Nicci Nix, American Idol Contestant, Is A Phony

Nicci Nix photo courtesy American Idol.

Nicci Nix, Italian princess, is not Italian at all -- she's a U.S. reality TV vet.

What will Simon Cowell say. Last Wednesday night's episode of American Idol featured a memorable and lovable audition at the show's close. Nicci Nix was the 22-year-old knock-out contestant who told the judges in an Italian accent that she flew from Florence to Frankfurt to Denver to audition for Idol. However reporters have investigated, and Nicci Nix isn't from Italy at all. Here's the scoop on the Cali resident who's groping for her 15 minutes of fame.

Our friends at TMZ published the discovery just as the weekend hit, after some Web scouring. Nicci Nix has appeared on at least five different reality television shows before, including Making the Band, Fear Factor, Date My Mom and Next. On Fear Factor she told the host that she was 19-year-old Nicci Palmeri from Pleasant Hill, California, and as TMZ notes, she boasted no trace of Italian accent. (She also broke out into an awkward song to prove to the host and her competitors that she was a real singer...not so much.)

Nicci Nix also hosts a splashed-out MySpace page featuring her music videos, charity appearances and bio which makes it completely apparent that she's not the Italian-bred princess she suggested. It was her claimed 14-hour trek that impressed Simon Cowell most about her...wonder what he'll have to say now.

Meanwhile, no doubt American Idol can deal with a little spoiling...but with what Taylor Swift's record label has said about the show -- as well as how Kelly Clarkson responded -- maybe Nicci Nix was one embarrassment Idol could've done without for now. Watch now-23-year-old Nicci Nix's high-pitched American Idol audition that fooled the nation -- good English for an Italian native, right?