Carly Smithson (née Hennessy; Irish: Ó hAonghusa) (born September 12, 1983), is a Meteor Award-winning Irish rock/soul singer-songwriter, who was born in Dublin. In 2001 Smithson released her first studio album for MCA Records called Ultimate High. Smithson was dropped from the record label in 2002. Smithson was the sixth place finalist on the seventh season of the television series American Idol and she had finished the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 from July 1, 2008 to September 13, 2008. She is now the lead singer of the new rock group, We Are the Fallen.

Early years

Carly (Hennessy) Smithson was born on September 12, 1983 in Dublin, Ireland to parents Marie Murray and Luke Hennessy.[citation needed] After living 6 months in Dublin, Smithson and her parents moved to Johannesburg, South Africa. She lived there till they moved back to Dublin when she was 4 years old. She started singing at the age of around 4 and also has some experience with acting. She was featured in advertisements for Denny's Sausage for three years, starting at the age of five. In 1990 she played Young Marianne in Fools of Fortune. 2 years later in 1992 she joined the cast of Les Misérables and starred as Little Cosette in Ireland. When Smithson was 10, she released an independent CD: Carly's Christmas Album in the UK. When she was 14, her parents separated. A year later, Carly and her father moved to the United States in order for Carly to pursue a career in music.

Musical background

Before her marriage to Todd Smithson, Carly Smithson (as Carly Hennessy) released an album for MCA Records called Ultimate High in 2001. Smithson has stated that the album did not have the opportunity to find an audience, due to the record company's merger with a parent company. Though some established artists like Sheryl Crow survived the merger, yet-to-be-released artists did not; Smithson's album was released, but with limited promotion . Consequently, it sold just 300 copies in the first three months.. MCA Records spent over $2 million on the production and promotion of Smithson's album  which was finally released on November 13, 2001.

Smithson covered Danielle Brisebois' "Just Missed the Train" on her 2001 album and Kelly Clarkson covered the same song on her 2003 release, "Thankful".

Following her success as Carly Smithson on American Idol, copies of "Ultimate High" are popping up on shelves of Borders Bookstores and Virgin Records stores.[citation needed] The album, and the music video for "I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind", is also available as a download on iTunes.[citation needed] For a brief period of time after Carly's elimination, the album made a peak in the Top 10 of Amazon's Top Selling Digital Albums, as well as being featured on the MP3 homepage.Personal life

After Smithson's record deal dissolved, she decided to take a break from music. She met her husband Todd Smithson, a tattoo artist, in Los Angeles. They lived in Marietta, Georgia for a few years, where Smithson worked at an Irish bar called Fado. In a coincidental connection, Michael Johns (another American Idol contestant) performed weekly at Fado, under his real name Michael Lee. In 2005, Smithson and her husband returned to San Diego, where they currently reside. Smithson, then, auditioned in Las Vegas for American Idol season 5; she was unanimously accepted, however, she was later disqualified because paperwork for her work visa was delayed. In 2007, she auditioned again for American Idol Season 7, once again making it to Hollywood, but this time having the proper paperwork.

Smithson has an older half-brother, Nik and a younger sister, Shannon.

Smithson lives in San Diego with her husband, Todd Smithson, the owner of Nothing Sacred, a tattoo shop where Carly also works (she has nine tattoos).