Regardless of how rural or remote a consumer’s habitat is, “fashion has become a common thread through music and television and Hollywood,” Ms. Stuckey added. What a Wal-Mart show in Times Square signals, she said, is “the democratization of fashion,” a shift away from the concerns of the 15 people for whom Olivier Theyskens is a household name to those of Americans like Joanna, the young pop singer hired by Wal-Mart to sing her current hit on the rooftop at Times Square Studios.

“I come from a blue-collar family,” said Joanna, who grew up as Joanna Pacitti in a row house in Philadelphia, where her father owns a barbershop. Pausing for a moment after she had belted out “Let It Slide,” against a backdrop of neon billboards advertising Coca-Cola, GMC and Geico, Ms. Pacitti said, “Wal-Mart clothes are relatable to me.”

HOLY SHIT, you guys. She was in another production of Annie in Raleigh, NC, in 1997 with....wait for it....
Clay Aiken. Someone posted a youtube video here, but it's gone now. I know there's a Claymate out there who has it.

Joanna Pacitti's story has all the makings of a fairy tale. She was born on October 6, 1984 to Stella and Joseph Pacitti. Her father operated his own barbershop downstairs from where the family lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Singing and entertainment interests were apparent in Joanna early on. At the age of 5, she began singing to the customers in her father's shop. They would give her tips and she liked to call it her "Saturday Gig." Her mother recognized her natural talent and enrolled her in dance classes. She quickly excelled and began competing in local talent and dance competitions. When she was 11 years old, the local Macys Department store was sponsoring a contest for the 20th Anniversary Annie. Broadway was searching for a star and Macys was conducting this search in 5 different cities to find the cast. This would be a 4 million-dollar decision and ABC's Turning Point was following the quest. Joanna went to the contest and ended up being chosen over thousands of girls as Broadway's new Annie.

Joanna starred in 106 performances with the National Tour. She obtained rave reviews and vast press coverage. Two weeks before the show was to land on Broadway, she became ill with bronchitis. She returned to find she had been replaced by her understudy. When the decision was announced to the public, there was shock and disbelief. Andrea Mcardle, who was the original Broadway Annie, made her opinion clear by publicly boycotting the show and remarking that "clearly talent was not a factor in this decision, it was crazy adults acting desperately."

The firing became national news and generated lots of publicity. Some believe this was the intention of the producers who made the decision. However, most of the nation was on Joanna's side and supported her immensely. Television shows and newspaper articles were full of praises for Joanna. She was featured on shows such as Entertainment Tonight, American Journal, Sally, Leeza, and The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Rosie remarked that "with a voice like that, you are definitely going places". Although her heart was broken and done publicly, she did her best to keep her chin up. Just like the little red headed girl she portrayed, Joanna believed the sun would come out tomorrow.

Now at the age of 16, she has been signed to a production deal and is currently working on material for an upcoming pop album. (She's 28 now. Her album was released when she was 25/26. That means her album was being worked on for NEARLY TEN YEARS) Her positive attitude and happy demeanor are and inspiration to all who come in contact with her. Keep your eyes and ears posted. The sky is the limit for this rising star.

I'm not a Claymate, but I found this video here.

Where and/or how did Joanna Pacitti and Mark Ballas meet?
They met in North Carolina while Mark was training Kristi Yamaguchi.

Mark Ballas. Was that so hard?

Famous Hookups

She hasn't passed the Hollywood round right. Pacitti and Smithson have one thing in common. They were both failures.