Racy Antonella Barba Pics Creating Stage Jitters?

You’ve either read about or seen the racy photos of American Idol contestant Antonella Barba. The first scandal of this season, right? Well… not so much. Seems that the producer, Nigel Lythgoe, along with host Ryan and judges Randy and Simon are all in her court. So, the doe-eyed songstress won’t be booted from the competition.

We’re betting that the attention can only help Idol ratings, which are already out of the stratosphere. Plus, Lythgoe commented that it will be up to viewers to decide her fate, so that really makes it easy for him and everyone involved at FOX. Chances are good that if she doesn’t prove her talent, she will get voted off anyway. Or maybe she’ll stick around because the public loves her sexy photos. Hey, if Idol doesn’t work out, maybe she’ll have a modest modeling career ahead of her.

Antonella sang last night and it looks like all the hubbub around her photos may be wearing on the nerves a bit. Her take on the Celine Dion song, “Because You Loved Me,” garnered negative comments across the board, save for Paula’s upbeat remark that Antonella improved over the previous week. Simon – gotta love him – said that she was “worse than last week.” Tune in for tonight’s elimination show to see if she makes the cut.