Controversy Arises Over American Idol Contestant Joanna Pacitti

Originally Posted: Thursday, January 29, 2009

Controversy Arises Over American Idol Contestant Joanna Pacitti

http://www.whatisgoingonblog.com/2009/01/controversy-arises-over-american-idol.html <-here's the link!

By Karen Benardello

On air for just three weeks, this season of American Idol is already stirring up contestant controversy. Just like last year’s Carly Smithson, fans are in a fury that producers allowed 24-year-old Joanna Pacitti to audition, as she has a history in the music industry.

According to a report published in the New York Post, Pacitti’s first claim to fame was in 1996, when she was cast in the Broadway production of Annie. However, she was fired before the show hit the stage, and her parents sued the producers, but later settled for an undisclosed amount of money.

Next in her professional career, Pacitti was represented by major label A&M, and some of her songs were released on movie soundtracks, including Legally Blonde and Nancy Drew. The record company released her full-length album This Crazy Life in 2006, which, according to Billboard, has sold a modest 15,000 copies. Pacitti was given even more public exposure when Britney Spears covered her song Out From Under (which Pacitti she recorded for the Bratz movie soundtrack) on her latest album Circus. Also, Pacitti is no stranger to reality TV, as she previously appeared on an MTV show that followed her struggle to break into the music business.

The Post has not received any news over whether or not Pacitti made it past the show’s “Hollywood round.” But if the American Idol producers want to keep up this controversy, and raise the show’s slumping ratings from the past few seasons, they will encourage the hosts to keep her on until the public begins to vote. But the creative forces behind the show are smart, as Smithson made it to the top six last season.