LE DOMAINE BLEU

Citation :American Idol: Carly Hennessy 2.0

It's impossible to take a serious look at this crazy-cool season of American Idol and not consider the strange case of Carly Smithson.



Smithson, the Irish-born 24-year-old and former Carly Hennessy who once opened for Bryan Adams (at Dublin Castle, in 2002, according to an old MCA Records web page) has arguably been Idol's most consistent performer to date.

Consistency didn't count for much last week, though, as she found herself in the bottom three, in the first real shock result of the season.

Tonight, when Smithson takes the Idol stage as one of the Top 10 finalists, she will step into the spotlight as a sudden long-shot for the Idol crown, which will be decided in a final performance program on May 20 at Los Angeles' just-opened Nokia Theatre. This season's Idol will be revealed to an expected TV audience of some 40 million viewers the following night, on May 21. And while the road between here and there is long and winding, it would be naive to assume Smithson can't get there.

Smithson isn't the "undiscovered talent" Idol claims to be looking for, though, and that may prove to be her biggest burden. In 2000, as Carly Hennessy, she  signed a six-album deal with MCA. It ended badly for MCA, but worse for her: Her  debut single sold fewer than 400 copies. MCA decided to go in a different direction, to use an overworked industry insider expression. Her dreams shaken, she gave up hope of ever becoming a professional singer, moved to Los Angeles, married and opened a tattoo parlour.

Now, she might — just might, mind you — get the second chance to top all second chances. Cinderella story or premeditated ploy on the part of Idol's producers, it'll ultimately be up to the fans to decide. If last week's bottom-three result was any indication, those fans may not be in the mood for a seasoned — if unlucky — performer to challenge for the Idol crown just yet.

This much is certain, though. Smithson/Hennessy has played an incalculable role in making Idol what it is this season. If nothing else, fans can be reasonably sure that she'll hit every note and remember all the lyrics tonight.

You can't always say that of Idol frontrunners.

When she flashed in defiance at Simon Cowell last week, her emotion was genuine. Her pain and vulnerability were real there for all to see. It was the kind of emotional moment that makes Idol —  at its heart, little more than a dialed-up karaoke contest — one of the most unpredictable and compellingly watchable reality competitions on television today.

"I was very afraid to come and audition for the show," she told Cowell, after he criticized her song choice. ("So, Beatles song, week two," Cowell said, "and you choose a song about a blackbird. I don’t think that was a very smart thing to do.")

Smithson's Irish accent, suppressed throughout this whole Idol process, suddenly broke through as she dug down. Strain will do that to one.

"Why the lyrics — 'Blackbird,' 'fly,' 'broken wing,'" she said. "I just feel like I've been trying, we've all been trying, to break this industry for so long, and you get beaten down so hard you feel broken. For me, it's like blackbird, fly. I know that's corny, but . . . now I'm here, and I'm so happy."

It was her Obama moment.

Tonight, her journey continues. And tomorrow — if she's not careful, and if last week's bottom-three finish was a sign of things to come — her journey may end.

That's the nature of American Idol in this strange, ever-so-crazy season.

source:
http://communities.canada.com/shareit/b ... y-2-0.aspx

Citation :
Prediction; Carly Hennessy The 2008 American Idol Winner
by Juan J Martinez
mars 20, 2008 04:57 PM EDT
rating: 10/10 (4 votes) | comments: 13

  With last night's departure of Amanda Overmyer, American Idol has now become not the platform for undiscovered talent but more of a platform for repackaged failed musicians and would be T.V. celebrities and models.

  I predict the winner will be failed singer Carly Smithson,a.k.a.. Carly Hennessy, a former MCA Records recording artist who was dropped after her 2001 debut album only sold 300 copies. Carly's strong ties to American Idol, the shows producers and a certain judge is proof that her stint on AI is nothing but some music executive's plan to showcase and reintroduce Smithson to the attention challenged American public.

 The reason behinds this season's ringer packed Idol is hidden among the trade secret that certain American Idol producers own the recording companies who produce all the albums for Idol alums. By bringing seasoned musicians and singers the music executives behind Idol can guarantee themselves a head start in cashing in the tone deaf American public that swallows anything they are fed, whether it is good or not.

