American Idol 6: Antonella May Have Sucked, But She’s Staying

Sometimes, I make predictions that I hope will come true; other times I really hope I’m wrong. This week was definitely a case of the latter when I predicted that since Antonella had not been booted by the producers, she would make it through at least another week, and probably more (for example, see American Idol 6: Antonella Barba Scandal Update – Idol Crew Speaks Out While Antonella Sings Poorly). But I wasn’t wrong. Despite the fact that Antonella sang poorly, she received enough votes to make it through another week.

Just how bad was Antonella’s performance Wednesday night? Randy Jackson said she was off-key and the song was a horrible choice for her. Simon said she was even worse than the first week! (Paula said some nice things, but let’s face it – they are pretty much meaningless.)

Using our We’ll Be the Judge of That! panel as a stand-in for the general public, we see that overall opinion was pretty much the same. For example, Sandy Lamparello said, “Antonella was just not good this week. She missed so many notes it would be easier to count the ones she actually hit.” Kathy Lonergan said Antonella “found a way to divert all that negative attention about her photos: put the focus on how bad her singing is.” Even though Bruce Barker thought it was a step in the right direction, he heard “an annoying amount of vibrato in her vocals” causing her to drift off key. And I felt she sang in “an essentially flat monotone voice.”

But her voice wasn’t the only problem. When I watched her on stage, she looked like a deer in the headlights. In a way, she was – not just on the stage, but in the whole competition. She was – and still is – trapped in a spotlight she can’t do anything about.

Idol is continuing their usual press blackout of contestants, which in her case means not letting her speak on her own behalf. And while the producer, host, and judges have made comments in her defense, they have been of the type that say people should leave her alone rather than definitively stating that she was not the girl in the most pornographic of the photos. Indeed, as mentioned in my update linked above, some of the comments even hinted that they thought she might really be that girl!

So as Antonella continues to be on Idol, the controversy will continue as well, and Antonella will remain the central focus of the show.

At least the fact that she stuck around disproves any conspiracy theories that the producers might send her packing no matter what the vote total, just to get rid of the controversy. Then again, some people think the whole scandal is generating more publicity for the show, in the “no publicity is bad publicity” vein. That view would ignore the fact that Idol doesn’t need this type of publicity.

The fact is that Antonella succeeded on the basis of votes cast for her. Do I think most of those votes were called and text messaged in because people believe she is a great singer and truly the next American Idol? No. Randy hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that Antonella is beautiful before even talking about the performance. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe did likewise when he talked about her looks before mentioning anything about talent. It’s not her singing that is carrying the day for Antonella.

It’s possible Antonella would have stuck around based largely on her looks even without the scandal, though I doubt it. For Antonella, my reference to publicity has indeed proved true: No publicity is bad publicity.

Even if the worst photos are of her, it won’t matter to some. American Idol promotes fierce competition among fan bases. For example, even today, I regularly get mail from Clay Aiken fans who are still out to prove he was the American Idol of all times. Antonella has her fans, to be sure, and the scandal only served to galvanize them. In the semi-finals, and even into the finals, it’s generally better to be hated than forgotten. If you’re hated by one group, it’s likely there is an opposing group trying to save you. The haters can’t call in votes against you, but the fans can call in votes for you. If you’re boring and fade into the background, though, nobody calls for you and you leave (for example, see Why Nick Lost).

Antonella is certainly not fading into the background. I don’t know if even more photos will come out, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised. Even if they are not of the variety that caused the most uproar, we have still seen her topless, posing seductively, drinking underage, etc. And while it’s hard to believe for those of us who have been following this issue for a week now, there are still people who are just now finding out about all this, meaning the story will continue.

I’ll go ahead and make another prediction right now. I hope it doesn’t come true, but I believe it will: Antonella will breeze past next week and into the final 12 for American Idol 6. But remember, don’t blame the messenger.

In the meantime, be sure to check back with Foxes On Idol for all the latest updates.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent articles on Foxes On Idol:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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