The Contenders: Meet Felicia Barton

Virginia Beach, Va. 27-year-old Felicia Barton has already gotten a lucky break on "American Idol" Season 8. She replaced Top 36 choice Joanna Pacitti when it was determined that Pacitti was ineligible. Felicia Barton auditioned in Louisville, Ky. with Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On", also the audition song choice of Arianna Afsar. Paula was into it and even Simon smiled. Felicia went to Hollywood, but little did she know what a stir in "Idol" news she'd make!

She says she's secure, loves to sing, and isn't "chasing some pipedream". She'd like to make an impact on people, singing songs with the hope that music will change lives, the same way it did her own.

The married bar singer, church worship group leader, and mom to baby son Malakai has performed at Virginia Beach's Beach Street USA. The fortunate brunette has a MySpace page.

--Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo: Fox

Updated: Joanna Pacitti disqualified from 'American Idol,' Felicia Barton in

A bit of a mystery has emerged on the first night of "American Idol's" season proper.

Just as the Green Mile episode was put to bed today, a contestant has gone missing: Joanna Pacitti, who has been considered one of the favorites because of her previous singing experience.

The official Fox news release announcing the top 36 contestants lists female singers Alexis Grace, Allison Iraheta, Anne Marie Boskovich, Arianna Asfar, Casey Carlson, Felicia Barton, Jackie Tohn, Jasmine Murray, Jeanine Vailes, Jesse Langseth, Kendall Beard, Lil Rounds, Megan Corkrey, Mishavonna Henson, Stevie Wright, Tatiana Del Toro, Kristen McNamara and Taylor Vaifanua.

And below the long list of names was this:

"[EDITOR'S NOTE: 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.]"

That's right, no Joanna Pacitti, whom we saw make it through the Green Mile tonight.  And the list includes Felicia Barton, who was seen being sent packing on the Green Mile episode.

A source close to the show now tells us that Pacitti was disqualified to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

In the last week, tabloids had been reporting on a private relationship between Pacitti and executives of 19 Management, one of the companies overseeing "Idol."

-- Richard Rushfield

Photo: Fox

Phil Stacey Blog: Few surprises in the Top 36

The chair episode is the most difficult episode of the entire "American Idol" season for the contestants.  Think about it.  You don’t even perform from the time you make it into the final Hollywood group until you sit in front of the judges to find out if you’ve made it to the semifinals or not.  This year, it will be a little different, as I will explain in a bit.

There were a lot of surprises for those of us on my season.  I can’t even begin to tell you the amazing talent Season 6 had that you never saw — simply because they weren’t what the producers were looking for.

Anoop Desai is first, and it is no surprise to see him sail through to the semifinals.  Anoop is an amazing singer and I predict that he will make the top 12 pretty easily.

Von Smith is next.  As I have predicted, Von makes it to the final 36. I think he will have to learn to be an artist as opposed to a performer if he wants to be a pop star.  He reminds me vocally of Robbie Williams — the original artist who recorded "Angels" — a great voice with a little theatrical edge. I think he could do well if he learns to balance those ingredients.

This year, they have introduced a sing-off between contestants, and the first sing-off is between Cody and Alex.  I don’t know about you, but this is pretty exciting to me....

Alex is very reminiscent of Clay Aiken, singing a song that Clay nailed in Season 2, "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me." He wins the sing-off and Cody goes home.  I like the whole sing-off thing, but it does feel a little uncomfortable.

Meet Your Top 36: The List

Here they are, with links to more info.  Somewhere in the column below, is the name of our next champion.

Kris Allen
Arianna Asfar
Kendall Beard
Anne Marie Boskovich
Ricky Braddy
Matt Breitzke
Casey Carlson
Megan Corkrey
Tatiana Del Toro
Anoop Desai
Stephen Fowler
Matt Giraud
Danny Gokey
Alexis Grace
Mishavonna Henson
Allison Iraheta
Junot Joyner
Kai Kalama
Brent Keith
Adam Lambert
Jesse Langseth
Nate Marshall
Scott MacIntyre
Kristen McNamara
Nick Mitchell
Jasmine Murray
Jorge Nunez
Joanna Pacitti
Lil Rounds
Michael Sarver
Von Smith
Jackie Tohn
Alex Wagner Trugman
Taylor Vaifanua
Jeanine Vailes
Stevie Wright

--Richard Rushfield

Photo:Fox

Phil Stacey blog: The best season ever?

The final performance of "American Idol's" Hollywood Week can be incredibly tough.  You’ve been there for several days and haven’t slept much.  You’ve seen OK singers stay, while incredible singers are sent packing.  And this is the last performance where the judges will have the final say whether you make it.

On a side note, every season, the producers and judges always hype it up by saying it’s the best talent ever.  I haven’t heard that once this season.  Maybe I’m just not paying attention, but I would like to say for the record that this season has more potential stars than any I have observed.

A total of 103,000 people auditioned this year.  After tonight, 60 will be left eligible to win the title of American Idol Season 8.

These contestants think this performance will make or break them, but the truth is, the judges already have decided on several people.  For example, I know before this episode starts that Lil Rounds and Danny Gokey will make it through.

On the same hand, I believe they have decided on people they want to send home.  They won’t change their decision.  I remember some people giving AMAZING performances on the final day of Hollywood Week –- and yes, they made it into the top 40 -– only to get cut during the chair episode.

