Ten years ago, 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar impressed a panel of judges that included Britney Spears, Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato, and L.A. Reid, on the second season of Fox’s The X Factor.
She then went off to win over fans with her beautiful cover of Karmin’s “Brokenhearted.” The now 23-year-old Carly Rose is commemorating the 10th anniversary of the show and revisiting this time of her life with her grown-up interpretation of “Brokenhearted,” out now across all digital platforms.
After Carly Rose finished X Factor in second place, she withdrew from the limelight
At age seven, Carly snagged a role in the Broadway production of Les Misérables, and began performing in theater, on TV and in films, and touring nationally. At 13, she auditioned for The X Factor. “I thought, ‘I might as well try this, you never know,’” says Carly. The little girl with the big voice made the cut, was a fan-favorite, and went on to become the runner-up, the youngest in the show’s history.
After X Factor, Carly and her family made the decision for her to have a childhood away from the limelight. This gave her the freedom to pursue an education, and develop into a fully formed artist who approaches performing and songwriting with a level of focus and maturity, amassing a catalog of original music.
For years Carly shied away from associating herself with the show, but it was the original X Factor fans, as well as the community that she cultivated on social media that encouraged her to embrace nostalgia and this part of her life.
Carly’s fans taught her to embrace the past
After posting a number of tongue-in-cheek TikTok videos referencing her time on the show, she came to see that people really cared and were genuinely interested. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Carly looks at this exercise as embracing this chapter of her story, and more importantly bringing a sense of joy to her fans.
“Revisiting this song that opened so many doors for me as an artist has been such a special experience,” says Carly. “ I am so excited to share this visual representation of my gratitude for all those who have continued to support me since my time on The X Factor. I wanted to pay homage to the many things that made the original video and cover so special while bringing a new perspective and energy to it as I now approach it from the viewpoint of an adult.”
“With ‘Brokenhearted,’ I’m reintroducing myself to people who know me from that time, but who might not know I’m still making music,” says Carly. “This is a bridge between now and how they met me. I want to invite them to come back into my world and re-meet me, and take them with me on this new journey of what’s to come.”
Britney Spears coached the Girls that season. Will.i.am was her mentor at Judges houses.
Carly auditioned in Providence, Rhode Island and we were there!
Carly, who hailed from Connecticut, auditioned in Providence, Rhode Island. We happened to be at the arena on the day of her audition! She blew away the judges with a cover of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” Listen to the RAW UNCUT audio from Carly’s audition below.
