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Carly Smithson takes the lead with post-Evanescence The Fallen
Irish rocker Carly Smithson may not have won "American Idol," but she eventually found a home in the U.S. with The Fallen, a band comprising ex-members of Evanescence, according to Richard Rushfield of the LA Times' Idol Tracker.
The 25-year-old who was booted off in sixth place during the reality show's seventh season wasn't finding much luck with recording contracts, most of which wanted her to join the pop world.
"I kept getting told that you don't have the rock voice, you can't do rock music," Smithson says. "But it's everything I am. It's everything I listen to. I'm not the regular girl next door."
Lucky for the former band members of Evanescence that she wasn't.
It was footage of Smithson's performances on the "Idol" tour, including a cover of Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life," that brought her to the attention of lead guitarist Ben Moody. So you see, being on "Idol" was helpful in the end.
Check out video of the performance. Pretty close, don't you think?
Smithson and The Fallen debut on Monday, June 22 with a free download of their first song on wearethefallen.com.
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Zap2it Twitter Talk 
so what is she like the new amy lee or something..
i still love the original evanescence
shes good but i love amy lee way better for evanescence songs
...Bring Amy back please. Get that pretender off the stage. She's totally out of tune. She's ruining the song.
have you ever seen Amy Lee when she was still playing small clubs live? look it up on youtube...shes off key. Totally a studio singer.
Well evanescence is coming back next year. go to Evthreads.com Amy Lee posted that new music is coming next year!
does this mean we don't get her singles "Let Me Fall" and "Lay With Me"? I was really looking forward to those.
The real reason Amy Lee left the band was because she used to date the guitar player.He left because she started cheating on him.If you want to blame someone,blame her and not the original band.
Here's the story:
Way back in 2004, Ben Moody left Evanescence because it was becoming a monster he didn't want to create. He thought that Evanescence was becoming less about the music and more about something else. Amy Lee did not cheat on Ben Moody. It's NEVER, EVER smart to date someone in your band.
So, moving on, Ev finds a new guitarist and whatever else they need to move forward as an AMAZING band. Due to that, The Open Door comes out. It is probably one of the best mainstream albums of this decade.
Now, some former members of Ev, key word here being former, have created The Fallen and Evanescence (NOT Just the amazing Mrs. Hartzler) is coming out with a new album in 2010.
Those are the facts. Personally, I do not think Carly would EVER have the creative genius or the show(wo)manship to front Evanescence even if that was the case. Carly isn't hypnotizing and I do not believe she can hold a crowd like Amy. Keep in mind that in the video there are people there to see the other nine AI contestants.
I do not like this horrible done cover nor did I enjoy hearing sing "Call Me When You're Sober". Amy Lee Hartzler will ALWAYS trump Carly Smithson just because Amy has the technical aspects down and is virtually a lyrical genius and a musical one.
I give THe Fallen one hit before the disappear into the unknown abyss all one hit wonders fall into. Evanescence and Amy Lee...They're here, together or seperate, for a while.
You are forgetting the part where John and Rocky were fired and Will retired. We have 3 founding members vs one original member... which is the real Evanescence? I go with Moody as I thought the Open Door didn't hold a candle to Fallen, but time will tell. Personally I am very excited and see this as the ressurection of Evanescence.
Apparently I'm one of the only ones not comparing her to Amy Lee. I'll give her a chance. Her cover was certainly not horrible, it's just hard for big fans of Amy to get past someone else singing her songs. Maybe hear their record before you diss her? Nah, too easy I guess.
Apparently I'm one of the only ones not comparing her to Amy Lee. I'll give her a chance. Her cover was certainly not horrible, it's just hard for big fans of Amy to get past someone else singing her songs. Maybe hear their record before you diss her? Nah, too easy I guess.