"Women vote for this show," Smithson told reporters in a conference call yesterday. "It's obvious they vote for the boys. The boys are adorable [and] are charming the females a lot. I definitely feel that the girls had more of a struggle this year with trying to get the popularity vote."
Smithson's elimination Wednesday night wasn't as big of a shocker as Michael Johns' ouster two weeks ago, but many still felt it wasn't the 24-year-old's time to go. Her Tuesday night performance of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Superstar" garnered a thumb's-up even from Simon Cowell.
"Maybe it was too late," said Smithson. "I had finally realized not to take everything so seriously."
"Early in the show, they set the standard so high for me and were a lot harder on me than [on] other contestants - and that got to me for a few weeks," she said. "But by the time we got to Mariah Carey [who was a mentor for the Top 7], I had changed my mind. We come into this and they want us to be a star, but I come from [waitressing in] a bar and have no idea what a star is supposed to act like. When we met [Carey], I realized I could just be normal - and that's cool."
The Irish-born rocker is taking her elimination in stride and says she's looking forward to a future in music.
"I think I made enough of an impact to reach a good fan base," Smithson said. "Now I just get to be me and make a record. I'm excited."
Early in the competition, Smithson came under scrutiny after it was revealed she previously had been signed to a record label and, in fact, had released her own CD. But Smithson downplays her past and has said she considers "Idol" her first true introduction to the industry.
"I like to not dwell on things that have happened, and would like to see this as the first real experience I've had," she says. "I've learned so much more with 'Idol,' and I had so much more of a positive experience than I've had in the past."
Smithson won't throw her weight behind any of the remaining contestants - Amanda Overmyer, who was 11th to be eliminated, was her favorite - but said that at this point it's pretty much anyone's game.
"Castro could look into the camera and bat his eyelids and go into his amazing falsetto voice," said Smithson. "Brooke could just melt someone's heart. Everyone just gives these amazing performances every week, and they're just so different.
"I have no idea who [the winner] could be."
Source From Nydailynews.com
