Video - Pia Toscano Performs First Single "This Time" on SYTYCD

Our favorite American Idol contestant Pia Toscano belted out her first new single last night on “So You Think You Can Dance” – and she nailed it.

It is Toscano’s first single since being voted off the show in an early and controversial vote.

Her early elimination over Stefano Langone sparked a grassroots effort to have her reinstated by angry fans who felt she had been voted out too early.

Since then, Pia has amassed a huge following of fans who have been anxious to hear her new material.

After leaving American Idol, Pia was quickly signed to Jimmy Iovine’s Interscope records and started working with other talented artists in preparation for her first album.

Interscope says,

“Pia has been working with several artists and producers including Rock Mafia and is proud of her first single ‘This Time’. We look forward to a long relationship with Pia, and other Idol contestants.”

Pia has told reporters that she plans to have her first album out by years end and says it will be a big, diva sounding record.

Watch Pia Toscano sing “This Time” on SYTYCD


We were impressed with Pia’s first major performance and if this is any indication of what we can expect from her new album we will buy it.

We really missed not seeing her compete up to the end of American Idol, and were not surprised to hear that her and Stefano may have had more than, let’s say a business relationship during the show.

Related: Pia Toscano and Stefano Langone Entangled In American Idol Drama Off the Set.

Whatever you say about American Idol, Simon Cowell, or the new judges, last season produced more hit makers and was so much more fun to watch than previous seasons - a huge improvement.

We can’t wait till the next season!

Go Pia!

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American Idol’s Pia Toscano Finally Signs Record Deal with Jimmy Iovine and Interscope Records

American Idol contestant Pia Toscano can finally say she has a record deal.

After Pia’s shocking elimination from American Idol it was announced that she had signed a record deal but her reps later said it was all just rumor.

Today, Jimmy Iovine and his Interscope Records announced that Pia Toscano has officially signed to the label and is now under management with Red Light Management.

Ex-Idol contestants Haley Reinhart and James Durbin are also under contract with Red Light.

Related: Did AI’s James Durbin Really Get Arrested?

Toscano’s first single, “This Time” has already been recorded and is set to release on July 15, 2011.

“Pia has been working with several artists and producers including Rock Mafia and is proud of her first single “This Time”. We look forward to a long relationship with Pia, and other Idol contestants.”

Pia was a viewer favorite before being booted from the show before Stefano Langone. There were also subsequent tales of a romance between the two.

Related: Pia and Stefano share off-set excitement

If you recall, Jimmy Iovine played a crucial role in last season’s Idol competition. It was speculated that any good talent would be snapped up by his Interscope records after the season was completed.

Pia told reporters after the announcement,

"I'm looking forward to working with him and everyone at Interscope Records and 19 Recordings. This is a dream come true."

She also said she will have a new album out before the end of the year and it will be a “huge, big diva sounding album.”

Watch Pia Toscano and Lauren Alaina Backstage Interview


Jimmy Iovine and Interscope also represent 50 Cent, Travis Barker, The Black Eyed Peas, Greyson Chance, Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Fergie, Lady Gaga, new Kids on the Block, Pussycat Dolls, Soulja Boy, Sting, Timbaland, U2, Will.i.am, and others.

Pia seems to be in good company with Jimmy and we can’t wait to hear what she has to bring to the table.

Go get ‘em Pia.

Follow InfoStar on Twitter – Jimmy said it was ok

Does Stefano Langone Have a Record Deal Yet? Pia Toscano Got One… Is He Gay? Can He Play Piano?

Lots of fans are talking about Stefano Langone these days.

And they are all asking the same questions:

Does he have a record deal yet? Does he really play piano and guitar? Did he hold back on American Idol? Did he really admit to being gay?

Ever since Stefano told reporters he was intentionally holding back during his American Idol performances, viewers have been wondering when he will be signed to a record contract.

Langone, 21, shocked the world when he told reporters that he is using his Idol experience as “star school”, and was planning to release his “swag” on the general public with his first album after the summer tour.

Most critics are saying it is just a matter of DAYS before he announces a record deal. Remember what happened to Pia Toscano?

Within 24 hours of Pia being eliminated she had a record deal with Interscope Records and is already working on her first single.

Related: Pia Toscano signs record deal with Interscope Records

Stefano has been dealing with the media as if he is already the next big sensation telling reporters,

“I held back on purpose. Idol is not my style. I didn’t want viewers to see me play the guitar or piano because I am waiting to show them my passion and skills on my first album”

Langone says he knew he would never be the Idol winner so instead he has used the exposure to network and prepare to launch his own career.

He says that during the American Idol Summer Tour he plans to show audiences how good he really is.

There is also speculation that Langone will appear on the Jay Leno show this week and will be asked about not only a record deal, but also about getting arrested for DUI in 2010, and rumors that he is gay.

Another Idol, Jacob Lusk, has also admitted to being arrested but feels it won’t jeopardize his chances at winning. Jacob has admitted to being gay.

