I had mixed feelings when I read in the Los Angeles Times this morning that two-time music industry washout Carly Smithson (you remember her — she was the tattooed Irish lass from the seventh season of "American Idol" whose husband looked like The Enigma) has formed a band with three former members of mope rockers Evanescence. They call themselves Fallen. Some think Smithson's ejection from "Idol" came too early, but clearly Rocky Gray, John Lecompt and Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody think the timing was just perfect.

Visual resemblance to Evanescence singer Amy Lee aside, Smithson is up for the gig if only because she sang the band's smash "Bring Me To Life" on last year's "Idol" tour (she also has the same vampire tan as Lee). And lord knows guitarist/songwriter Moody has finesse with crafting poppy tunes, thanks to his post-Evanescence work with Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson.

Smithson's genius move got us thinking: What other "Idol" flameouts might have a second shot fronting lead-singerless bands?

Velvet Revolver: The hard rock act featuring ex-members of Guns N' Roses had some success, but more than their share of headaches with Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland. Hello Constantine Maroulis! He's got the Broadway chops, the hair and is — most importantly — drama-free.
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That was quick. Less than a day after speculation emerged that Lenny Kravitz might be trying out for the empty Velvet Revolver singer slot, the clotheshorse rocker quickly shot down the rumor.

"I know and love the Velvet Revolver guys but there is no truth to the story about me joining their band," the former schoolmate of VR guitarist Slash told RollingStone.com on Tuesday.
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It's kind of like the Summer Olympics, only it comes around about every six years instead of four: It's the Velvet Revolver frontman decathlon, and the hits keep coming.
 
Who's disqualified: Former Spacehog singer Royston Langdon was scratched from the competition last week, when VR bassist Duff McKagan told Billboard.com that the diminutive glam revivalist was not the band's gold-medal pick.
 
Who's on deck: Lenny Kravitz. According to the borderline reliable British tabloid The Sun, Kravitz has reportedly been "spotted" in the studio with the band. An unnamed source reportedly told the Sun, "Velvet Revolver's new album will draw heavily on their messy split with Scott. The band wanted a big name who could easily hold his own and reckon Lenny is just the man for the job."
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Last week, the Internet was all abuzz with speculation that Velvet Revolver had finally arrived at a Scott Weiland replacement and that that man was Spacehog's Royston Langdon — despite SH's recent reunion for two shows in Los Angeles. Well, it seems Velvet Revolver haven't made any decisions yet.

Bassist Duff McKagan told Billboard.com that, while the band has played with Langdon and that "he's f---ing awesome," they don't think he's the man for the job.

"We just have to make sure it's the right guy," he told the site, adding that Weiland's acrimonious departure some months back brought the rest of VR — guitarist Slash, drummer Matt Sorum, and guitarist Dave Kushner — closer. "Karmically, we deserve the right guy. It's a tough thing, man. We make a pretty big noise."

And while the guys take their sweet time finding their next voice (McKagan said they aren't actively auditioning potential replacements), they've been busy writing new material, which Duff calls "killer." Can't wait to hear it, Duff — but something tells us Chinese Democracy will hit stores before the next VR LP does.

Scott Weiland is out of the picture, and Sebastian Bach has respectfully bowed out, due to his BFF status with Axl Rose. So Velvet Revolver have dug deep into the 1990s alt-rock well and reportedly started rehearsing with diminutive Spacehog singer (and Liv Tyler's estranged husband) Royston Langdon. The "In the Meantime" vocalist, whose powerhouse operatic glam pipes landed him some David Bowie comparisons back in the day, is high on VR's list after a few good rehearsals, according to Entertainment Weekly.

"They all got along great," an anonymous insider told the magazine of recent jam sessions in Los Angeles. "It was really a refreshing change for the band." While the band's management wouldn't comment other than to say they're still auditioning singers, another unnamed source — this time at VR's label, RCA — confirmed that Langdon is "definitely in the mix."

