FOUR ELIMINATED ON ‘AMERICAN IDOL’

NEW YORK (AP) — Carly Smithson progressed on "American Idol" Thursday amid controversy over her professional past. Smithson, 24, has made headlines for having a pre-"Idol" career: The Irish crooner recorded a debut album, 2001's "Ultimate High," for MCA Records. It flopped — after the label spent more than $2 million trying to sell it.

The show's gimmick has always been to pluck talented young hopefuls from obscurity and make them into recording artists.