On Wednesday night, Fox put out a press release giving the names of the 36 contestants remaining on American Idol. After being cut last night, Felicia Barton is now a part of the 36. Who is missing? At the bottom of the press release was a note declaring: “It has been determined that Joanna Pacitti is ineligible to continue in the competition. AMERICAN IDOL contestant Felicia Barton has replaced Ms. Pacitti as part of the Top 36.”
Rumors have been swirling that Pacitti was a major plant with a pre-existing relationship with executives of 19 Management. The company that runs Idol and controls the careers of anyone that appears on the show.
Pacitti was marked as a ringer since she’d already had a major label deal. Her songs were featured on movie soundtracks. She had a solo record that was released and vanished (like last year’s Carly Smithson). Kara recognized her during the first audition.
Why did Fox decide to have Pacitti taken off the show instead of merely allowing America to vote her off? What made the 800 pound gorilla decide that it couldn’t get away with another artist scam? Last night’s episode ought to have Simon Cowell and company dragged through the same mud as the folks who fixed gameshows in the 1950s. It was a fix that even Vince McMahon would feel guilty about putting on TV.
In a bit of boldness during Hollywood week, Simon announced to the contestants that if they forgot the lyrics, they’d be out. So what does Pacitti do? She blows lines on everything she sang in Hollywood. She didn’t even do a good job of vamping. She was horrible. And what did Simon do? He put her in the 36. He excuses her putrid performances by saying that she just needs a break. A break? She had been a major label recording artists for several years. What break is Simon talking about?
Simon Cowell needs to confess why he bent his rules for Pacitti. Is he in on the fix? Is American Idol rigged? What will be done to the executives at 19 Management that wanted to fool us?
It’s a shame that the country is in an economic turmoil because this needs a Congressional panel putting Simon under oath. Why did the show wait so long to disqualify Pacitti? They could have pulled the trigger last week and done a little creative editing to have her being told that she’s going home instead of letting us see Simon display the judgement expected from a WWE referee.
At least one national nightmare is over.
