Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Pia Toscano appeared on Good Day New York this morning to perform … what else, “This Time,” her new single and a song that seems destined to set some sort of performed-most-often-on-TV record.

For American Idol fans, that wasn’t the big news to come from the Good Day appearance.

Asked about her early ouster from the show, Pia repeated what she’s been saying since going home in ninth place: That it’s all good, that she doesn’t hold a grudge against the show and that everything happens for a reason.

But she also added this: That by leaving the show so soon “I kind of got a head start on recording. I’m about nine songs in on the album right now.”

A release date: Probably November, Pia said.

Makes sense. The record company would certainly want to get the album on shelves in time for the holiday shopping season.

And it’s in keeping with the Interscope Geffen A&M Records group’s promise to make new music available from Idol finalists earlier this year.

Last year, we didn’t get a debut album from Lee DeWyze until Nov. 14, and runner-up Crystal Bowersox’s debut hit stores nearly a month later.

This year, both finalists will have albums out by mid-October.

Scotty McCreery has announced an Oct. 4 release for his album, called “Clear as Day.”  Lauren Alaina’s “Wildflower” will follow a week later.

If you missed those announcements, here’s what they had to say about their albums.

Scotty:  “Clear As Day is definitely country and it’s definitely me. It has some old country influences and elements, but it also has a contemporary feel with fun up-tempo songs. It’s a good mixture. You can hear some of the influences that I grew up with, like Hank Williams, Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard, but it still has a contemporary twist and feel that keeps it up to date.”

And Lauren:  “Wildflower is the perfect name for my first album. I would consider myself a wildflower because wildflowers are sweet, but then they have a little bit of spunk to them – they are “wildflowers.” I like to have a lot of fun and I’m really sassy, so I feel like a wildflower would be a good description of who I am as a person. I also recorded a song on this album called “She’s a Wildflower.”

Now, once again, Pia performing “This Time,” complete with her Good Day interview.