Carly Smithson is Her Own Worst Enemy

The only thing Carly Smithson has to fear is Carly Smithson. In a night that found Randy surprisingly caustic and Simon, unsurprisingly Simon, Smithson's biggest enemy seemed to be herself. Carly is undoubtedly a talent and early on in the competition it felt like she had this thing licked and the rest of the contestants were just fooling themselves. Of late, however, it seems that Smithson is doing a lot of thinking and not a lot of letting the music move her. While her recent performances have been acceptable, there is still a sense of anticipation, a yearning to see what she can really do.

If I might hazard a word of candor; what is up with the stylists this season? In years past it seemed that they tried very hard to create a persona for each contestant. This year it feels like there were budget cuts. I guess with the price of gas, everyone's feeling the pinch, but enough already. Case in point: Carly. There seems to be some confusion as to how to package her. Perhaps it is this stylistic disarray that has Smithson off her game.

Tuesday night's performance, though passable, found Carly Smithson looking so uncomfortable until one had to wonder if she had a touch of what was ailing Ramiele. As it turned out, Smithson wasn't ill only short of breath. In an effort to appear slimmer, it seems she'd battened down the hatches. Here's my two cents on this. Get comfortable Carly, you've got the skills and the pipes to be in this thing for the long haul. Don't let a girdle be your ticket home. I'm not privy to the inner workings of American Idol, but with three seasons of watching under my belt, I feel confident in saying that Carly Smithson has the goods. Whether she uses them remains to be seen. In any case she needs to wrest control for her destiny back from whoever has it and get back to the business of blowing the doors off.