So the fix is in and now we only have the attempts of recording companies re-launching their failed and has been recording stars to look forward to, mixed in with a few episodes of make believe competition. Perhaps the shows producers should changed the title of the program to "American Idol, A Second Chance, For Failed Pop Stars".

Again, hear me loud and clear. I predict the winner will be failed singer Carly Smithson,a.k.a.. Carly Hennessy. How else will MCA Records recoup the 2.4 million the company spent the failed album by Carly?  .

The following are five more of the final ten that have had professional experience and some sort of success in the music and entertainment world. That makes six out of ten finalists that are anything but undiscovered talent.

American Idol, the show for rediscovered talent. American Idol, the show to re-launch a failed career. American Idol a music executives best promotional tool.

Michael Johns Michael Johns former singer for an Australian band called The Rising which had a record deal with Maverick

Kristy Lee Cook Kristy Lee Cook had a recording contract with Arista Nashville and counts Leann Rimes former management team as her own.

Syesha Mercadoubay Syesha Mercado who was a cast member on the failed television show "The One: The Making of a Music Star".

Brooke White  Brooke White: She opened for Phil Vassar on one of his recent tours.

David Archuleta David Archuleta: He won Star Search when he was 12 and has sung with Kelly Clarkson.

source:
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?a ... 4977289614

Citation :'American Idol's' Carly Smithson's Irish eyes sing
Carly Smithson

Carly Smithson (FOX)

BY SOLVEJ SCHOU | The Associated Press
   April 15, 2008


"She's very modest, hardworking, polite, nice," Beatty said. "Did we realize she was as good as what she was? No."

After that New Year's Eve performance, Smithson - born Carly Hennessy - started singing at the pub every Saturday night, Beatty said.

She would work a shift, go home for a couple of hours, then return to belt out everything from U2 to Johnny Cash.

"I was shocked at the range of her voice," the Irish chef said. "She always sang this one song, 'Black Is the Color,' a Scottish song. It would make everyone silent. Everybody would just be in awe of her."

As for her 2001 MCA Records debut, "Ultimate High," which flopped, Beatty said the pub's staff never knew about it. "She never talked about having a record deal," he said.

Kevin Dickinson, 25, a tattoo artist at Nothing Sacred and a friend of the Smithsons, said Carly invested a lot of her own money in the album. He said lackluster sales could have been due to the album's coming out soon after Sept. 11, 2001.

As for her heavily tatted-up hubby, Smithson met him at Los Angeles International Airport when a friend sent her to pick him up. After a friendship and phone romance that included Smithson's traveling between California and Ireland, the pair married about 3 1/2 years ago, Dickinson said.

"She had a tattoo before she met Todd, but they got tattooed together in Orlando. And he did her knuckle tattoo," Dickinson said.

Smithson's upbeat nature, evident on "Idol" during her popular version of the Beatles' "Come Together" and a comeback to judge Simon Cowell after he criticized her take on the Beatles' "Blackbird," was apparent early on.

No longer a major label artist after her record failed, and then rejected from "Idol" auditions in 2005, she continued to sing.

"Carly is always really positive about everything. She never dwelled on the fact that she didn't make it before," Dickinson said. "Making 'Idol' this time was more an emotional relief because she's been trying for so long. When they said, 'Welcome to Hollywood,' that was the bomb."


source:
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv ... 4130.story

Citation :Interview with Carly Smithson From American Idol 7

Posted on 04/24/2008 in American Idol 7, Cast Interviews



Q:  I thought you took being voted off like a champ last night but you had to be shocked because I was shocked you were in the bottom two in the first place.  So what was going through your head?

A:  I think at this stage, we’re all in the top six, and everybody was thinking that they were going to go home.  Not one person feels safe anymore.  We’re all so grateful for the experience.  I know I feel like American Idol is such a gift, such a great platform to be able to launch myself off of.  I’m not that sad to be leaving.  I enjoyed every minute but we’re back in two weeks to start preparing for the tour and the finale.  It’s like a small break and I’m going to be back.  I think anywhere after top ten is a bonus.  I think I made enough of an impact to reach a good fan base and now I just get to be me without a theme night and make a really cool record, so I’m exited.

