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Dancing With the Stars Backstage Report: Pia Toscano Returns to Primetime
Power balladeer Pia Toscano may have been shown the door at American Idol, but one of the places that door leads is directly into the adjacent studio for Dancing With the Stars. Host Tom Bergeron announced on Tuesday night that Toscano — whose elimination was met with howls of protest — would be performing on next week's results show. That will be April 26th, less than three weeks since she left Idol. And she'll be performing with her new love connection: Dancing pro Mark Ballas...
Power balladeer Pia Toscano may have been shown the door at American Idol, but one of the places that door leads is directly into the adjacent studio for Dancing With the Stars.
Host Tom Bergeron announced on Tuesday night that Toscano — whose elimination was met with howls of protest — would be performing on next week's results show. That will be April 26th, less than three weeks since she left Idol. And she'll be performing with her new love connection: Dancing pro Mark Ballas. Toscano will be singing; Ballas will dance to her song with fellow pro Karina Smirnoff.
The announcement came as a complete surprise to Ballas, who was told by one of the producers on Tuesday night, right after Bergeron made his announcement. Ballas was totally in the dark. "We're not allowed to know stuff like that," says Ballas. "We get no say on Tuesdays. I can't go up to the producers and say, 'Hey, can we get John Mayer on the show next Tuesday?' I just got told after Tom announced it. And I was like, 'Oh, okay. Very cool.'"
So what will Toscano be singing? "I can't tell you the song," says Ballas. "It's probably going to be something slow and romantic." Translation: Standby for a rafter-rattling Toscano power ballad.
Ballas and Toscano were brought together by Dancing's Chris Jericho, who played matchmaker. Because the two shows are produced in the same building, cast members regularly run into each other in the hallways and outside at their trailers. "You should see us backstage," says Ballas' partner, Disney star Chelsea Kane. "It's so funny. We'll all be in the elevator and it's the Idols and the dancers."
Jericho has become good friends with Idol's James Durbin, a major wrestling fan. "I was just hanging out with James, watching him rehearse," says Jericho. "And Pia came up and said hi. We talked for three seconds and one of the first things out of her mouth was, 'I hope I meet Mark Ballas.' So I came back over here and asked Mark if he had a girlfriend and he said no. And I said, 'Hold on, I might be your best friend in 10 minutes.' I called James and said, 'Get Pia's number, ask her if she wants to give it to Mark.' She said yes. I gave it to him, and now they're doing great."