Raise your hand if you find yourself caught in a Friday morning haze of rage and disbelief after the unexpected elimination of Pia Toscano on last night‘s American Idol results show. (Yes, we see you, Jennifer Lopez.) Some of the remaining competitors were seemingly also struck by America sending one of the presumed frontrunners packing this early, taking to Twitter to share their reactions.
Stefano Lagone (who joined Toscano and Jacob Lusk in the bottom three Thursday night): “I don’t even know what to say right now… All I can say is it wasn’t right. And anyone that thinks they have a clue on how I feel or what I’m going thru as a PERSON, has NO idea…”
UPDATE [Lagone followed up this morning with new tweets]: Good morning everyone. Very very emotional night for me, for everyone I think. Jus want people to know I wasn’t upset about the reactions…Of the judges and audience….Or even what people are thinking or saying now. We create relationships with these people, closer bonds then people will ever know….It’s jus super tough… …And to my fans, thank you so much. I know you guys will be wit me whether I stay or not!You as well as me know what I’m capable of specially…After this competition! And that’s real! Much love always
Scott McCreery: “Really tough night. Yall let a good one go tnight america #speechless. But thnks for the votes n supprt. I appreciate it more than yall know”
Paul McDonald: “Good morning! Emotional night last night. So sad to see one of my best buds on the show @PToscanoAI10 go. She is such a talented singer.”
Lauren Alaina: I love u so much @PToscanoAI10 ! The bond we have will never be broken! Miss u ! Pialainer<3
Jennifer Lopez also tweeted her reaction: “I am truly sad. I can’t believe this happened. You have to vote for who you love! We will miss you @ptoscanoAI10 !!”
And Ryan Seacrest shared some behind-the-scenes details: “After we went off air no one in audience left their seat, everyone was in shock. Judges walked on stage to talk to her. @JLo was emotional…. If u don’t agree w/ the results on @AmericanIdol tonight, I remind u guys, U HAVE TO VOTE. Here’s how: http://bit.ly/hj1B8J“
For more contestant videos, photos, and Idol news, check out americanidol.com.
More:
'American Idol' exit Q&A: Pia Toscano tears up while discussing her 'amazing memories' from the show -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
'American Idol' recap: Why You Look So Sad? (April 8 )
'American Idol': What we didn't see on TV (April 8 )
Stefano seems like he has more survivor’s guilt than Private Ryan.
I had my TV turned way up during the results show, so I was barely able to catch Pia whispering “Earn this” into his ear right as the show signed off.
Well I was one of those milion guys in the bar wachin PIA,AND OOPS I FORGOT TO VOTE.BYE BYE BIRDY.
Too funny
agree
rofl…………
Never mind Pia, she is happy dating Mrk Ballas and has a record deal with Interscope of Jimmy Lovine. But im interested to know what she whispered to Stefano lol…
Let’s just forget about nationwide voting, we don’t have it for the Oscars or Grammys, why have it for Idol? It’s obvious that the voters are not capable of detecting talent, look at the last 2 years winners, where are they now? Adam Lambert is selling out, HE should have been the winner that year, for instance. Everyone knows that Paul is still around because of looks alone, the guy has a terrible voice.
I love how people keep saying, “You gotta vote for your favorites.” Yea, I did…and it wasn’t Pia. I’m sorry she’s leaving the show, but she’ll be fine.
This exactly. I voted for my favorites – not Pia – too.
I’m with you, Jenn. Pia may or may not have been the best singer, but that doesn’t mean she was everyone’s favorite. In fact, out of the top nine, I put her at #7 or #8… (I don’t love the tone of her voice, or her song choices, or her artificial sound-bites.)
Well…Kiki…I don’t like you.
@Michelle – Totally juvenile of me, but hahahahaha…best comment/reply ever.
Sounds like a gaggle of geese that like the Curly Haired Cretin or the Rod Stewart wannabe.
Pia certainly was better than a top 9 slot! Geez, people!
PS – The amount of $$$ you get from Idol on tour is based on where you finished. Pia got doubly screwed last night.
I’m OK with that.