Q:  The reason I was surprised even more was because I thought Tuesday night was one of your most joyful performances.

A:   I loved every minute of it.  I had fun.  Maybe it was too late that I realized not to take everything so seriously.  Early on in the show they set the standard so high for me and they were harder on me than other contestants and that got to me for a few weeks.  By the time I met Mariah Carey I had changed my mind.  She was just so cool and so normal and so nice.  Obviously we come into this and they want us to be like a star but I have no idea what a star is supposed to act like so I thought it was really cool when we met her and I realized I can just like her and just be normal.

Q:  As I hear your voice I find it remarkable that there was a period of time when you weren’t singing.  Can you describe that?  How long was that and why did you quit singing?

A:  I moved to Georgia in 2000 and late in 2003 I decided to be a waitress.  I tried really hard to break into the music industry and I just wanted to get away from it and love it again because it started to be so out of my reach for so long.  I was a waitress from 2003 and we moved to San Diego and I started working at a bar there.  I started singing at the bar and I just started to want it bad again.  Music to me is everything.  Whether I’m singing in my living room or on a stage like Idol, I love every minute of it.  Idol has given me such a great gift to be able to show the world.

Q:  What was it like then when all of a sudden that voice came out of one of their waitresses at the bar?

A:   It was so funny because they had no act for New Year’s and I had experience before but I never told anybody that I sang.  Michael Johns and I didn’t work there at the same time, but he was part of the singing entertainment and I wasn’t, I was just a waitress.  I told them I knew a few people in L.A. and could probably put a small band together and see what happened.  We had so much fun that night I realized I needed to do this again.  I missed music so much.  I always wrote and I always sung at home, but never did it in a professional way for many many years.  I have such a hunger and music is such a gift. I’m just so excited to be able to be creative.  Everyone keeps asking me why I’m not devastated and crying for being eliminated.  Now I’m free to go make a record and start writing and all that kind of stuff, and be with my husband and hang out in the real world.

Q:  You had referenced after you sung last night that you actually remembered your words and some people thought you were eluding to Brooke, but you were actually talking about yourself, right?

A:   Oh yea yea yea!  That song was last minute.  When I sang for Andrew Lloyd Webber I learned the other song (All I Ask Of You) and there are a lot of words in Jesus Christ Superstar so I fumbled on a few of the lyrics.  I knew all the words in the moment but I fumbled on stage and I was so irritated at myself when I got off the stage.  But last night I got them all right.  But I did change one and Andrew knew about it.  I called Simon the king of the crop instead of the pick of the crop but I did it on purpose, I thought it would be funny.

Q:  I was wondering what Neil Diamond song were you planning on singing next week if you stuck around.

A:  I was planning on singing Sweet Caroline.  I wanted to do a ballad-ish song because I did up-tempo this week.  I was going to do it with a cello and a piano and do it like a slower big big big  song because it’s such a recognizable song.  Neil Diamond has such a huge amazing catalogue and songs we were all amazed that he did that we knew.  It was just really cool to see his catalogue book and obviously Sweet Caroline stuck out like a sore thumb.

Q:  What did you feel about Randy saying popularity was a factor and Paula mentioning the fan bases last night?

A:  I agree a little bit.  I think I started out on the show with some bad press and I don’t think it helped me.  Early on people accumulate their fan base so every week I gave as good as I could and I enjoyed every moment on the show.  The response I got was amazing.  It’s obvious women vote for this show and the boys are adorable and I definitely feel the girls had a struggle this year with trying to get the popularity vote.  I think the boys are charming the females a lot, but they are very talented too.

Q:  Why do you believe the contestants were given a Broadway challenge?

A:  I think they’ve been wanting to do Andrew Lloyd Webber for a couple of years now and it finally happened this year.  He is so incredible.  I don’t think it was a challenge for any of us.  Obviously every night is a challenge.  There is such a vast amount of music from the catalogue of Andrew Lloyd Webber that there was something for everyone in there.  Mariah Carey I think was a hard week.

