NO matter how hard the producers try, “Amer ican Idol” spoilers always manage to find their way online.
The folks at the irreverent anti-fan site, VoteForTheWorst.com, along with well-known “Idol” spoiler site JoesPlace.com, recently leaked the entire list of 36 contestants who will compete live on “Idol” for a spot in the coveted Top 12. It will be the first time viewers get a chance to vote on who will be in the finals.
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Not surprisingly, failed major-label artist Joanna Pacitti reportedly made the cut.
But there are others on the list who have equally colorful backgrounds – and a few we haven’t seen on TV yet because their auditions were never shown.
* Singer/composer and Phoenix auditioner Scott MacIntyre, 23, has been blind since birth and entered Arizona State University at age 14.
That much we know already from his well-covered audition last month.
What you probably don’t know is that MacIntyre has produced 6 full-length CDs of his own music and is a recipient of Marshall and Fulbright scholarships that earned him a master’s degree from the Royal College of Music.
* Raspy-voiced female-rocker Jackie Tohn, 27, auditioned in New York, guitar in hand.
But she’s also an actress, appearing on the TV show “The Nanny” at age 12. After moving to LA with her agent/mom, she shot a few pilots for MTV and ABC and acted in “The Sopranos,” “Strangers with Candy” and “Veronica Mars.”
* More than just a nice boy from Ohio, Brent Keith Smith, 28, who performed a country-rocked-up version of “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love” in Louisville, finished in 6th place on the second season of “Nashville Star” in 2004.
In 2007, his song “Looking for the Road” was featured in CMT’s NASCAR series, and was chosen as the closing track for “Dale”, the country music channel’s Dale Earnhardt bio-pic, narrated by Paul Newman.
* Another “Nashville Star” contestant is the so-far-unseen Louisville auditioner Kristen McNamara, 22. Like Smith, she also came in 6th place (two seasons later) and was known for a mean yodel.
* Eighteen-year-old Phoenix auditioner Mishavonna Henson is another of the as-yet-unseen “Idol” contestants.
She has appeared on Nickelodeon’s “Unfabulous,” the Emma Roberts series, and had a guest role on “Frasier.”
* Jesse Langsbeth, 25, is the little sister of Jonny Lang, who won Grammy awards for his 2006 gospel album “Turn Around.”
Proficient on several musical instruments, Langsbeth, like the rest of her musical family, is well-known in Minneapolis. But she’s an unknown quantity to “Idol” fans. Her Kansas City audition never aired.
* San Francisco auditioner 26-year-old Adam Lambert has an extensive history in musicals, including a recent stint in the LA production of “Wicked.”
While his performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody” wowed the “Idol” judges, it was tame compared to some of the gender bending performances to be found on YouTube.
Not to be missed: Lambert’s highly theatrical turn on the Gnarls Barkley tune “Crazy.”
M.J. Santili writes about “American Idol” on her Web site, mjsbigblog.com.