Early blogosphere whispers about an "American Idol" ringer soon bloomed into an outraged roar as major news organizations picked up the story of hopeful Carly Smithson's high-profile (and comically disastrous) stint on a major label.
Somewhat absurdly, "American Idol" never acknowledged the elephant in the room, and in Smithson's life story segments, the producers wrote around her tenure on MCA Records instead of taking the easier route and spinning it as part of her story arch: Girl gets record contract, gets dropped, she wants a second chance.
Well, last night the show finally acquiesced and mentioned the elephant, albeit not the embarrassing specifics of Smithson's colossal $2.2 million flop. Here's the video:
It's probably a good thing the producers came clean. Much as bloggers may hate her, judging from Smithson's performance last night, she's not going anywhere.