Q:  You talked about how the judges were harder on you and how you got some bad press in the beginning which added up to some unique challenges for you.  How did you wade through that with your head above water these past weeks?

A:  The first time I auditioned was Season 5 and I walked into the room and I had watched the show, but after I had been a part of it I watched the show a lot more than I had ever done.  I was going to a Motley Crue concert the night of the auditions and wasn’t necessarily planning on auditioning for Idol so there wasn’t pressure on myself because I didn’t have time to think about the audition.  Now when it came to San Diego I had time to think about it and the weeks running up to it.  It is nerve-wracking and I had already been disqualified and I had such a great audition in Las Vegas, they loved me.  And then I come back and I felt I had to beat myself.  I walked into the room and gave them everything I had but it was amusing.  You guys haven’t seen the Las Vegas footage but I asked to see it because I was so confused with the comment “it wasn’t as good as two years ago”.  Everyone says there was no difference.  It was the same song as well, which they asked me to do because they loved it so much the first time.  They set the bar for me real high straight away and I was trying to beat myself every week.  I felt I did a great job and I was satisfied with my performances.  I guess Simon just had a different idea in his mind and I’m not sure he wanted me to be who I am.  I don’t think they liked the whole kind of pop-rock-Hart idea I have about myself.  I can’t please everybody and he’s only one person.  The other night he said he truly believes in me and he thinks that I’m very good and he has high hopes for me.  I don’t think all of his criticism was necessarily negative, I think he just wanted me to do well.  But I gave it everything I could. I made it to 6th place and I’m really happy with that.

Q:  I wanted to know about the significance of the Amy Whinehouse tatoo.

A:  Actually, it’s not colored in yet, but it’s not Amy Whinehouse, it’s actually a Japanese geisha.  I got the tattoo two years ago before she even came out.   Even Andrew Lloyd Webber thought it was Amy Whinehouse on my arm.  It’s funny but I love my tattoo and that was one thing in the show that bothered me, that it wasn’t finished.  Once she’s colored in she’ll look nothing like Amy Whinehouse.  I know because I have the painting at home.

Q:  Do you think Broadway is in your future?  I thought Andrew Lloyd Webber was smitten with you.

A:  Every contestant has nothing but high words to say about that man.  He was the most amazing mentor.  He took so much time with us and really cared about every song that we were doing and every choice that we made and I feel personally grateful for this entire experience to be able to learn what I’ve learned.

Q:  I wanted to touch on your fashion sense because I really liked the way you dressed on the show.  Can you tell me a little bit about what went through your mind each week when you were picking out your look and whether it affected your performance?

A:  I don’t think about fashion that much.  I just look for things that are different.  I don’t want to look like everyone else.  Dainty looks sort of awkward with me because of my tattoos.  Every week I just wanted to stand out a little bit more and evidently Simon thinks I have bad fashion but I really don’t care.  I loved everything that I wore and I wouldn’t change anything.  The last dress I wore was my favorite and the blue dress I wore in Come Together was really cool.  

Q:   One of the themes we’ve been hearing each week from the eliminated contestants  has been about the idea that American Idol can function as a second chance for people.  Can you talk about how that played out for you?

A:   Everybody feels that it was like a second chance but I don’t know that I even had a first chance.  I did get signed before but it never really happened and it never came out.  It went to stores but was never promoted.  It just kind of crashed beneath my feet. I understand it was my second experience but I feel like it was my first chance.  I like to see it in a fresh mind and I don’t like to dwell on things that happened before.  I had a much more positive experience this time around.

Q:   How is the new album going to be different?

A:   I feel like such a different person.  I’m very proud of the first record I made but I was 15.  How experienced at life are you at that age?  I enjoyed myself and learned a lot but by the time Beautiful You was written, the record was almost about to go out and it was all over.  I ended up in Ireland with just a weird situation so I feel like American Idol was my first real chance.  I thank the show for putting me through and believing in me.

Q:   You were the 6th contestant out of twelve and we talked to all the other contestants the day after they were eliminated and you sound the most upbeat.  

