During last night's episode of American Idol—which, thanks to its mansion location, had a weird sort of Joe Millionaire feeling to the proceedings—major-label refugee Joanna Pacitti was shown as making it through to the circle of 36 semifinalists, while Felicia Barton, a Virginia mom and "bar singer" who also sings in her church, got sent packing. But when the official press release announcing the semifinalists went out and Fox updated its official site, Pacitti was out and Barton was in, and Fox put out a cryptic note saying that the powers that be had deemed the "Let It Slide" singer officially ineligible for the competition. What happened? A not-very-wise man told me over and over before I took this job that the music business is "all about relationships," and it would appear that Pacitti had a couple of very close ones with some higher-ups at Idol production company 19 Entertainment. Star went so far as to call it "the biggest Idol scandal ever" during its breathless reportage: An insider tells Star that Michelle Young and Roger Widynowski have very personal connections to the Idol hopeful, all of which we detail in our can't miss story. How personal? Well, Joanna has referred to Michelle as her "manager" and "best friend," and credited Roger with "helping me get where I am today." Plus, the three of them even lived in the same L.A. apartment complex for several years. Having two ins with Idol's production company could give the 24-year-old wannabe star - seen as a shoo-in for the final 36 - an advantage that the rest of the contestants don't have. "It really seems unfair," an insider tells Star. And something did seem fishy about Pacitti making it through to the semifinals despite bluffing nearly every song featured in her Hollywood Week montage, while other worthy singers got the boot. (Never mind her calling herself "unemployed"—if she was really still an aspiring entertainer, wouldn't she be trying to puff up her profile as much as possible?) The Los Angeles Times' Idol blog has a source saying that the producers wanted to avoid "the appearance of impropriety," although I wonder if it's a little too late for that. Anyway, here's hoping someone uncovers the dirt on why Tatiana Del Toro keeps making it through soon! Because she is seriously the worst.

The full list of “American Idol” contestants ready to compete for your votes in Hollywood may have arrived.

A list of 36 contestants was posted on Friday on “Idol” fan site VoteForTheWorst.com and corroborated by JoesPlace, a blogger and message board contributor who has leaked similar, and quite accurate, information in past seasons.

Contestants will be competing for a spot in the top 36 in front of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi in the coming weeks, with the final announcement to be made in the Feb. 11 episode. In the following weeks, viewers will have the chance to start voting for their favorites as the show goes live. However, fans antsy to find out who might make the cut may want to peruse the list below — of course, take it with a grain of salt

Stam, the Midwestern beauty queen is also Miss Indiana. She began competing in pageants at the age of 15! Stam is a Communications major at the University of Indianapolis.

The beauty pageant was broadcast live from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas hosted by our Mario Lopez. Katie takes home $50,000 scholarship besides the beauty title. Of course being Miss America, Stam will be doing a lot of PR work which brings her to all parts of the world over the next year!


Katie hopes to complete her Communications degree and become a TV news anchor someday. “That beauty that you feel on the inside, it’s that confidence, that radiance inside of you, that’s what glamour is,” Stam said.