Philly's Joanna Pacitti Disqualified from American Idol

News broke out recently that Philly's own Joanna Pacitti was disqualified from this season of American Idol after being selected to the top 36.

Pacitti already had professional experience in the past — she starred in the musical Annie when she was 12, and she was previously signed to record deals with A&M Records and Geffen. She released a full-length album in 2006 under Geffen, but she was dropped from the label shortly after. Pacitti also had songs featured on various soundtracks, including Legally Blonde, Nancy Drew, and Bratz. Her previous experience stirred up a lot of controversy — especially since another former professional singer Carly Smithson made it to the top 12 last season — but that wasn't what disqualified her.

It was discovered that Pacitti had connections with two producers at 19 Entertainment, the company that produces Idol. She called one producer her manager and best friend and said the other helped her get to where she is today. Background checks were not performed on contestants until after the Hollywood round, allowing her to be on the show for several episodes before being disqualified. Pacitti was booted to prevent any conflict of interest controversy that may hurt the credibility of the American Idol franchise, which has been on a slow but steady ratings decline since 2006.

Image courtesy of Joanna Pacitti