A:   I think the show is a huge platform to launch yourself off of.  Maybe if I had been eliminated before the 10th place I might have been a little more upset, but 6th place is nothing to be miserable about.  I think it’s amazing.  It’s a gift of two weeks to spend with my family before we go on tour.  I’m excited to be able to start writing and finally be out of the cover songs if you know what I mean.  I’ll be able to sing my material because I have a lot of stuff that I’ve been writing and I’m just ready to make a record and enjoy life in general.  I miss the most simple things.  You know what I miss the most?  My pots and pans.  I’m a kitchen gadget nut and I miss my kitchen so much.

Q:  Now that there are only two females left do you think they’ll draw strength from one another?  How will Brooke and Syesha respond?

A:  I don’t know.  I was like camp counselor drying everyone’s eyes and telling them they had to pull themselves together.   They’re so different from each other as artists.  Syesha got the whole R&B thing going on and she’s got this huge voice and Brooke always says she doesn’t have that huge voice but I think that there’s something so special about her that she stops you dead in your tracks when she opens her mouth.  I’ll still be on the phone for them.  I’ll still be the Mom.  We’ve all drawn strength from one another and I’ve learned something from each and every contestant on the show, even people from Hollywood week.

Q:  There’s this widespread feeling that it’s going to come down to the two David’s.  Do you see it that way?  How do the other finalists see it?

A:  I have no idea.  It is anyone’s game.  People have their favorites already if you know what I mean.  Castro could look into the camera and bat his eyelids and go into his amazing falsetto voice and Brooke could just melt someone’s heart.   They give these amazing performances every week that I honestly have no idea who it’s going to be.  No one saw Michael Johns going home.  There’s always there shocking eliminations.  There could be another shocker.

Q:  Do you have a favorite though?

A:  My favorite went a long time ago.  My favorite was Amanda Overmeyer.  I thought she was fantastic.

Q:  Do you have any closing comments?

A:  I’m cool.  I’m so happy and I just feel like I’ve been given the greatest gift ever to be able to be on the show and experience everything I did and learn everything that I did.  I feel like I went out on a high note and enjoyed every minute of Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

source:
http://www.realitywanted.com/newsitem/1 ... can-idol-7

The Letter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOqrlF8tNtI

Carly Smithson "Here You Come Again" Studio Recording

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP6H19mkWX8

Carly Smithson "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Studio Recording

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaOOKGOKer4

Carly Smithson "Blackbird "Studio Recording

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruE4PGsJ304

Carly Smithson "Come Together" Studio Recording

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H91fTm8j10E

Carly Smithson - The Show Must Go On - Studio Version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfggn9bUHrQ

Carly Smithson - Jesus Christ Superstar - Studio Version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhPwwYnKG9U

Carly Smithson on Idol Tonight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_wY4UCdtrc

Citation :Q&A: Carly Smithson

by Fred Bronson - May. 29, 2008 12:00 AM
Billboard.com

Carly Smithson wasn't much like a lot of "American Idol" finalists: she had a rock edge, a load of tattoos and even had a record label deal before she joined the show. Read up on her international past, her plans for the Broadway stage and her former alliance with MCA.

Q: Everyone who watches American Idol' knows you were born in Dublin, but I don't think people realize you also lived in Johannesburg.

A: We lived in Dublin for about six months after I was born and then we moved to South Africa and lived there until I was about four. Mom went home for a Bruce Springsteen concert and decided that she missed Ireland a lot and never went back to Africa and told my dad to pack up all our belongings.

Q: Do you have any memories of living in South Africa?

A: All my aunties still live there, so I go over and visit. They've moved down to Cape Town and Durban and it's a really cool country. I love going over there. It's a very different way of life - go to bed early, wake up early. Bars close early, stores close early.

Q: How long did you live in Dublin?

A: I lived in Dublin until I was 12. My dad and I went to New York and I met with a singing coach. I took four lessons with him over a week because my dad wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong to my voice and then we flew back to Ireland. We moved to Los Angeles when I was 13 1/2. My dad always wanted to live in L.A., so after my parents split, he decided to go there and I followed with him.