No, Pia was not top 9, but she was not my fav. Oh, and I am a decent looking female with no hate for pretty females. In fact my fav is another female contestant that I find as pretty, if not as commonly pretty, but whose voice fantastic.
when they say “vote for your favourite” they really mean vote for the best, for those who truly deserve it!
Then that’s what they should say.
They mean vote for who THEY think is the best. But everybody is entitled to their own opinions. I personally find enjoyment (and beauty) in imperfection.
That’s all well and good that you’re voting for your favorites. But what about voting for the person — regardless of who it is — with the most talent.
Talent is often in eye of the beholder though. And often the person considered most talented is also the voters’ favourite.
Most talent? by what standard? She hits her high notes only in one way: body frozen, eye shut, face knoted. When she closes in she closes out the audience. Blame on her fans who now complain but did not vote or did not vote enough.
Whereas Paul finds all sorts of new and interesting ways NOT to hit his notes…
its a reality show/popularity contest…at no point is it about selecting the “most talented”
if that was the case, why even allow a popular voet and instead just let the judges pick the “most talented”?
i agree – it’s annoying how the judges and everyone seems to just assume that Pia left because people didn’t feel like she needed the votes cuz she was safe. Have they ever considered she is gone cuz people did not WANT to vote for her? we don’t know how many people voted last night so until we do, it’s a bit presumptuous to assume American wanted her to stay and the only reason she’s gone is cuz everyone forgot to vote for her.
Actually, they have considered that, and are terrified by the prospect that no one but 13 year old girls actually vote anymore, thus invalidating the entire contest. For example, see the last two cute, cuddly, non threatening winners and favorites of the tween set (Allen and Dewyze) flame out completely once off the show, while Lambert is selling out arenas.
I wanted to vote for her but I’m a parent and have other responsibilities unlike the kids who do the majority of the voting because they have the most free time. People are kidding themselves if they think the majority of the votes aren’t coming from kids. Are there really that many adults setting aside 2 hours for voting? Or do you really think the billions of votes they get are actually from billions of people?
Agreed. Technically she may have been the best singer, but she was about as exciting to watch as paint drying…besides, if people didn’t vote, they shouldn’t complain, eh?
So if you voted for your favorite, they aren’t talking to you. You *do* understand that, right?
I completely agree. I bet someone has already approached her with a record deal.
One of America Idol*S lead ins to last night show said that if your favorite is voted off, it*s all your fault. Really, Fox, really?
And you can believe that next week the judges will continue to insist that every one of them is equally AMAZING and IN IT TO WIN IT. They are fully responsible for Jacob and Stefano and Paul outlasting Pia.
You are absolutely right, Sara! Pia IS the next Jennifer Hudson…she’s , the COMPLETE PACKAGE, full of GRACE, CHARM, POISE, EXCELLENCE! Capable of winning GRAMMY’s & OSCARS! SHAMEFUL that America couldn’t see that…MORE shameful that the judges are giving kudos where they DON’T BELONG…ESPECIALLY to the GUYS….
So you’ve seen Pia act? I get the Jennifer Hudson comparision as far as contiuning to suceed despite being let go early on but seriously saying she’s capable of winning an OSCAR is a bit much.
I’m wtih you guys, it was awful that she’s out of the competition, she’ll do fine like Daughtry and JenHud, but with her out of the way, there’s not much fun to watch AI anymo, someone should send the boys home, like that Stefano Langone boy
I don’t know. Pia has a great voice, but a serious lack of charisma.I see her more as a studio singer.
ummm suzy how do u know she’s capable of winning oscars? have you ever seen her act … well other than those corny Ford commercials where they show maybe 10 sec of each contestant? i love Pia’s voice but let’s be honest – she’s as wooden as a board and with a personality to match it :S unless she’s been acting this whole time, then i think it’s safe to say she’s pretty boring and stiff in general.
I love how everyone points to Jennifer Hudson as the benchmark of having made it LOL She has had one major film role of note, and her music career is notorious for one underwhelming flameout after another. If it wasnt for Dreamgirls and Weight Watchers, J Hud would be flipping burgers at Wendys next to Doolittle.
