Early life
Toscano was born on October 14, 1988, to Jane and Pat Toscano and grew up in Howard Beach, New York. Her father worked as a corporate executive. She is of Italian descent. 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. 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. 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. Toscano has also opened for the Barenaked Ladies and performed with Josh Groban at Madison Square Garden.
Prior to Idol, Toscano worked as a make-up artist and as a wedding singer in a band called "Current Affair". She cites her musical influences as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Etta James, and Luther Vandross.
American Idol
Toscano auditioned for Idol four times before. She made it through to Hollywood in season 6, but her journey ended there. 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.
Music Career
2011–present: First studio album
Following her elimination, Toscano appeared on several talk shows. She performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 8, 2011. She continued with 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, DC held on May 29, 2011. Less than 24 hours after being eliminated from American Idol, Toscano was reported to have signed a recording contract with Interscope Records. However, her representative said that chatter about a done deal was "all rumor," but confirmed that Interscope wanted to produce a single with Toscano and release it while the current season of Idol was still on. According to Billboard, Pia is hard at work on her debut album with producer Rodney Jerkins. In addition, Toscano has worked with Rock Mafia on two songs titled "Counterfeit" and "Dreamgirl".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. Total sales for the track remain at just 51,000.Toscano performed the single on So You Think You Can Dance on August 4, 2011, Good Morning America on August 12, followed by a performance on Live with Regis and Kelly on August 16. Toscano will release her debut album in the fall.
Toscano is currently being managed by Red Light Management, alongside fellow Idol contestants Haley Reinhart and James Durbin.
Toscano is currently touring with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, which began in West Valley City, Utah on July 6, 2011 and will end in Manila, Philippines on September 20, 2011.
Performances/results
Episode Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition Auditioner's Choice "Until You Come Back To Me"[15] Stevie Wonder N/A Advanced
Hollywood First Solo Not aired N/A N/A Advanced
Hollywood Group Performance "Grenade" Bruno Mars N/A Advanced
Hollywood Second Solo Not aired N/A N/A Advanced
Las Vegas Round Songs of The Beatles Group Performance "Can't Buy Me Love" The Beatles N/A Advanced
Hollywood Round Final Final Solo "Doesn't Mean Anything" Alicia Keys N/A Advanced
Top 24 (12 Females) Personal Choice "I'll Stand by You" The Pretenders 12 Advanced
Top 13 Your Personal Idol "All by Myself" Eric Carmen 5 Safe
Top 12 Year You Were Born "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" Whitney Houston 7 Safe
Top 11 Motown "All in Love Is Fair" Stevie Wonder 8 Safe
Top 111 Elton John "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" Elton John 4 Safe
Top 9 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame "River Deep – Mountain High" Ike & Tina Turner 7 Eliminated
^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Casey Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week.
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