Q: Were your parents musical in any way?

A: My mom can sing really well but won't unless there's karaoke, but I hear her in the shower and in the car. She's got a great voice, but she's very nervous and not the type of person who would get in front of anyone and sing a song. Dad thinks he's a great singer and he's terrible, but my brother is very musical and he plays guitar and used to write songs.

We were always in an environment that was very musical. It's Ireland, so you go to the bar. People bring their kids to the bar on a Sunday and there's usually a little session and I would always sing for everybody. And then later on that night, everyone would finish in the bar and they'd all come back to the house and Mom would cook dinner and the musicians would follow and there'd be like a session in the kitchen, everybody playing banjos, violins and guitars.

Q: What was the first song you remember singing?

A: My mom says it was "Chain Reaction" by Diana Ross. I'd put on my dress and then I'd put on my mom's big white coat and like the part where Diana storms in and throws her coat off, I'd storm into the living room, throw my coat off and sing, "I'm in the middle of a chain reaction." Mom says it was super funny.

But my mom saw that I could really sing when they had a dinner party and they were doing the dishes afterward. My mom and her two best friends were singing "I Know Him So Well" from "Chess." It was like their party piece, and at six years of age I started wailing the whole song and my mom said they all stopped and turned around like, "What?"

Q: Aside from the trip to New York with your father, did you ever take vocal lessons?

A: Not really. I was always in the choir at school. I got kicked out when I was 11 because I was always talking. I was in the church choir and learned all these Latin songs that we didn't know the words to. I went to a Catholic school run by Carmelite nuns and they were all about music. I really enjoyed music early on in life. I think it was just inevitable.

Q: When did you realize you were good at singing?

A: People tell you you're good all the time. I made the top six on "American Idol," I must be all right but I don't know. I look at other people in awe. But I love to sing and I love to try and figure out what my voice can do and experiment and find new things every day.

Q: Did you participate in talent contests in school?

A: Yes, I sang "The Rose" by Bette Midler, it's my favorite. I used to love movies where the person sang as well. I used to think that was cool and Bette Midler would always do that. "Beaches" was a very early favorite of mine. "A Star Is Born" is one of my all-time favorite movies and I think that movie influenced me to go on "Idol." It has that overnight success crazy idea.

Q: What about theater?

A: I did "Les Miz" when I was nine. It was the big Cameron Mackintosh production. They were coming to Dublin and they needed a kid to play Cosette. All the other kids had bruises on their eyes and the makeup fully done to where they looked the part and I had a t-shirt and a pair of jeans on. I finally ended up with the part and got to sing on the opening night and the president of Ireland was there. It was at the Point Theatre in Dublin.

It's funny, but I've never seen the second half. I was in the show for three months and I know every word from the score but I've never seen the second act. After the first act, I would go home.

Q: You should catch it sometime.

A: We tried while I was in New York last week, but it stopped running recently, so we went to see "The Lion King." I've wanted to see the entire show my whole life, and from an adult perspective. That was a very special thing to me, being a part of that show so early in life.

Q: Was "Les Miz"' your professional debut?

A: That was the first time I'd been in front of an audience. When we were on vacation in Spain, there was a karaoke place called Coco's and I used to drag my mom into it every night and she never wanted to go to that bar. I'd get all jazzed up, like I'd have my funny dress on. My green shoes, my green dress. Everything would have to match, with green earrings. I would always sing Whitney Houston songs. I don't know why, but my mom would always make me sing Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and I never really liked that song.

Q: Aside from the score to "Les Miz,"' what music did you listen to while growing up?

A: My musical influences were very different from any other child. My friends were listening to Take That and New Kids on the Block, the pop artists of the time, and I was listening to Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Pretenders. The only person in the house who had something I could play music on was my brother, so I was influenced by all the music he used to listen to, like Bob Dylan, Guns 'N Roses and Motley Crue. All these bands became my favorites. My mom had five records, including Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and U2. My brother used to catch me in his room and he'd freak out. "Get away from my record player," because I'd scratch all of his records.

