American Idol 2 had Frenchie Davis.  American Idol 5 had Becky O'Donohue.  And now the sixth season of the Fox mega-hit has Antonella Barba.

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Pictures of the 20-year-old Point Pleasant, NJ native in provocative poses and various states of undress have recently begun emerging online.  The photos -- which appear to have been circulating around the Internet since at least late last week -- range from a (sans some strategically placed hands) topless Barba posing with a group of six other females to her dancing and grinding with people at what appears to be a club.  There are also images of her flipping the bird, consuming alcohol and even sitting on a toilet with a sheet of toilet paper in her hand.

PhillyBurbs.com, a regional website portal that caters to residents of the Philadelphia's suburbs, including Barba's hometown, posted more than a dozen of the photos on Wednesday morning -- just in time for Barba's first performance as one of the Top 24 hopefuls on Wednesday night's American Idol broadcast.

According to her Idol contestant biography, Barba currently "attends Catholic University in Washington, DC, pursuing an architecture degree."  On Wednesday night, she performed "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" in-front of millions of viewers at home and the three Idol judges.  She will learn her fate on Thursday night when the two female semifinalists who received the lowest number of votes are sent home with the two men who received the least number of votes.

During the second season of Idol in February 2003, 23-year-old semifinalist Davis was disqualified from the reality competition series over nude pictures she posed for at the age of 18, in which she simulated solitary sexual activity for a kiddie-porn Web site.  Despite a petition to reinstate her into the competition, Fox stood by its decision to disqualify Davis.  Davis was later hired to cover the Grammys for Entertainment Tonight and performed in the Broadway production of Rent.

What do you think about the Antonella Barba photos? Share your thoughts on Reality TV World's American Idol message boards.

In February 2006, 25-year-old Idol 5 semifinalist O'Donohue saw the media "uncover" some nearly two-year-old photos that O'Donohue and her twin sister Jesse had shot for a "Maxim Fallacy Baseball" feature created to promote Maxim magazine's online fantasy baseball game.  Some of the photos featured the twins posing in skimpy baseball outfits while others showed the sisters posing in unbuttoned baseball jerseys, bikinis, or wrapped in only small towels.  While O'Donohue was not disqualified because none of the photos contained any nudity, she was one of the first four semiinalists eliminated from Idol 5.

Barba has to wonder if the appearance of the photos will have an impact on the way America voted for her after Wednesday night's performance -- which, at least according to the show's judges, wasn't too good to begin with.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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