure, but even when she jumps, she's not overdoing it ridiculously. Until the second chorus, anyway, where she's overelaborating like crazy. Still, not bad. Randy didn't like the beginning for some reason that he fails to articulate usefully. Paula liked her restraint and her later soaring; in other words, everything. Simon didn't think she was as good as Mariah.