Since you already have "Les Miz" on your resume, and since so many Idols have starred on Broadway, would you like to do more theater work?

Maybe later on in life, I will. I talked to Andrew Lloyd Webber about it. I told him that it's something that I love, but I definitely want to focus on a record first. I wouldn't like to do it the other way around. "Les Miz" would be a really nice thing. I've always wanted to play either Fontine or Eponine.

Q: If you do, try to catch act two. Speaking of Lord Webber, you exited the show after singing "Superstar."' How do you think that performance ranks among all of the songs you sang on "Idol"?

Q: I was going for the big song, which is "All I Ask of You" "Phantom of the Opera," but for the three days before the show, "Superstar" kept ringing in my ear, like I should be singing that. And every time I heard it, I heard "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. So when we did the track I wanted to incorporate that CCR vibe.

"I Drove All Night," "Crazy on You," "Come Together" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" were the four songs that nailed on the head who I am musically. I loved singing "Superstar." I thought it was great. I think a lot of people had a problem with the lyrics of the song. It's not supposed to be taken seriously in that way. It's musical theater.

Q: It's not sacrilegious.

A: Not at all. I apologize if people saw it that way. I think it's a great song. It's got a real quirky vibe to it. I would have probably done more with it if I wasn't on "American Idol." I wanted to dress up the backing singers and go wild. I think the song definitely suited me more than the others and it made me notice I had been picking the big song to sing rather than the song that fitted me perfectly through the competition. But you have theme nights and it's hard to find a song that's perfect for you out of 20 songs, so you've got to put your stamp on whatever you're singing that night.

Q: Did you always get the song you wanted to sing?

A: I wanted Dolly Parton's "Jolene." I didn't get it. I wanted "The Long and Winding Road." Didn't get it. And I wanted "Yesterday." Didn't get it. All these songs that I could have put my stamp on, but I got another song and then I had to try and make the best of it. It was easier for the boys, because there were a lot of boy theme nights. Like the Beatles are guys. They're going to sound good on those, and then you have Mariah Carey, who is not a guy but being girls, we're going to be compared straightaway, whereas the boys aren't. So it's like they really have the advantage.

Q: How did you discover music from before you were born?

A: I am a golden-oldies station junkie. I'm a Skeeter Davis fan, believe it or not, and Nancy Sinatra. I watch a lot of movies and you hear songs in movies that you like, then you go and find them, like "Almost Famous" and "Forrest Gump." The soundtracks of those movies are just incredible. You'll never make music like that ever again.

Q: Let's switch gears. I remember your album, "Ultimate High," was released in 2001, when you were 17. A lot has been written about the failure of that album. It was scheduled to be released on a very fateful day.

A: There was supposed to be a thing for it on my 18th birthday. That was the release date we were thinking of and it ended up going to stores the day before. My birthday is the 12th of September and 9/11 happened the day before. So what are you going to do? You know it's completely inappropriate to plug a record. I was more worried about what had happened. They sent me to Europe and I moved back in with my mom to wait until the time was appropriate and it never happened because the record company merged with Geffen.

Q: After that initial experience in the music business, what was your goal in competing on "American Idol"?

A: "American Idol" is the best way to get to the public. It's an incredible thing that has happened in the music industry.

I want to make a record again and sing great songs. I'm kind of over singing covers. I loved every minute of singing in the bar in San Diego, but it got old and what's so great about coming off of "Idol" is now I get to make a record. It's my songs, original material and people are maybe going to listen to it.

Q: I can't let you go without asking how you developed an interest in tattoos.

A: When I was 18, I ran straight to the tattoo shop and got my first. I used to love Motley Crue and Tommy Lee was so tattooed. I got a tattoo on my back, which I will definitely get removed very shortly. Your first is always your worst. I want to get a phoenix on my whole back, so it's kind of in the way because it's kind of in the middle. I used to get a little one here, a little one there. My husband Todd had a few tattoos when I first met him. He had a few on his chest, a couple on his arm. He wasn't as heavily tattooed as he is now. It's just something that I always thought was cool.

source:
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/music/arti ... thson.html

--Message edité par felix le 2008-05-29 22:58:18--