American Idol's Joanna Pacitti Kicked Off Top 36 – Felicia Barton to Replace
Just one day after being announced as one of American Idol’s Top 36, the music industry seemingly took one more swipe at the previously signed Joanna Pacitti by having her get removed from the show, who has been burned by a not-so-successful stint in the biz. While an official statement hasn’t been released, it seems as though Pacitti’s former deal with A&M Records and 19 Entertainment (the production company behind Idol) had an effect on her eligibility.
While a lot of Idol fans weren’t fans of having an artist that was previously signed to a major label compete on the show, I, for one, am a little bummed about it. Based on what we saw, it didn’t look like Pacitti had the best week in Hollywood, committing the cardinal sin of forgetting her words, but she undoubtedly had one of the best voices and one of the more interesting stories of the season.
It’s nothing new to have an Idol that previously had deals in the music industry, but perhaps it was the fact that Pacitti was a little too closely wed to some of the forces behind the show compared to contestants past.
Pacitti has already been replaced with Felicia Barton on the official site, but it will be interesting to see how the show acknowledges the change when Season 8’s first group performs. American Idol has been much better about acknowledging controversies on air (see: Antonella Barba) in recent years, so it feels like this is a situation that could use a little bit of official explanation.
While it was pretty clear that Pacitti had felt pretty damaged by the music industry, I personally hope that her exposure on the show gives her yet another shot. I know that there are tons of talented artists out there who would give anything to have the opportunities that she’s had, but there’s something about the “give and take away” that has been her story for the past month or so that is tough to swallow for anyone who wants to see someone do well at something they love.
For now, check out Joanna Pacitti’s music video “Let it Slide,” but of course, you can hear her song “Out from Under” covered by Britney Spears as well .
Best of luck to Joanna, bummed that we won’t be seeing more of her in a season that looks strong already with contestants like this season’s talented hottie Casey Carlson and early favorite Danny Gokey.
too bad Paciitti got booted from Idol; at least she got a ton of publicity out of staying on this long, hopefully she still makes it in the entertainment biz
According to our poll, the majority of our visitors feel that Joanna should not have been booted from the show. The general feeling seems to be that most of the Idol competitors are at least semi-professional, so what's the big deal?
I agree with you both, coffee and Brian. I think that Joanna could have really added a lot to the competition and I think that she had a great story. Based on what we saw tonight, we could have really used a voice like hers to kick things off.