During my season, we were given a small list of songs to choose from, which is why you see the same song being performed over and over.  Unfortunately, many chose to sing former "Idol" contestant songs, and none of them lived up to their predecessors.  But overall, it was a good night and we heard some great singing.

Standouts –- for me -– were Danny Gokey (of course), Matt Gerard, Anoop Desai, Stephen Fowler (though he forgot the lyrics to the song -– he is bad to the bone) and Lil Rounds.  It’s a short list for the girls, but I believe a girl will win this season.  When my season’s Hollywood episodes were finished, all the frontrunners were guys too, but only one guy made it into the top 4.  And Jordin Sparks won.

Nonstandouts that made it through -- Tatiana Del Toro.

Surprise cuts were India Morrison (the girl that rapped –- I think she could have added a lot this year, but I suppose it is a singing competition), and Michael Castro. I mean, we didn’t see ANYTHING from him after his original audition.  I think those judges have some explaining to do!

Wednesday night is the toughest for the remaining contestants.  I’ll explain in my review post.  Until then, be safe.

-- Phil Stacey

Photo: Fox

The Contenders: Meet Jeanine Vailes

Jeanine Vailes, "28 years young," auditioned for "American Idol" Season 8 in San Francisco. The short-dress, long-boot-wearing Sherman Oaks resident got encouragement from her sister to go for it this season on "Idol," and what do you know? She made it to Hollywood!

In the first Hollywood episode, Jeanine Vailes was featured alongside Joanna Pacitti and Danny Gokey in a fancy Range Rover-esque Ford SUV headed for the Kodak Theatre.

Jeanine always knew she wanted to be a singer-songwriter, from the time she was 4 singing in a church choir.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

The Contenders: Meet Joanna Pacitti

Philadelphia-born "American Idol" Season 8 contestant Joanna Pacitti auditioned in Louisville, Kentucky with Pat Benatar's "We Belong". The 23-year-old, who moved to L.A. at 16 to pursue her music career, got yeses from all the judges and shed some tears as she made it to Hollywood.

Joanna Pacitti has already experienced some success in the business, at 16 having signed with A&M Records, who she's no longer with. The dark-haired, light-eyed singer has had songs on several feature film soundtracks, including "Legally Blonde" and "First Daughter."

She certainly belted out Benatar's 1984 hit like a pro, but we'll have to keep watching to see how long the ambitious MTV alum (she starred in a 2003 episode of "True Life") will last on Fox.

Keep up with Joanna Pacitti via MySpace.

--Leslie Anne Wiggins

After the auditions: the 12 front-runners

So the auditions are behind us.  We haven't seen everyone yet, but we've seen a lot of them.  And on the basis of that half-information, we are prepared to make some predictions. 

Tens of thousands were summoned by the "Idol" trumpets.  We predict that when the dust settles and the curtain rises over the Idoldome in five weeks, it will be these 12 warriors of song onstage prepared to seize the mantle of history.  (Actually we couldn't narrow it down to 12, so we threw in one extra.)

In no particular order.  Listed by name, (audition city), age, hometown.  Audition song. Interesting fact. Link to check them out (while they last).

1. Lil Rounds: (Kansas City) 23, Memphis TN. Sang "All I Do."  Family made homeless by a tornado.  Audition video here.

2. Adam Lambert (San Francisco) 26, Hollywood, CA. Sang  “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Was in the cast of "Wicked"; looks like Ewan McGregor. Remnants of MySpace page here.  Audition video here.

3. Rose Flack (Salt Lake City) 17, Rathdrum, ID. Sang Carole King's “I Feel the Earth Move." Recently orphaned, barefoot hippie girl. MySpace page here. Audition video here.

4. Jackie Tohn (New York) 27, Silver Lake, CA. Sang Jason Mraz's "I’m Yours." Rocker since childhood.  Audition video here. Personal site here.

5. Scott MacIntyre: (Phoenix) 22, Scottsdale, AZ. Sang Billy Joel's "And So It Goes." Legally blind.  Audition video here. Personal site here.

6. Joanna Pacitti. (Louisville) 23, Philadelphia, PA.  Sang Pat Benatar's "We Belong." Had earlier recording career on A&M Records. Audition video here. MySpace page here.

7. Jorge Nunez. (San Juan) 20, Carolina, Puerto Rico. Sang  "My Way” and "What a Wonderful World." Charmed the judges when he sang in Spanish.  Audition video here. 

8. Meghan Corkrey. (Salt Lake) 23, Sandy, UT. Sang “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.”  Heavily tattooed single mother. Audition video here.

9. Kai Kalama: (San Francisco) 26, San Clemente, CA.  Sang "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."  Cares for ailing mother.  Audition video here.  MySpace page for former band here.

10. Leneshe Young: (Louisville) 18, Cincinnati, OH. Sang original song.  Raised in homeless shelters.  Audition video here.

11. Von Smith: (Kansas City) 22, Greenwood, MO. Sang  "Over the Rainbow." Wore goofy hat; "attempts things most guys don't attempt to sing." Audition video here. MySpace page here.

12. Danny Gokey (Kansas City) 28. Milwaukee, WI.  Sang "Heard It Through the Grapevine."  Grieving recently deceased wife. Audition video here.  MySpace page here.

13. Michael Castro (Kansas City) 20. Rockwall, TX.  Sang "In Love With a Girl." Brother of Season 7 giant Jason Castro.  Audition video here.   

Whom have I left out?  Please share your thoughts!  Hollywood Week is coming fast.

-- Richard Rushfield

Photo: Fox