Jennifer Hudson

One of my favorite contestants from last season’s American Idol (and, frankly, one of my favorite AI contestants ever), Carly Smithson, recently spoke to the LA Times. Below are excerpts from the interview. I know that precious few American Idols actually break through and hit it big in the music industry, but I think Carly could be an exception. IF she hooks up with the right people and IF they let her stay true to who she is – not who they think she should be or who they think the record buying, song downloading public wants.

We’ve all watched as “fallen idols” weren’t allowed to take off because they weren’t allowed to be who they really were. Two of my other all-time favorites, Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis come to mind. Though both have certainly had success, I know they would have had more if they’d been allowed to just be themselves. I particularly hate the way Constantine got cast as kind of a comedy – with the “look” and all. The guy has an amazing voice! The same’s most definitely true about Bo. People play on the radio every day who aren’t any better than these guys. The same can be said about other idols, such as Ace Young, Fantasia, Carly Smithson, and Michael Johns.

So much has to do with aligning yourself with the right people. Hopefully, Carly will do just that. If she stays true to her style (it drove me crazy watching the poor girl trying to fit Simon’s idea of what she should look like) and her type of music, I have really high hopes for her.

She told teh LA Times that during the American Idol’s tour she was treated like a queen, but that she felt abandoned when the tour ended. “I was standing on the curb at Burbank airport and the city felt so huge and overwhelming, like it was going to swallow me up. But I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to let it destroy me. I need to make a plan to move forward. I need to map out week by week what I have to accomplish.’”

She went on to say, “When you’re in ‘American Idol’ you are in a fishbowl, but as soon as you get out of the whole process, you’re still in a fishbowl, but it’s just a bigger bowl,” the singer said. “It’s kind of bizarre that you start this process of making your record and being an artist when you’re already famous… This time it’s like I’m famous, and I have nothing to show for it. It’s weird like that.”

Carly has signed on with Arthur Spivak, a veteran entertainment manager. “I don’t feel that I solidified with the music choices exactly, who I wanted to be music-wise… So when I came back to L.A., I wanted to let them hear that this was my sound, that this is who I am,” she said. “From here on, I’m diving in. I’m making hopefully the greatest thing that I will ever make… I understand that when you come off of ‘Idol’ there’s that window of opportunity that you have to grab a hold of, but at the end of the day it’s very important to take your time and make something that you’re so proud of.”

American Idol gives individuals an opportunity that they’d probably never get otherwise. It can help get your foot in the door (the way it helped get Jennifer Hudson’s lovely feet on multiple red carpets) – but it’s up to the artist to (as Miss Hudson did) fight for what they want. I’m hoping Carly has the fight in her. I’m betting on her.