All That Hype About Carly Smithson

Several people who know I'm an Idol geek have asked me about Carly Smithson and what the definition of professional is (or should be) for Idol auditioners. I think this is a tough question, and wonder why it's not been asked before with this much vigor.

While it's certainly more fun to root for someone with obvious natural talent plucked from virtual obscurity (i.e. Elliot, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia) than someone who has already recorded a CD or otherwise been given a record deal (or at least had the privilege of being signed by, say, Madonna or Britney Spear's record labels) it's true that before last week, I'd never heard of Carly Hennessy Smithson, Kristy Lee Cook, or David Archuleta. So what that means to me is that Idol still offers a stratospheric path to stardom for some professionals (and that, by definition, includes the wedding singers, Broadway touring cast members for Rent and/or The Lion King, back up singers, etc.) that have graced the Idol Top 10 stage in recent years. (That includes LaToya London, Constantine, Lisa Tucker, Melinda Doolittle, Jordin, Brandon Rogers, to name a few).

I felt a little better even today about the power of previous experience when I clicked on one of my own links below to Idolblog....this site did a (not at all) scientific poll asking, Who is Your Favorite FEMALE/MALE Top 24 Contestant?

Those who voted for their Favorite Male Idol Top 24 Contestant (448 votes at the time of this snapshot) voted for David Archuleta in very strong numbers (42 percent) followed by Michael Johns (27 percent). Both of these contestants do have significant pre-Idol professional experience. The rest of the malepack faded into a virtual tie with Danny Noriega and David Cook getting 5 percent of the votes, Jason Yeager 3 percent, a 5-way-tie for two percent for Garrett, Colton, Chikezie, Luke, and Robbie, and Jason Castro at the bottom with one percent. But, to me, that's a pretty even match up!

Interestingly, the results for Favorite Female Idol Top 24 Contestant were MUCH more spread out. The top vote-getter for the gals in this poll was Ramiele, but with just 23 percent of the votes (out of 525....why would there be more votes cast for females? You're on the website, you clearly watch the show.....why not cast a vote for the guys?) I am also surprised by Ramiele's popularity. I thought I was the only one who got her fantastic voice and endearing personality, but I guess not!

Second place for the gals was Asia'h with 13 percent of the votes....closely followed by a tie at 12 percent by Kristy Lee Cook and Carly Smithson. Now, this is where I make my point....even with all of her publicity, Carly comes in third place with the gals, and it's tight...in other words, her former RCA record deal doesn't seem to be doing her any favors in popularity at this point.

The galpack trails off at this point with Kady Malloy at 8 percent, a three-way tie for 6 percent between Syesha, Amanda and Brooke, and a four-way tie at 2 percent between our bottom-poll-vote-getters Alaina, Amy Davis, Alexandrea, and Joanne. Again, a very even race!

Interesting that my own very non-scientific poll asking whether or not a guy or a gal would win American Idol Season 7 turned up 5 votes for GUY and only 2 votes for GAL.....it does seem at this point that both polls I discuss here show the fans for the guys as more solidified than the fan base for the women. We'll see how this bears out!