Carly Hennessy, "I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind"

[George Tropicana]

Listening to Carly Hennessy's underappreciated gem of an album "Ultimate High" during Thanksgiving break, I was able to relive memories of Summer 2001 when I wished Carly would never make it big so Angela Ammons would.

Eventually, when Carly flopped, I felt sorry for her and purchased the beautiful album "Ultimate High." The album spawned two Billboard's CT-approved singles "I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind" and "Beautiful You."

Let met tell you this, "I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind" blew me away. I love listening to it when I'm alone with a box of tissues. It is a powerful song that will touch you. Carly has a teasing voice, but when you hear her sing "So baby take your hands from the wheel/I think I've got something to reveal/Boy, slow down... Stop!/Tell me how does it feel/Unbelievably hot" -- you know she REALLY means it.

There is also a spunky line in the song near the end when cute Carly says with a certain air, "Hit me baby one time!" It can be interpreted many ways, what does it mean to you?

Also, each time I listen to the song, I always wonder what position Carly is in. I know she's in the car, but really.. how is she positioning herself? There is a lovely line "I know you'd never hurt me baby/.../Let your hands touch me so fine/Where the sun don't shine" that makes me think Carly is in the shotgun, leaning her body over toward the driver's seat. (Kind of like in Reese Whitterspoon's comedy "Election")

Gregg Alexander produced and wrote the track. This song did not deserve to flop, does anyone know where it peaked?

Earlier this year, Carly won the 2003 METEOR IRELAND MUSIC AWARD for Best Irish Female Singer besting Gemma Hayes, Nina Hynes, Samantha Mumba, and Sinead O'Connor.

[Pet Shop Boy]

I love this song. Shocking that it wasn't a hit.

[strong4PMB!]

I didn't care for it at first. But I always considered myself a fan of hers. Someone posted about her on one of my message boards. Now I'm proud to say I own one of only a couple thousand copies of the album! It's decent.

[Edf85]

Channel933 used to play this

[Matt4319]

I liked this. It was underrated.

[Mega248]

This song was pretty good.

Didn't someone here mention once that her album sold like 350 copies total? lol.

[strong4PMB!]

Mega248 said:

This song was pretty good.

Didn't someone here mention once that her album sold like 350 copies total? lol.

First week, yes. But after that sad Wall Street Journal, and front page, article, it probably sold a few thousand.

[reception]

I barely recall the song so here's a full video clip to refresh my memory.

This song is featured in a full page ad in the 5/18/01 edition of Radio And Records. It's on page 36. "Carly Hennessy is going to be a big record for KHTS, the phones are starting to buzz!"
-Diana Laird, PD/KHTS

[AT40FAN]

Oh, I love this song. I think Kiss 108 played this.

[jimmy74747]

This is really good. I have heard this once or twice before, but don't remember it.

I may have to hunt down a copy of this CD.

[George Tropicana]

jimmy74747 said:

I may have to hunt down a copy of this CD.

Well worth the $0.75 at Half.com. The shipping is $2-3 though.

I found a copy in the $1 section of Amoeba. Pennylane has it for $5, pricey.

The album design is a mess. Lots of typos, including my favorite "Written by Calry Hennessy"

[George Tropicana]

jimmy74747 said:

This is really good.  I have heard this once or twice before, but don't remember it.

I may have to hunt down a copy of this CD.

You bought it! Yah!

I think the album sold a total of 374 copies or something up to the publication of the Wall Street Journal article.

[jond7699]

I really like this song alot when it first came out but my interest fizzled

[jimmy74747]

Mineyble1004 said:

You bought it! Yah!

I think the album sold a total of 374 copies or something up to the publication of the Wall Street Journal article.

375 and counting.....

[Ezekiel 23:20–21]

Some of you may rememer that she re-emerged as Carly Smithson on the 7th season of American Idol.

After I learned about her history and found out she had the Ultimate High album and a couple of singles, I was shocked that she sold that little. Wikipedia claims it has sold 378 copies. It was just mindboggling that so much money was spent to make it and promote it and it still flopped as badly as it did.

I liked "I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind". If you didn't tell me it flopped or something, I would think it had been a hit. It sounds like a hit.

I also liked the followup single "Beautiful You" which had a fun remix by Mike Rizzo.

[halo19]

She also became the We Are the Fallen lead vocalist after the AI stint. This was under my radar at the time which seems odd since there was so much I was aware of from the time. I don't love it but I like it.

[Deleted]

She was my favorite singer of Season 7. Such a shame that she didn't see much success after the show because her voice is amazing.

[horchata]

So catchy and dated, but I don't even care. Although this song hardly showcases a dent of her real vocal abilities though which are impressive in their own right.

[Matt4319]

Aug 28, 2013 20:24:37 GMT -5 halo19 said:

She also became the We Are the Fallen lead vocalist after the AI stint. This was under my radar at the time which seems odd since there was so much I was aware of from the time. I don't love it but I like it.

And becoming the most unlikely person to make the top 10 of my personal chart under two different artist identities (and "Carly Smithson" wasn't one of them!).