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Idol scandal - does Joanna Pacitti really belong on this talent search of a show?
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A promotional poster of Joanna Pacitti
I always thought that the point of American Idol was to find previously undiscovered talent and bring it to the forefront of American pop culture. To me, Idol is a chance for someone who might not know how to go about getting involved in the higher ranks of the music industry to get their name out there. Not everyone is blessed with living in a cultural center where opportunities are available (eg: New York, LA, etc), and not everyone has the courage to move to a city like this to get their shot at stardom. That’s one of my favorite things about Idol. Would we have been likely to have heard of the likes of Kelly Clarkson or Clay Aiken (my personal favorite Idol, even though he was the runner-up) were it not for this show? Probably not.
So last Wednesday, when Joanna Pacitti walked into the judges’ room and Kara DioGuardi knew who she was, I was immediately turned off. I don’t even like it when backup singers make it on this show (although I was kind of rooting for Melinda Doolittle a bit in season 6. That girl could sing her butt off. Where the heck is she these days?) because they are already making a living from singing. Granted, singing backup for Britney Spears is a far cry from BEING Britney Spears, but it’s a step further in the right direction than most people with dreams of being pop stars ever get.
Joanna, though, was never a backup singer. Joanna had a record deal all her own. At the age of sixteen, she was signed to A&M Records. For the beginning of her career, Pacitti mostly appeared on soundtracks, including Legally Blonde in 2001, Cadet Kelly in 2002, First Daughter in 2004, Nancy Drew in 2007, and Bratz: Motion Picture Soundtrack in 2007. In August of 2006, she released her own album, entitled This Crazy Life, on Geffen Records. A Taiwanese girl group called S.H.E. covered Pacitti’s song “Watch Me Shine” in 2002, and most recently, Britney, the Princess of Pop herself, covered the song “Out From Under” on her December 2008 release, Circus.
So what the heck is a girl who should be very successful (especially with Britney covering one of her songs!) doing auditioning for American Idol?
The truth is that Pacitti’s career wasn’t very rewarding. Her album was recognized as the lowest selling album in Geffen’s history, selling just 2,500 copies by the end of 2007 and 4,000 copies by the end of 2008. She was dropped from her label in September of 2007.
Does this heart break mean that we, the Idol audience, should turn a blind eye to the fact that Pacitti has already had her shot at fame?
I think this is a hard call to make. The truth is that I know what it’s like to feel disillusioned with your career of choice, and a show like American Idol can seem like an instant fix to your previously experienced problems. Of course, when asked once if she was bothered by the overnight success brought on by shows like American Idol, Pacitti is quoted as having said, “It’s handed to people way too easily. I’d rather have my experience than overnight success.” Has she changed her mind, or does she simply feel like by now, she’s had enough experience and is ready for the success that Idol’s exposure can bring?
Idol has been known to do this to us before. Last year alone, they hosted Carly Smithson, Michael Johns, and Kristy Lee Cook, all who formerly had recording contracts. However, they did a better job at hiding this information for longer, as opposed to bludgeoning us over the head with it right away, as they did with Pacitti this year.
By now, though, the public is getting a bit tired of this act. We want new, fresh faced talent, not record label rejects who are a bit jaded with the industry.
Right?
Pacitti is far from the best contestant so far, and I’m not sure how far her star will rise, even in the Hollywood weeks. The question is, is it really fair for a girl who’s already had her shot and has plenty of ins in the industry to take up the spots of less connected (and possibly more talented) contestants? Will this controversy ultimately mean a change to the Idol rules?
Do America’s viewers even really care enough to get upset about this? Let me know.
And check out this article on Joanna Pacitti, complete with her music videos.
(Do we really want someone on this show who’s already made professional music videos? Really?)
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