Carly Smithson and Her "OK" Performance

Carly Smithson, considered by many to be one of the front runners of American Idol Season 5, sang "The Show Must Go On" by Queen Tuesday, April 8th for her final 8 performance. The song technically was not bad, but as Randy truthfully noted, she simply did not connect with the song and she sang it in an almost angry way.

This is not the first time that she has over sang a song, but finally on a night about inspiration, love, and rainbows she finally got called out on it. The way she sang it and her expression was angry, and it sounded as if she was shouting the chorus in a vengeful way. There is no doubt that Carly can sing, this has been evident throughout this season.

She is a very technical singer always on pitch and always hitting those high notes, but is she a front runner? The answer is yes. She still is.

While there are others that have definitely gained ground on her, she will still go far in the competition. Will she win? Maybe, but it will be close. Her personality is lacking, and she doesn't have that unique edge that people are looking for today. After 4 seasons of American Idol the public is looking for something new and different.

Being a good singer no longer cuts it. That is why singers with a more unique style to them such as Jason Castro, Brooke White, David Archuleta, and others are so popular.

The fact is that any of these people would have done excellent in any of the other seasons; I mean can you imagine Ruben in this season! But the fact that they are all so good raises the standard. It's not just about technical talent but style as well, and ultimately Carly was lacking in that department. Perhaps next week she will come back with something that we haven't seen before. Don't count her out yet though, she has the talent and now she just needs her breakthrough moment.