Pia Toscano | |
|---|---|
 Toscano in March 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | October 14, 1988 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | piatoscanomusic |
Pia Toscano (born October 14, 1988) is an American singer. Toscano placed ninth on the tenth season of American Idol. In 2016, she released the EP Belong. Her debut album I'm Good was released on October 14, 2022.[2]
Toscano was born in New York City on October 14, 1988, to Jane and Pat Toscano, and grew up in Howard Beach, Queens.[3][4] Her father worked as a corporate executive.[5] She is of Italian descent.[6] 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.[7] Toscano was the official The Star-Spangled Banner 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 Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" for the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets' minor league team, several times a year for three years.[7] In addition, Toscano was the winner of the New York Mets annual "Anthem Search" competition in 2008 and was selected to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a July 2008 game.[8][9] Toscano has also opened for the Barenaked Ladies and performed with Josh Groban at Madison Square Garden.[10]
Prior to Idol, Toscano worked as a make-up artist[11] and as a wedding singer in a band called "Current Affair".[6] She cites her musical influences as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Etta James, and Luther Vandross.[11]
Toscano auditioned for Idol four times before. She made it through to Hollywood in season 6, but got cut during the first day of Hollywood. 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.
She was considered a frontrunner in the competition, and her elimination shocked judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler, all three of whom were visibly and vocally upset.[12][13] Some viewers and media outlets described Toscano's departure as one of the most shocking eliminations in American Idol history.[14][15] After Idol, Jennifer Lopez and David Foster helped guide her career.[16]
| Episode | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order # | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"[17] | Aretha Franklin | 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 |
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, Today 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. Toscano performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" 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 had officially signed with Interscope Records. Her debut single titled "This Time" premiered July 11 and was released digitally on July 13.[18] Toscano performed the single on So You Think You Can Dance on August 4, Good Morning America on August 12, and Live with Regis and Kelly on August 16. Toscano had worked with Rock Mafia on two songs titled "Counterfeit" and "Dreamgirl" for her then-upcoming album.[1]
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 Star-Spangled Banner" at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in Miami, Florida on November 20, 2011.
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 Channel'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.[19]
She performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before every Los Angeles Kings home game in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, the first two rounds of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, before the 2014–15 season opener on October 8, 2014, and before Game 2 of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On August 7, 2012, it was announced that Toscano met with the showrunners of Glee; however, the role she was auditioning for was re-written at the last minute, but the showrunners were hopeful that she would come back for a different role.[20]
On September 4, 2012, Toscano parted ways with Interscope Records and 19 Management and her debut album that she recorded would not be released.[citation needed] Toscano made her film debut in Grace Unplugged in 2013.[citation needed]
On May 30, 2014, Toscano began a six-date summer tour as a background singer for Jennifer Lopez, including appearances on Good Morning America and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[21][22]
In 2014, Toscano started a collaborative project 7East with singer-songwriter Jared Lee. A single, "I Don't Believe It", was released on October 7, 2014, with a video released on October 28.[23][24]
In 2015, her collaboration with DJ/producer Jenaux, "Renegades", was released on Enhanced Music.[25]
Toscano released two singles, "Pyro" and "You'll Be King", on April 7, 2016.[citation needed]
In 2017, Toscano joined David Foster's Hitman Tour as a regular featured performer.[26] In 2018, Toscano was a cast member on the music reality Westside.[27] In November 2018, Toscano began touring with Andrea Bocelli as a guest performer.[28]
On May 30, 2022, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" at the 33rd Annual Memorial Day Concert. Her debut album I'm Good was released on October 14, 2022.[2]
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| I'm Good[2] |
|
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Belong |
|
| Christmas with You |
|
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. [29] |
US Heat. [30] | |||
| 2011 | "This Time" | 4 | 16 | non-album single |
| 2014 | "I Don’t Believe It" (with Jared Lee; credited as 7EAST) |
– | – | |
| 2016 | "Pyro" | — | — | Belong |
| "You'll Be King" | — | — | ||
| 2017 | "Say You Won't Let Go" (James Arthur cover) |
– | – | non-album single |
| 2018 | "In My Blood" (Shawn Mendes cover) |
– | – | |
| 2019 | "Delicate" (Taylor Swift cover) |
– | – | |
| 2021 | "Brave (from The Great Artist)" (with Jon Altham and Matthew Postlethwaite) |
– | – | I'm Good |
| 2022 | "I'm Good" | — | — | |
| "Walk Through the Fire"[2] | — | — | ||
| 2023 | "Labor of Love"[31] | — | — | non-album single |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Renegades" (Jenaux featuring Pia Toscano) |
non-album single |
| 2016 | "Siren" (Vicetone featuring Pia Toscano)[32] |
Aurora[33] |
| 2017 | "Love Me Again" (Taylor Olson featuring Pia Toscano) |
non-album single |
| 2020 | "My Funny Valentine" (Sean Patrick Murray featuring Pia Toscano) | |
| 2021 | "#Wicked4Whitney" (Jared Jenkins and Michael Korte featuring Avery Wilson, Pia Toscano, George Lovett, Candice Boyd, Brooke Simpson and Sheléa) |
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "This Time" | Marc Klasfeld |
| 2015 | "Renegades" | Robert Styles |
| 2016 | "Siren" (Vicetone ft. Pia Toscano)[34] | |
| 2016 | "You'll Be King" | Robert Styles |
| 2020 | "Never Alone" (Emmanuel Kelly ft. Pia Toscano) (Paul Oakenfold & Varun Remix) | Henry Finn |