The EW report comes just a week after Spacehog drummer Jonny Cragg posted news of the band's reunion on the MySpace page of Arckid, another group he plays in with Langdon. Spacehog played a show at L.A.'s Viper Room on Monday, but future plans have yet to be announced.

Who would you like to see fronting VR?

Since it was revealed two months ago that singer Scott Weiland had been booted from the band, the rest of Velvet Revolver have been searching for his replacement. Apparently, the guys have been hosting auditions, and they've even fielded an offer from reality-television producer Mark Burnett, who wanted to make VR the subject of his next "Rock Star" series.

Over the past few weeks, several names have surfaced online as possible future frontmen for the group — including Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, who dismissed those rumors in an interview for this week's Kerrang! magazine.
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Last month, Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland was sentenced to serve 192 hours (8 days) behind bars, following his arrest in November on a misdemeanor driving under the influence. Yesterday morning, just before 9am, Weiland reported to the Van Nuys, California lockup to begin serving his time.

By 7pm, he was a free man.

Weiland served just 10 of those 192 hours. Of those 10 hours, according to his prison records, he spent a total of 14 minutes in a prison cell. Weiland, who has struggled with substance abuse off-and-on for years [Ed: Understatement!], had until May 28th to serve out his sentence; Stone Temple Pilots’ reunion tour kicks off May 17th in Columbus, Ohio.

On November 21st, Weiland, who recently split with Velvet Revolver on very sour terms, was involved in a non-injury collision on an LA highway. The cops who were investigating the scene reported that he “exhibited signs of impairment,” and he was arrested. This was his second DUI arrest.

In addition to jail time, Weiland was also ordered to complete an 18-month alcohol program and pay almost $2,000 in fines. He has also been put on a four-year summary probation period.

We’ll just have to see how his recent troubles are going to affect the STP dates –- and his solo double-album with producer Steve Albini.

· Common has reportedly been recruited to play a freedom fighter in the fourth installment of the “Terminator” movie series.

· LC, Audrina, Heidi, etc will return with yet another brain-melting season of “The Hills.”

· Sebastian Bach apparently didn’t understand that Scott Weiland was kidding when he suggested he replace him as the frontman for Velvet Revolver.

· A woman who attended a private NY party with Lindsay Lohan a few months back claims that the actress/singer/something walked off with her $11,000 mink. Lawyers were called, and the coat was returned -- smelling of a few too many parties.

· With 98 murders in Chicago since the beginning of the year, Kanye West has had enough.

· You know how Spank Rock was a no-show at Coachella? Turns out Naeem “Spank Rock” Juwan had to undergo surgery for a “serious sudden ailment.” Here’s hoping he recovers.

· Not enough Scott Weiland in your life? The ex-Velvet Revolver and once-again Stone Temple Pilots singer says his upcoming solo album will be a double CD.

· Everyone knows these are financial hard times. But how hard? Even a player like Lil' Kim is getting her Bentley repossessed -- though her camp claims the matter is “currently being resolved.”

There are plenty of ways for veteran bands to score new lead singers. You can go the Journey route, and pick a guy (or guys) who kind of sounds like the old dude, but looks nothing like him. Or, you could pull a Van Halen, and go with a singer who sounds nothing like your original frontman, score tons of hits with him, then boot him too and replace him with a hair-band reject -- only to go back to the first guy for the big cash-in reunion tour .

Then there’s Velvet Revolver. Now that the band of ex-Guns N’ Roses members is singer-less after an ugly split with former and once-again Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, guitarist Slash says the band is talking about building a website to audition potential new lead singers.

We’re not suggesting that this is a horrible idea (because it totally-in-every-way is), but perhaps Slash has forgotten about their original search for a singer for the project then called, uh, “The Project.” The crew listened to 600 demo tapes -- such as this one, this one, and this one -- and auditioned everyone from ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach to Neurotica’s Kelly Shaefer, singer-songwriter Beth Hart, Days of the News’ Travis Meeks. They even put feelers out to gonzo rocker/rapper Mike Patton.

Then again, Slash has probably got plenty of time on his hands these days and while he’ll probably get plenty of this and this, when all else fails, there’s always this guy.