Um, Hutchy, do you know how rare it is to win an Oscar?!?! (And this is coming from an Oscar junkie who keeps up with the hype regularly)…Major actors like Julianne Moore, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Laura Linney have never won Oscars…and that’s a VERY short list…the fact that a girl from a reality show contest who got voted off extremely prematurely has had this much success in the film industry is incredible, in my opinion. Not to mention she’s won a major Grammy for Best R&B Album.
I’m not quite getting all the comparisons between J-Hud and Pia. Pia has a lovely voice and can hit some high notes but J-Hud was DIVA on Idol, full of personality and stage presence, while PIA was pretty and nice but missing that spark that keeps an audience riveted. Doughtry was a born rock star on that stage, which translated into a great post Idol career. PIa will get a record deal of some sort but J-Lo was right, she needs to learns a lot about performing if she wants to be the next Celine. I think Lauren has a lot of potential, I love the tone of her voice, she seems to have faded from frontrunner status and hopefully Pia’s exit will motivate her to really step up her game.
Oscars? Emmys? Wow, that’s a lot to put on the shoulders of a girl who barely made it out of the top ten. I wouldn’t get that carried away.
Please clean out your ears. The judges *are* critical. They don’t love everything. Its called be constructive. Instead of saying “you suck” they actually tell the contestants what to work on. Pay attention.
You must have had wax in your own ears if you didn’t hear Steve praise Paul for NOT hitting notes in the past because it adds character. Constructive criticism would be to tell him to work on hitting the notes, not saying it’s okay or even great if he doesn’t.
You’re in the minority Zakry, most people be they industry insiders or regular people are saying the same thing about the judges offering little if any criticism.
I agree with you. the judges as professionals in the business need to guide the public. They just praise everyone even if they sound terrible. Pia is an amazingly talented singer and should have won!
Lets see if her album to be recorded with Interscope will top the Billboards before you cry a river here. stefano rocks.
Yes The Judges are there to JUDGE and nothing else but now we have a bunch of CHEERLEADERS Instead. They never once commented Jacob’s oversinging (he was my fave before but he has been getting worse and worse every week because the judges just refused to give constructive criticism so all he does is oversings!!!!) I’m done with this season BABY!!!
With all youngsters listening to so much of junk these days, someone like Pia comes along like a breath of pure fresh air. America got it wrong many times before and will keep doing so. Looking forward to supporting Pia’s real music career. I will be buying all her albums and hope to see her in concert. Go girl.
Well said Tenzin. I totally agree. She was a class act.
She could develop into a class act. Right now, the most emotion I saw out of her was when she was bounced. She has always presented like a Six Flags performer, even with that amazing voice.
Couldn’t agree more! Everyone that is saying crap about her listen to rap crap and think it’s music. This girl can sign and after all, this is a SINGING competition. The problem is, they encourage everyone to vote for their favorite instead of encouraging them to vote for the best singer. The judges screwed the pouch on this one by using the save to early. By doing that, the turned this contest into a popularity contest instead of a singing contest. This show has no validity any longer. Oh well, now will have to find something else to watch on Wednesday and Thursday night. Thank God it’s getting warmer out…..
Oaker55 – “This girl can sign and after all, this is a SINGING competition.”
No, it ISN’T a SINGING COMPETITION.
It is performers using an array of skills, including singing to get the liking and votes of home audience.
A judge or two, in a couple of seasons, stupidly asserted that Simon Fuller and the core basis of the AI program were wrong, and it wasn’t about performing skills or being a person viewers liked watching perform and liked the music of – it was “all about the notes”.
That led adulating sheep of a few now gone judges to say that since it was ALL about the notes – voters had a DUTY to elevate perfect note singing above all other factors – even if the performer made godawful or boring music and were personally wooden or repulsive.
Pia is now the perfect textbook on why perfect singing even with good looks is not enough. Enough to get past the auditions – but not enough to get past wooden performing skills, boring ballads, and showing no hint of personality to viewers.
