Antonella Maria Barba (born November 26, 1986) is an American singer who placed sixteenth on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated before the top 12 were chosen.

Biography

Antonella is currently a non-partisan spokesperson for ElectionMall's Voter Space.

American Idol

Antonella Barba was first seen on television at the New York auditions of Idol in a January 2007 episode. She auditioned with her friend Amanda Collucio; after Collucio sang her rendition of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" Barba took center stage and belted out a smooth performance of Deniece Williams' "Free." Paula dubbed Antonella "fantastic" and Simon advised her "when someone is down on the floor kick them". Nevertheless, the judges praised her performance and liked it better than her friend Amanda's performance; eventually both received golden ticket passes to Hollywood. Barba made it into the top 24 but her friend was cut before the top 40.

Controversy

Barba received notoriety beyond the show when a series of racy photographs of her surfaced on the Internet prior to the final twelve contestants being chosen. These included photos of her posing in a wet t-shirt in the fountain of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.. She was quoted as saying that they "were photos of my personal life that got exploited without my consent." These pictures have received mainstream attention including a February 27, 2007 featured article in USA Today, a full segment on the February 26, 2007 edition of FOX News' The O'Reilly Factor, and also on multiple episodes of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, both of which showed images of the Vote for the Worst pages featuring the images.

Barba's pictures caused controversy because she was not dismissed from the show. In American Idol (season 2) contender Frenchie Davis was dismissed because of the topless photos she took in 1998 when 19 years old. In an interview conducted for The New York Post on Monday, March 5th, 2007, Davis said,

"I couldn't help but notice the difference between the manner in which she was dealt with and how I was dealt with.... I think it's fantastic if 'Idol' has evolved, and I think it's fantastic she won't have to go through what I went through four years ago … but if the rules have changed, I believe there should be something to make up for the fact that I was humiliated needlessly " .

Project Islamic H.O.P.E. activist Najee Ali has accused the show of racism: “It's obvious that it's a racial bias ... when you have a situation where a black contestant is punished and a similar situation happens to a white contestant and there is no punishment and they're allowed to continue on the show.” According to EuroWeb, Ali staged a protest in front of The Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007. Protesters are seeking another chance for Davis at the competition . Talk show co-host Rosie O'Donnell has commented on the "Idol" scandal; on The View, Tuesday, March 6th, 2007, co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck used the justification that Davis was paid for her pictures whereas Barba was not. Rosie's response: "I think it's racist. I do…I think it's because she's black" .