Related: American Idol Jacob Lusk Arrested in L.A.

Stefano says he has a “man crush” on fellow contestant James Durbin, and has even agreed to be his best man at his wedding, but also says he is single and hanging out with the ladies – taking it all in saying, “I’m not gay”.

Who do you think is going home this week?

American Idol’s Jacob Lusk Arrested in L.A. – Mug Shot

This is the story about how American Idol power singer Jacob Lusk was almost NOT a contestant on the popular show.

It seems that back in November, the day after Jacob received his golden ticket to Hollywood, he was arrested in Los Angeles for not paying for a subway ticket.

Lusk, 24, was arrested back in April 2009 for the offense and decided to blow off his court appearance hoping the problem would just go away. It didn’t.

Last November after auditioning for American Idol, Lusk was pulled over in L.A. for a routine traffic stop and the cop saw he had an outstanding warrant for not showing up in court back in 2009 and was arrested.

After spending the night in jail, Lusk appeared before a judge and pleaded guilty to “failure to appear” and was sentenced to three days in Jail and two years of supervised probation.

The problem? American Idol does not allow contestants to compete if they are on probation.

So after serving his three days in jail, Lusk made an appointment with the Judge and explained his situation and begged his honor to terminate the probation so he could compete on Idol.

Thankfully, the Judge agreed and terminated Jacob’s probation allowing him to compete on season 10.

Lusk also tells a story about being in jail and explaining to the other inmates about his Idol journey and they all wanted to hear him sing. So Lusk belted out a song that was heard by over 150 inmates – and the guards.

Lusk is one of the favorites this season and has gained a strong fan following. One of his largest followings? The gay community.

While Jacob has not openly admitted to being gay, several individuals who know the singer say he is very much gay – and okay with it. Just watching him move on stage you can see how someone might form that opinion. But his fans love him.

One fan commented,

“Jacob Lusk is gayer than Elton John and Clay Aiken put together. He's almost as gay as Ryan Seacrest”

Not that there is anything wrong with that…

Lusk has commented on the show that he has been through some very very hard times in his life, but with a voice like that we suspect greener pastures are in his future. You don’t have to be the first place winner to score big on Idol. Just ask Pia Toscano.

Pia scored a record contract with Jimmy Iovine and Interscope records just 48 hours after being voted off last week.

Related: Pia Toscano Signs Fast Record Deal

But in case people are questioning if Jacob should even still be in the competition… we submit to you this:

Watch Jacob Lusk sing Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror



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Pia Toscano and Stefano Langone Entangled In American Idol Drama Off the Set.

It seems that some American Idol fans were so upset when favorite Pia Toscano was voted off the show last week that a grassroots campaign has been launched on Pia’s behalf.

Fans think there was a great injustice done by keeping Stefano Langone in the competition, and have been calling and sending emails to producers at Fox saying that Pia should be brought back to the show.

They have also been bombarding Stefano’s email and twitter accounts telling him he should bow out and quit.

But before everybody gets too excited they should know that Pia just signed a record deal with Interscope Records – ran by Jimmy Iovine, who has also been acting as mentor for American Idol this season.

Interscope released a statement saying,

"Pia is being signed to a deal with Interscope Records who are rushing her into the studio to record an album ASAP. We have started calling every top songwriter and producer in town to get an album together and rush release it. Papers are being finalized. It's basically a done deal. She's signing. They rushed everything but she's so excited."

In addition to the album, Pia will also be touring with the other top ten finalists on the American Idol summer tour – so everything has worked out nicely for her.


But what I don’t understand is why everybody turned on poor Stefano? He is actually a pretty good singer.

I would have thought that before going after him, people would have set their sights on Scotty McCreery or Paul McDonald.

I suspect this week we will see one of them eliminated.

Iggy Pop Shocks American Idol – How Old Is This Guy Anyway?

Wow, it was not too long ago we watched as Casey Abrams almost collapsed on live television, but now the American Idol producers are trying to shock us with, well – shock rock.

That’s about the only way you can explain last night’s American Idol’s presentation featuring aged rocker Iggy Pop.

Iggy sang “Wild One”, wearing no shirt and the tightest jeans ever for a man of 63. That’s right – Iggy Pop is 63 years old and trying to perform on American Idol.

Pop began calling himself "Iggy" after his first band in high school, The Iguanas. But how could AI let him take off his shirt?

It was bad. It was worse than watching the “new” Rolling Stones. There was absolutely no soul to his voice and he moved around the stage like his hip might go out. His skin was flabby and looked like it was going to fall off any minute.

And I got to say, I think there were a few “Pitchy” spots, and the look on the judges faces spoke volumes.

In somewhat of a shocking announcement, Pia Toscano was voted out and her AI journey is now over.

That’s sad; she was one of the best. How has Paul ‘Rod Stewart’ McDonald and country boy Scotty McCreery been able to hang on so long?