I disagree. First, Oaker, no one will miss you or your inability to spell. Its “pooch.”
Secondly, Oaker did raise one good point. This is a singing competition. Whether Pia was classy or a raging b*tch on wheels makes no difference – we don’t know who these people are inside with the seconds we see them performing, yet we want to hang judgements on them. Its. So. Stupid.
I love Rihanna, but I doubt we would be friends if we met. That’s the point. I have many albums by artists who’s politics I disagree with, who I don’t think are very nice people, but as artists, I appreciate their ability to entertain me.
Too many idiots can’t separate the artist offering vs whether they “like” them with the limited info they are given.
Hey, EW, do we need a dozen frakking stories about this girl? Seriously? Did she cure cancer before she started on Idol? Did she broker peace in the Middle East? No? You’d never say by the reaction this crap is getting.
um, you’re on Entertainment Weekly’s site, not the site for Nobel Prize winners. Geez.
I was not aware that EW was the medium to express our opinions about the “Cancer curer” or the “Middle East Broker”! I think you may be looking for the Newsweek forum…this is ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. Get a clue Daisy.
These responses are funny daisy was being sarcastic saying she must’ve done something miraculous to get all this attention for losing and you guys thought daisy wanted that stuff covered when she’s just baffled at the attention.
She did something miraculous though. She got voted off even after Jacob’s mirror comment and Stefano’s double whammy of lack of personality and barely there singing. You can improve the stage presence as you get more practice and confidence but the voice, either you have it or you don’t.
Daisy is a do do and has such a lack of humor that it’s hard to tell!
I sort of agree with Daisy. I think she just chose the wrong descriptions. Maybe she should have said its not like Pia is already a legend like well Celine, Whitney or Maria (or Streisand, Aretha, Patti Labelle, or any other major diva, male or female). EW is overdoing it a bit.
I know very well where I am. I just never thought a cast off from a talent show would be a bigger story than ANYTHING ELSE. If she was so wonderful, how come people didn’t vote for her?
Because only teenage girls and bored housewives actually vote, and women are threatened by/jealous of other women. Hence, 5 women in a row being voted off this season.
Hutchy… yeah, right, if we had only horny teenage boys and balding, fat, middle-aged men voting Pia would have won even if she never sang a note. There will always be people who vote for the wrong reasons. But if someone is your favorite because you happen to truly like their style above someone else’s… then that’s a perfectly valid reason to vote for that person. Jacob is not getting votes from the “teeny-boppers” and “cougars” out there. I can guarantee you that. So there are some genuine fans (all ages, genders, races) who are keeping him in week after week. I just don’t think Pia’s fan base was passionate about her. Everybody agrees she has an amazing voice and is a beautiful woman.
actually, ew is being smart. look up at the upper right hand box “most talked about posts” — all about american idol/pia’s exit. it’s what people are clicking on/posting on the most out of all articles on their site.
The same comments that are in the half dozen or more stories about this girl could easily fit into one or two stories, you know.
EW made many articles about Thia leaving as if she was a demi goddess now. Naima and Thia were eliminated but not so much has been written about them. Im glad she is gone and stefano was saved.
She is very well spoken and soooooo gorgeous. (And a great singer). She’ll do fine.
I actually felt sorry for Stefano.They are all very talented, and Pia just didn’t get the votes. So what? I thought the judges were rude to Stefano
Me too. He’s getting thrown under the bus here. I wish he had been sent to safety before Jacob was so that Jacob would receive the actual deserved hate.
is hate ever deserved?
Yes. Hitler, Stalin, Milosevich, Idi Amin etc. Stefano and Jacob? NO
They don’t mean lieral hate. They mean the negative comments AKA hate. Gotta learn your slang. Ya know, “Stop hatin’ on him.” means “Stop saying mean things about him.”
To Huh: yes, those people deserve to be hated…. because they hated.
Especially considering JLo will lay the smack down on Randy and Steven if either dare to say a negative word about him. Her reaction surprised me since her boy was saved.
