• Carly Smithson was a contestant on American Idol Season 7. She was sent home on April 23, 2008, after receiving positive comments from all of the judges. Some have speculated that it was Simon Cowell's comment to Smithson after her performance that aided in her being sent home.

  According to reports in June of 2009, Smithson is joining the rock group The Fallen and will act as the group's lead singer. Three members of the group, Ben Moody, Rocky Gray and John Lecompt, were original members of the band Evanescence.E! Online: Idol Castoff Carly Smithson Hooks Up With Evanescence (June 18, 2009)

• 1. Birth date: September 12, 1983
  2. Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
  3. Joanna Pacitti has been likened to Smithson, as someone who has already been discovered in the music industry
  4. Favorite Quote: "We are the makers of music and we are the dreamers of dreams." - Willy Wonka
  5. Audition city: San Diego
  6. Musical influences: Heart, Celine Dion, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, U2, Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, Annie Lennox
  7. Had a successful career before American Idol
  8. Maiden name: Carly Hennessy
  9. Eliminated: April 23, 2008
  10. Has her right arm sleeved with tattoos
  11. Owns a tattoo parlor with her husband Todd Smithson
  12. Tried out for Idol in season five

• Musical Background

  Smithson formerly released an album under the name Carly Hennessy with MCA Records in 2001, but it didn't do well on the charts.

• Background

  Before auditioning for American Idol, Smithson was a bartender at the Irish bar The Field in San Diego. She is married to Todd Smithson who runs the couple's tattoo parlor. She tried out for Idol during the fifth season and made it to the Hollywood round but was disqualified because her visa had expired.

• Carly Hennessy

  A controversy brewed when viewers found out that Smithson was formerly known as Carly Hennessy and had a failed album with MCA. A similar situation took place with Joanna Pacitti on American Idol Season 8. Pacitti debuted This Crazy Life album by Geffen Records in 2006.Yahoo! Music: ...Pacitti The Next...Smithson? (January 22, 2009)

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