American Idol is still undeniably a big hit among American viewers because of its knack for controversy. Just a month after its premier for season 8, the show already garnered flak from fans and foes due to its involvement in various controversies and scandals. Its not only the show that has kept its reputation as a scandal maker but also its contestants, sometimes pimped by Idol producers to make the show a bit more interesting. Some fans make take this as some form of entertainment, but normal viewers see it as a cheap strategy to keep the viewers hooked on Idol. From alleged planted contestants to unfair treatment by the producers of the contestants in terms of exposure, Idol is unstoppable in making news to its detriment. Some of the controversies the show generated as early as this season are the following:

The Planted Contestants

Fans all over are upset early in the show’s episodes when they saw contestants that were obviously planted by the producers in order to make it interesting, entertaining and appealing to the viewers. Some of this alleged planted contestants were identified by viewers. Katrina Darrell is one, who shocked the viewers by coming to the auditions wearing only a two piece swimsuit and kissing Ryan Seacrest on the lips. She was acused of using her body and beauty in passing the auditions. Norman Mitchell who is obviously inferior with other contestants eliminated in terms of voice, has made it to the final 36, gimmicky and theatrical, he is favored by most of the Idol Judges. Casey Carlson was also targeted due to her prior career as a swimsuit model. Joanna Pacitti had her share of flak when she got through the Hollywood week and was identified as a professional singer who has been in the industry since childhood. And last but nbot the least Tatiana Del Toro who was obviously acting out in front of the cameras by her Dramatics and annoying acts. Idol fans are now questioning if the show is really looking for raw talented and undiscovered contestants or hopefuls with prior professional experiences who just want to boost their dying careers.

Drama Queens

There were a lot of Drama in the Hollywood week rounds that created a loud buzz all over the internet. Drama Queens such as tatiana Del Toro, Nathaniel Marshall, Nancy Wilson and Kristen McNamara were used by the producers to show some actions on the show. Fans are now questioning whether some of the drama were authentic or just plain scripted just like the acts of Tatiana Del Toro.

Nude and Sexy Photos of the Contestants

Nude and Sexy Photos also surfaced on the internet done previously or recently by other Idol contestants which brings into ones mind if these hopefuls are competing for a talent show or desiring fame in the porn industry. Katrina Darell’s Sexy Photos, Casey Carlson’s swimsuit calendar pics, and Tatiana Del Toro’s naked and sexy pictures are just some of the alleged “dirt” and “liabilities” that idol fans dug.

Disqualification of Joanna Pacitti

After the Top 36 were announced during the Idol Mansion Sit-in episode, fans were surprised to see that Joanna Pacitti’s photo on the official website were taken down and instead replaced by an unknown Idol contestant named Felicia Barton. According to some reports, Joanna Pacitti was disqualified in the process after clamors from fans that her previous experience would give her an undue advantage on the top 36. Later, photos of her hanging out with some Idol Staffs were released in the Internet, confirming her personal attachment to the show’s insiders. Other dirt that fans also uncovered was Joanna Pacitti’s contract with Geffen records and her album releases that didn’t made it to the charts. A naked picture of her with her boyfriend was also uncovered by later taken down from a certain website due to a copyright claim by the photo’s owner.

True Colors of Danny Gokey

Danny Gokey was being questioned by viewers why he showed no grieving for the loss of her wife during the rounds in Hollywood yet he continuously mention his wife’s passing on the show. Some even stated maliciously that Danny Gokey has something to do with her wife’s death which is extremely remote yet a metaphor on Danny’s show of lack of grieving. Later after the Top 36 was announced, fans discovered a blog entry by one of Gokey’s churchmate stating that he is hard to work with, perfectionist, rude and harsh on some musicians on their church’s music ministry. Fans also mock him for using his wife in creating a foundation which financial statement of the proceeds are being questioned. And on the first semifinals performance results night, wherein Danny stood side by side with Tatiana Del Toro during the announcement of results, fans noticed that he was apathetic and very cold to Tatiana who kept on touching her shoulders and arms, in contrast to some Idol contestnats who also stood side by side and comforting each other. Video footage also revealed that his relative flashed a picture of Danny and His wife while cameras zoomed in, sending a mesaage to America to “vote for Gokey because her wife died”. Some cried foul and thought that using Danny’s wife’s death for sympathy votes is too much to take.

Arrest of Jessica Langseth

Also revealed in some internet sites are Jessica Langseth’s (Top 36) mugshot when she was arrested for for Driving Under influence of substance a few years ago. Reports says that she was jailed for 4 days for pleading guilty and was under probation for 2 years.

Exploitation for sympathy votes

Idol Producers were not also spared from controversy when viewers noticed that they were exploiting the contestants’ sob stories to garner sympathy votes. Subjects of this exploitation were Lil’ Rounds (For being a single mom), Danny Gokey (Death of his wife), Kai Kalama (her mother’s illness) and Scott Mcintyre (his blindness).

Idol’s Pimping and biases

Idol producers allegedly also tried pimping and favoring some contestants by dedicating a lengthy exposure of some of them on the show’s airtime, while other notable talents were still unknown, unheard and unseen. Notable beneficiaries of these biases were Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, Lil Rounds, Tatiana Del Toro, Scott Mcintire, Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud, Michael Sarver and Matt Breitzke. VFTW (Vote For The Worst.com) also blogged about how Ricky Braddy’s fan site were asked by Fremantle (AI’s mother company) to be taken down due to an unfair advantage it may bring to Ricky’s chance on the show. The blog questioned why Ricky Brady’s only fansite were asked to be torn down while Danny Gokey has 3 fan sites which did not suffer such demanding request.

These are just some of the most notable controversies so far in the show. Yet we are hoping that America will vote for an authentic, raw and undiscovered talent and not just some hopefuls who benefited from pimping and media exposure.