I can’t feel bad for Stefano. If he was female, he would not have even made it to this week. How about that “Hello” performance anyone? The guys have an unfair advantage on this show. He should suck it up because he is on borrowed time because his father gave him a Y chromosome.
That pretty much sums it up. If I was Haley or Lauren, I’d have my bags packed and ready. And how is the whole mansion thing going to work when there’s only 1 girl left? I’m assuming there’s chaperones. And no, I’m not implying the men are anything but respectful but still…awkward.
@Aly. I’m sure Lauren has a chaperone since she is only 16…I do agree it is kind of awkward being that young around all those guys…cause you know Haley will (unfortunately) leave before Lauren.
I felt bad for him too actually. He’s really exceptionally good. He’s just not got alot of pizazz.
Yes, they were really bashing stefano and favoring heavily Thia. But their favorite is Kaput, gone. i dont know what to say to these moronic judges.
Error: Pia not Thia.
I normally do not watch American Idol, but hooked this season. I have loved and supported Pia from the start. She is truley talented and has an amazing voice! I am outraged by Thursday night’s results. I have been religiously voting for her every week. I really hope and believe that she has a strong chance of getting a record deal in the future. I agree with those have already written that the judges are praising their boys.
…in a about a year Stefano will ask his Manager at Denny’s to leave early to go see a Pia concert.
LOL!
That’s rude. And really mean. Stefano is a great singer. Pia is too but there’s no need to take your anger out on Stefano. Grow up.
Good one. Most of these winners fade off after two years with a couple of exceptions.
Denny’s? Oh, I figured he’d be at the Ramada Inn lounge by the airport, splitting his time between bussing tables and dishing lounge-singer songs to drunk travelers with no taste.
I just have 2 words for this…Jennifer Hudson. We’ll be seeing PIA again, you can count on that.
I don’t like Stephano, but to blame the Pia thing on him is really lame dude
why Stefano is getting all the blame? If you want to blame anyone its Casey because he’s the one who used the save! Did anyone notice Haley looked kinda happy when Pia got booted?
Really its unfair to blame stefano. Its not his faul if more people voted for him than Pia. Stefanoooooooo goooooooooooooooo.
People, stefano was saved becuz he got more votes than Pia. damn…… people here so bullheaded.
I love you Pia!!!
This just KILLED American Idol…..It was already on life support with Simon leaving, but this teenie-bopper voting move just killed it.
I’ll bet my life ratings will be 1/4 less next week.
…and Haley’s still there!!! What a JOKE!!
Actually, Haley’s a really great singer, and does very difficult things with her voice. She’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but neither is Pia. They’re both great, and both have their fans.
And she’ll stay! She deserves to be there!
For many including me (given the results), Haley is better than Pia. If she stops too much of the growling and gets more confident, she will be amazing
Haley is incredible. And I agree with Kiki, she is probably the most vocally gifted out of the bunch…she does some crazy things with her voice that hardly anyone could pull off, but she does. She totally deserves to be there, and I’m glad America has started to realize that.
Haley has the pipes but more importantly, she’s got the natural artistry that Pia is phoning in. Pia is a technician.
I think Haley has emerged from the wild card spot with great performances, a very marketable jazz vocalist voice, now projecting joy and belief in herself to the audience.
I’ve voted for her last two weeks.
ABSOLUTELY….I’m done…this has turned into a POPULARITY contest, not a TALENT contest. Watch the ratings go down now. To Daisy and the others who chimed in…you are INCORRECT about the impact music actually has on people’s lives. I work in the area of trauma, critical care, and neurosurgery. It literally saves lives. It’s used in surgical suites, critical care units, MRI’s, and in geriatric units, just to name a FEW. It is called MUSIC THERAPY. And it is NOT elevator music…we need to use the music that the patient listens to, to “bring him back”. I’m not a music therapist, I’ve just had the dignity of seeing the power of what it does. So, PLEASE…keep your negative comments off the remarks…there’s no need.
