Carly Smithson's Total Eclipse of the Heart on American Idol is a Disappointment

From the beginning auditions, I have considered Ireland native Carly Smithson to be one of the front-runners in Season 7 of American Idol. However, after her performance of Total Eclipse of The Heart on Tuesday March 25, 2008 I think she might be going home this week. The theme of the week was to sing a top song from the year the contestants were born. 1983 had a lot of great songs that Smithson could have chosen from and unfortunately she chose one of my least favorite songs ever.

The thing about Smithson is that generally she can take a song that I dislike and turn it into a song that I would actually listen to. This was not the case on Tuesday's performance. I found myself grimacing at the rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart. It sounded as if Smithson was screaming the lyrics to the song rather than singing it. Granted the song is very strange and untraditional but this version was even worse than the original in my opinion.

Smithson seemed very uncomfortable performing this song and the judges commented on this. The arrangement for the song was off and could not have been any worse. Smithson also seemed to rush through the words as if she wanted to be off the stage as quickly as possible. With the background music so low that it was barely audible Smithson's usually excellent voice sounded out of place.

If Smithson can make it past this week's elimination she stands a chance at becoming the next American Idol, though based on this performance I predict she will find herself in the bottom three for the second week in a row. Many still consider her to be the front runner but only time will tell. With talents such as David Archeletta in the competition Smithson needs to regroup and go choose a better song for her voice in the coming weeks.

The results show will air on Fox Network on Wednesday March 26, 2008.

American Idol (www.americanidol.com)