antonella barba

Jersey's own Antonella Barba may not win American Idol this year, but she's already become a household name, earning fame (or is it infamy?) thanks to a seemingly endless supply of naughty, naked, and nasty photographs (that become nastier by the day) appearing all over the internet.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe hasn't seen any of the photographs, and only became aware of the "sexualy explicit shots" from EW. Lythgoe responded, ''It's sad, isn't it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the web?''

According to the comments here and here, I was not alone in my assessment of Sundance and Antonella's poor performances this week on Idol. Many of you thought those two would be going home. And perhaps they would have -- if Vote for the Worst didn't champion them both this week.

To me Antonella and Sundance represent two of the biggest disappointments this year. They both received quite a bit of early buzz and way more exposure than some of the other semifinalists. And yet, both have given lackluster performances since hitting Hollywood.

(S06E12) Okay, we're all in agreement -- Tuesday night's "Top 12 Boys" show was boring and uneventful. I thought so. Those of you who commented thought so. And even Paula thought so.

Paula says, "It was a rough first night...you learn after your first performance where you have to go, where you have to pull back, and where you push for it." And amazingly, perhaps for the first time EVER (okay, maybe there has been one other documented time), Simon agrees with Paula, calling her advice "wise words."

Now that we have a complete list of American Idol's Top 24, it's time to try to predict who will make the Top 12. I'll admit it's a bit early to make educated predictions. After all, how do we judge contestants we've never seen sing?

Honestly, this initial list is really just a compilation based on "gut feelings" or "first impressions." Let's face it, we're totally judging books by their covers.

(NOTE: If you're looking for 2008's Top 24, go here)

(S06E10) It's "FINAL JUDGMENT" time, Ryan says, hoping to charge us up for tonight's episode. The singing is done, and now those who survived the Hollywood Week hazing, will find out if they've made the final cut.

I can't believe they build an entire episode around "announcing" the Top 24. It's really just a list of names that could have been posted online after last night's episode. Better yet, they should announce the list of names online with links to video of each and every performance to date, so the curious can check out the Top 24 contestants in more depth, if they wish.

Instead, they try to build suspense in this episode and it just isn't happening. We haven't really made strong attachments yet, so we're not heartbroken when cuts are made. And the only real surprise is where they've been hiding SEVEN out of the Top 24. Before tonight, we've never laid eyes on 5 out of the Top 12 Girls, and 2 out of the Top 12 Boys.

Without Idol releasing a complete list of last night's Top 40 contestants, and with so few contestants getting airtime, it's difficult for me to even figure out who's who, let alone predict just who will make tonight's Top 24. I think that the Idol producers purposely keep things vague, otherwise we'd pretty much be able to compile our own list of 24 (based on who DID get airtime), and wouldn't need to tune in for tonight's episode.

From re-watching last night's episode, and searching other sites for their observations, I've been able to piece together a list of people who (probably) advanced to the Top 40. But I'm really not sure, so if you have definitive information, feel free to share.

(S06E09) After four long weeks of auditions, we've finally made it to the infamous "Hollywood Round." Ryan tells us that 172 contestants are just five days away from becoming finalists, but "those five days are going to be a nightmare."

It might be a nightmare for the contestants, but at home, we are spared most of the mayhem. In fact, Idol speeds through most of the singing completely and a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff, as well. Where's the emotional build-up? Where's the drama? Where's Simon's nasty comments? Where's the angry outbursts from exhausted rejects pushed to the brink of insanity? I can't get a handle on who's who or who's singing what. Before I blink, people are being sent home.