American Idol update: I called that one!

Back on January 21, I posted the following, on that evening's episode of American Idol:

Fellow Philly native Joanna Pacitti should be proud of herself for losing her horrible Philly accent. (I know, because I had one too.) I paused when Kara recognized her from her former recording career. Could the fix be in? It seemed doubly strange when Kara added, "Those were real tears." Why did she feel the need to convince us it was authentic?

Why, indeed!

Now we find out that Joanna Pacitti has been booted from the show. 19 Entertainment, the producers of the show, cited her "past in the music business." Her spot in the Top 36 has been taken by Felicia Barton.

There've been a few contestants who had recording contracts, but not one of them thanked an executive from 19 Entertainment in the liner notes of her album, like Pacitti did! (The Reuters story says that Pacitti has ties to two execs at the company. No word on who the other one is.)

The fix has been in for some time-- check out this NY Post article from Dec. 4.