New York lost the chance again last night for an “American Idol” winner.
Pia Toscano, a 22-year-old former wedding singer from Howard Beach, Queens, was voted off last night — a shocking turn for the performer many believed was destined to win this season’s competition on long-running hit Fox show.
“I’m never upset on this show and I never get mad,” said judge Randy Jackson after the stunning sendoff was announced. “But this makes me mad.”
Toscano smiled bravely at the news that she was being sent home after just four weeks of competition — but it was obvious she was stunned.
It was an outcome no one had predicted because the raven-haired singer had been so popular with fans. Even Las Vegas oddsmakers had installed her as the hands-down favorite to win “Idol” this season.
The judges were helpless to save Toscano from the ax because, two weeks earlier, they had used their once-a-season “save” option to give Casey Abrahms a reprieve after he had finished at the bottom of the popular vote.
Toscano, a graduate of La Guardia HS of the Performing Arts, the “Fame” high school on Manhattan’s West Side, had represented the best hope in 10 seasons of “Idol” for a New Yorker to win.
Pia and fellow contestant Stefano Langone, 22, from Washington state, were the bottom vote-getters this week. They clung to each other as host Ryan Seacrest read the final verdict.
Most fans were sure Stefano, who struggled to find his footing in the show’s first weeks this season, would be the one to go.
Women singers have always had trouble breaking through on “Idol,” experts say, because young female viewers, the show’s largest voting bloc, tend to support young males.
In the history of “Idol,” many singers eliminated early went on to stardom — including Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and rock musician Chris Daughtry.
But rarely has such a highly touted competitor been sent home this early in the voting. There are eight singers left in the competition.
“I try not to read a lot of stuff on the Internet,” Pia told The Post a few weeks ago after fans and oddsmakers installed her as the “Idol” front-runner. “But it’s a lot of pressure because every week you have to kind of outdo yourself and make sure you have a better performance.”
