Born in Santa Monica, California and raised in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Barba rose to prominence while competing on the sixth season of American Idol.
The show was criticized for allowing Barba to continue to compete when producers had disqualified second season contestant Frenchie Davis under similar circumstances.
Eliminated after advancing to the top 16, Barba returned to Catholic University of America to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture.
Despite initially denying these charges, she pleaded guilty in July 2019 to distributing synthetic opioids, and was sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison in November 2019.
[8] At the age of 19, Barba tried out for the sixth season of American Idol with a high school friend in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
[7] In later portions of the show, she went on to sing Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (1998),[9] Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" (1996),[10] and Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" (2006).
[9][17] Images included her posing in a wet t-shirt at the National World War II Memorial and topless on a beach.
[20] Following the leak, Barba's situation was compared to that of second season contestant Frenchie Davis, who had been disqualified when topless photos of her surfaced.
[15] Rosie O'Donnell believed that the different responses stemmed from racism and weightism,[15][21] and civil-rights activist Najee Ali also felt there was a racial bias.
[22] Ali and Davis' manager held a protest at the Dolby Theatre, where American Idol was filmed, during the third week of the semi-finals.
[23] Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson defended Barba,[24][25] and host Ryan Seacrest criticized the source of the photos as immoral.
According to Time magazine, men in the 18 to 34 year old demographic group accounted for the largest number of visitors to the website hosting the images, in sharp contrast with American Idol's audience which was older and female.
[14] Vote for the Worst website creator Dave Della Terza referred to the incident as a "wake-up call" for young people to think about what they photograph and upload to social media.
[6] She helped to recruit young voters for the 2008 United States presidential election at a Republican Party event in San Francisco, California.
[28] An Entertainment Weekly contributor wrote that she would have "an uphill battle when it comes to capturing the industry’s attention", though Barba said she was still recognized from her American Idol appearances.
[40][41] In December 2010, Barba was charged with two misdemeanors for shoplifting a pair of gloves from a Manhattan Urban Outfitters store; she was required to complete a day of community service.
[17] In 2011, Barba became a singer for the Los Angeles rock band LA-eX,[42] which included Crazy Town members Epic Mazur and Kraig Tyler.
[50][51] Susan Peters, writing for RyanSeacrest.com praised their cover of "Mercy", highlighting Barba's rapping and the "raw female power" she brings to the song.
[53] On August 23, 2014, Barba performed Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You" (2012) at the University of California, Los Angeles, for the LEAP Foundation at the request of Dr. Bill Dorfman.
[57] The following year, Barba's SoundCloud account included the original songs: "Do To Me", "Cocaine HeartBreak", "Girl For A Day", and "Would You Still Love Me?".
[69] In July 2019, Barba pleaded guilty to distributing synthetic opioids,[70] and was sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison in November.
Barba's mother and legal team described her elimination from American Idol and her subsequent move to Los Angeles as leading to a "detrimental change" in her life.