Antonella Maria Barba (born November 26, 1986) is an American singer who placed in the top 16 on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated before the top 12 were chosen.

Biography

Barba was born in California to parents Vincenzo and Valerie, and raised in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. She went to high school at Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey. She has one younger brother and two younger sisters. Barba graduated in 2008 from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., studying architecture.^[1]

Barba is currently a non-partisan spokesperson for ElectionMall's Voter Space.^[2]

American Idol

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 Barba "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.

Fear Factor

Barba appeared on the January 9, 2012 show of Fear Factor entitled "Roach Coach." Her partner's name was Jenna. The fact that she was on American Idol did not come up. However, it stated that Jenna and Barba own a singing telegraph business. The duo was eliminated in the first round when Jenna quit. Barba was kind of upset because she could lasted longer underwater, she had plenty of air left. However, Jenna just couldn't get the ropes cut.

Film

Barba appears in Jerseyboy Hero the documentary film based down at the Jersey Shore where she is originally from. She and her friend (Amanda Coluccio) comment on their American Idol experience and what they think about the industry's ups and downs.^[3][4]

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..^[5] She was quoted as saying that they "were photos of my personal life that got exploited without my consent." These pictures have widely received mainstream attention.^[6][7]

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 she was 19 years old. The photos also caused outrage because it was felt that students at Catholic University should not take such photos, and it especially outraged some that Barba was not expelled from the university.^[8]

American Idol performances

Singles

References