Pia Ann Rose Toscano (born October 14, 1988) is an American singer from Howard Beach, New York. Toscano placed ninth on the tenth season of American Idol. She was considered a frontrunner in the competition, and her elimination shocked judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler, all of whom were visibly and vocally upset.[2][3] Some viewers and media outlets described Toscano's departure as one of the most shocking eliminations in American Idol history.[4][5]
Toscano was born on October 14, 1988, to Jane and Pat Toscano and grew up in Howard Beach, New York.[6][7] Her father worked as a corporate executive.[8] She is of Italian descent.[9] She began performing in talent shows when she was four, and by the time she was nine, had performed in a local church production of Jesus Christ Superstar.[10] Toscano was the official National Anthem singer at her middle school, P.S./M.S. 207, and performed at every event including graduation. She attended LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts in New York City and graduated in 2006. Fellow Idol contestant Karen Rodriguez also attended this school.
She performed the National Anthem and "God Bless America" for the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ minor league team, several times a year for three years.[10] In addition, Toscano was the winner of the New York Mets annual "Anthem Search" competition in 2008 and was selected to sing the National Anthem at a July 2008 game.[11][12] Toscano has also opened for the Barenaked Ladies and performed with Josh Groban at Madison Square Garden.[13]
Prior to Idol, Toscano worked as a make-up artist[14] and as a wedding singer in a band called "Current Affair".[9] She cites her musical influences as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Etta James, and Luther Vandross.[14]
[edit] American Idol
Toscano auditioned for Idol four times before. She made it through to Hollywood in season 6, but did not continue further. In 2010, she auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and was put through to Hollywood, this time making it through to the Top 24. Toscano was eliminated from the competition on April 7, 2011, finishing in ninth place.
- ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Casey Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week.
Following her elimination, Toscano appeared on several talk shows. She performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 8, Live with Regis and Kelly on April 11, followed by The Today Show on April 12, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 14. She performed "I'll Stand by You" on the April 26, 2011 episode of Dancing with the Stars. On May 25, Toscano appeared on Rachael Ray along with Stefano Langone and Paul McDonald. Furthermore, Toscano performed the National Anthem and "I'll Stand by You" at the Memorial Day Concert in Washington D.C. on May 29, 2011.
The following summer, Toscano toured with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, which began in West Valley City, Utah on July 6, 2011 and ended in Manila, Philippines on September 20, 2011.
On July 5, 2011, it was announced that Toscano has officially signed with Interscope Records. Her debut single titled "This Time" premiered July 11 and was released digitally on July 13.[16] Toscano performed the single on So You Think You Can Dance on August 4, Good Morning America on August 12, followed by a performance on Live with Regis and Kelly on August 16. Her debut album is set to be released in the summer of 2012.[17] Toscano has worked with Rock Mafia on two songs titled "Counterfeit" and "Dreamgirl" for her upcoming album.[1]
Toscano is currently being managed by 19 Entertainment, alongside fellow Idol contestants Haley Reinhart and James Durbin.[18]
On September 11, 2011, Toscano performed "God Bless America" at the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs game. In addition, Toscano performed "I'll Stand by You" and "This Time" at the Columbus Day parade in New York City. Toscano performed the National Anthem at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in Miami, Florida on November 20, 2011. She performed the National Anthem before every Los Angeles Kings home game in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Toscano recorded a duet of "The Christmas Song" with Il Volo for their EP Christmas Favorites, which was released on November 21, 2011.
On November 27, 2011, Toscano appeared on Disney's So Random!, where she performed her single "This Time".
Toscano also co-wrote the song "Wrecking Ball" with Steven Miller for Aubrey O'Day, which was released on April 23, 2012.[citation needed]
| Year |
Video |
| 2011 |
"This Time" |
- ^ a b "Pia Toscano Signs Record Deal". 1250 WTMA. ABC News Radio. http://www.wtma.com/rssItem.asp?feedid=115&itemid=29682407. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
- ^ Mansfield, Brian (April 7, 2011). "Nobody saw this coming: An 'American Idol' shocker". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2011/04/an-american-idol-shocker/1. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ Melisurgo, Len (April 7, 2011). "'American Idol' shocker: Favorite Pia Toscano eliminated from show". The Star Ledger. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2011/04/american_idol_shocker_favorite.html. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (2011-04-08). "Was Pia Toscano's Exit The Most Shocking In 'American Idol' History?". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1661617/pia-toscano-american-idol.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ "Pia Toscano : News". People. http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:PiaToscano,00.html. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ "From Howard Beach to Hollywood: Chasing the Dream". The Forum South and West. February 24, 2011. http://forumnewsgroup.blogspot.com/2011/02/from-howard-beach-to-hollywood-chasing.html. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ "Howard Beach's Pia Toscano cracks American Idol's top 13". The Queens Courier. March 4, 2011. http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2011/03/05/news/top_stories/doc4d7012007ab0f600670473.txt. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
- ^ Daly, Michael (April 10, 2011). "Pia Toscano may have lost on 'American Idol,' but she won new respect for Queens neighborhood". New York: NY Daily News. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-04-10/local/29420287_1_new-park-pizzeria-work-ethic-national-anthem. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ a b "Queens-bred 'Idol' fave makes NY proud". New York Post. March 14, 2011. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/she_the_sing_of_queens_1CubFL0KWkXbRiZLdNfSzL#ixzz1GaFG5CCA. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Landor, Lee (July 30, 2008). "Singer Plans To Go From Shea Stadium To Stardom". The Queens Chronicle. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19881214&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574908&rfi=6. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Mets look for another anthem 'Idol'". Newsday.com. March 8, 2011. http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/mets-look-for-another-anthem-idol-1.2745177. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
- ^ "Pia Toscano - New York Mets National Anthem". United States. July 8, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da_A4XitJqU. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
- ^ Gustafson, Anna (March 10, 2011). "Howard Beach goes ga-ga for Pia". Queens Chronicle. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20457619&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574908&rfi=6. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Pia Toscano, American Idol's New York Spark". MyFox New York. March 7, 2011. http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/queens/pia-toscano-american-idol-who-is-dpgoha-20110307-fc1299526893089. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
- ^ "http://twitter.com/#!/PToscanoAI10/status/94220582996017152". http://twitter.com/#!/PToscanoAI10/status/94220582996017152.
- ^ Halperin, Shirley (July 5, 2011). "'American Idol's' Pia Toscano Signs With Interscope Records". hollywoodreporter.com. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/idol-worship/american-idols-pia-toscano-signs-208053. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ "Pia Toscano Talks to Damon Backstage at the GRAMMYS". 96.5 TIC. February 9, 2012. http://965tic.radio.com/2012/02/09/pia-toscano-talks-to-damon-backstage-at-the-grammys.
- ^ "Four for Friday: Idols get management deals and more". USA Today. 2011-06-24. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2011/06/five-for-friday/1. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ "#5". 1250 WTMA. Billboard. http://idolforums.com/index.php?showtopic=671857&st=220. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
