Photo Credit: Michael Becker / FOX

Carly Smithson: Simon’s Only One Person – I Can’t Please Everybody!

PLUS: The sixth place finisher offers her thoughts on the Idol boys' club

After the Idol bombshell that was Michael Johns’ elimination April 10, it was clear that no contestant was safe from the voting public’s wrath. Case in point: Carly Smithson’s premature exit last week, despite being an odds-on favorite since the season’s start. The day after her dismissal, Smithson told reporters that while she’s surprised to have left, she says she’s just thankful for the experience.

ELIMINATION EMOTIONS
Not one person feels safe anymore, and we’re all just so grateful for the experience. I know I feel like American Idol has given me such a gift and a platform to be able to launch myself off of. I’m actually, I’m not that sad to be leaving. Finishing anywhere in the top 10 is just a bonus. Everybody keeps asking me why I’m not like devastated and bawling crying for being eliminated, because now I’m free to go make a record and to start writing and all that kind of stuff and be with my husband and you know hang out in the real world you know, because the Idol bubble is kind of weird.

IDOL’S BOYS' CLUB
Women vote for this show and it’s obvious they vote for the boys. The boys are adorable and I definitely feel that the girls had more of a struggle this year with trying to get the popularity vote. The boys are definitely charming the females a lot, and they’re very talented too. It’s definitely a bit of a struggle for the ladies.

SIMON SAYS
I gave it everything that I had, and I was satisfied for myself with my performances. I guess Simon just had a different idea in his mind, and I’m not sure he really wanted me to be who I am. I can’t please everybody, and he’s only one person. And you know he truly said to me the other night that he truly believes in me and he thinks that I’m very good, and he has high hopes for me.

MENTOR MEMORIES
Every mentor taught us something different. Mariah [Carey] really showed me that she’s just a person. Andrew Lloyd Webber took so much time with us and really cared about every song that we were doing and every choice that we made. Dolly Parton had such a positive outlook on everything. I’ve never come across a woman that just walks into a room and it just lights up.

BACK TO REALITY
Everyone keeps saying ‘Oh, your life’s going to change.’ I will work very hard and I will grab this opportunity by the horns, but as a person, I’m not going to change. I’ve craved all the things that I used to do, the simple things in life that you miss. What I miss the most are my pots and pans. That’s so ridiculous, but I really do. I’m a kitchen gadget nut, and I miss my kitchen so much.

INK INQUIRY
Everyone keeps asking me why I have Amy Winehouse on my arm, but [my tattoo] is actually a geisha. It’s been on my arm for two years before she even came out. It’s so funny, even Andrew Lloyd Webber said ‘Oh, look you have Amy Winehouse on your arm!’ It was funny, but I love my tattoo and that was one thing during the show that really bothered me: it wasn’t finished. She’ll look nothing like Amy Winehouse by the time it’s done!

AND THE WINNER IS...
It could be anyone. Castro could look into the camera and bat his eyelids and go into his amazing falsetto voice; Brooke could melt [viewers'] hearts; David Archuleta gives these amazing performances every week... everyone’s so different that I honestly have no idea like who it could be between. There could be another shocker, you know? You never know what lies up the sleeve of American Idol!