“this has turned into a POPULARITY contest, not a TALENT contest.”
you’ve been fooling yourself if you ever thought AI was anything more than a popularity contest…
s lee stack – completely agree with you. this particular show has never been about finding the best artist/singer/performer…by design it has always been like voting for homecoming king or queen and the constant “vote for your favorite” doesn’t really do a lot to dispel this fact. personally, she’s not my cup of tea, but i could understand how some would like her particular performance style. let’s remember, eventually all but one will go home so next week will bring more outrage over yet another perceived injustice.
Beauty – check
Talent – check
Exciting – not so much..
I do not think Pia should have been voted out so early but although everyone I know who watches Idol agrees and really liked her, no one loved her enough to ever vote for her, even once. In the end she just didn’t ignite that passion in people to make them want to vote for her. Luckily with Idol you don’t have to win to be super successful, Pia will be fine.
Agreed.
totally agree.
The main standard of igniting passion on Idol is being a guy. She did not stand a chance when people are too busy voting on who is they are attracted too. The only diffence between Stefano and Pia is that she is a better singer, but he has a Y chromosome and is not ugly. And we have seen what the voters value more. This show is a joke.
as Eternal Clementine said
Beauty – check
Talent – check
Exciting – not so much
Really good singer but she is dead on stage singing the same old same old every week. The audience just got tried of it.
So, Anna… explain Jacob. I somehow don’t think he’s the star of very many crushes or fantasies. And to both Eternal Clementine and sam….the big problem with your list is that Beauty is first on it.
Stefano is really tough and he survived many eliminations. He will gonna win anyhow. stefanoooooooooo
Really, I’m not surprised to see Pia go. The girl can definitely sing, but she does not know how to move her body or dance and became boring to watch. She was like a pageant princess with very little personality dispalyed. Even her attempt at something up tempo, she was no Tina Turner and she actually turned the song into more of a ballad. She needed to connect with the audience when she walked around, not the judges.
And Lauren was no Arthea Franklin. So that doesn’t hold water.
I loved how Lauren sang about being ‘a natural woman’ while her hair was teased to high heaven and her face was covered in greasepaint.
I would argue that Carrie Underwood is like this, completely boring.
I’d say Katherine McPhee is a more apt comparison. Carrie has much more personality.
Agree= McPhee and Pia are a great comparison. Not big talents and no personality
@Diane Lux: Give me a break. So you thought Crystal moved around the stage well? You thought Lee moved around the stage well? You thought Casey moved around the stage well? And those were the Top 3 contestants of last year! Movement had nothing to do with Pia getting voted off. Inconsistent judging got Pia voted off. Pia got a little bit of criticism from the judges while hacks like Paul and Stefano got no criticism.
I agree that inconsistent judging has been a big problem in the past 1 to 2 weeks;however, more than Paul and Stefano, why not call out Jacob for his comment? It was a d*****bag comment. I don’t know who’s voting for him. Paul apparenlty has the VFTW vote, so he must have a lot of friends out there who don’t care if he preaches at them. I hope he leaves next week.
Pia is a class act. She will be a star, go onto to do big things. We will be talking about Pia 10-20 years from now.
I’m done with American Idol for good. These results were a joke. No way Pia should have even been in the bottom three last night. She has consistently been the best singer this year. In fact she has been the best singer AI has had in 10 years.
These judges are ridiculous, too. They should blame themselves as well, letting most of the contestant scrape through without constructive criticism when many of their performance have been lackuster and terrible. And they’ve had to find fault with Pia and the most they could come up with was “she’s not moving” on stage. What a joke.
Is there anyway SIMONE COWELL CAN GET PIA ON X-FACTOR? She’s he’s 5 million dollor winner. I HOPE TO GOD, SOMEONE IS FINDING A WAY TO GET HER ON THAT SHOW TO COMPETE. That’s what people need to be pushing for.
I’m guessing her life is locked up with American Idol until the summer concert series is over. Maybe in 2012 for X-Factor?
XFACTOR? I do not think so. Simon had already dismissed her TWICE before! This was her third attempt in American Idol. The girl is good, but that’s it, no more. She was not my favorite anyway.
Did Simon ever meet her? You realize that not everyone who auditions goes in front of the judges, right?
Simon dismiss her on Hollywood week before.