Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Update:

Pia Toscano did it again.

She sang the national anthem Monday night and the Kings won, 4-0, to take a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

Pia has performed the anthem before every Kings’ home playoff game this year, and the team is on the verge of winning its first-ever Stanley Cup.

Game 4 is Wednesday night at the Staples Center.

Earlier blog:

The Los Angeles Kings will try to take a 3-0 edge in their Stanley Cup showdown with the New Jersey Devils tonight.

And why am I writing about the NHL playoffs in an American Idol blog?

Simple: Not only will Pia Toscano be standing center ice singing the national anthem before tonight’s game, she’s apparently become something of a good luck charm for the Kings.

According to NHL.com, it all started back in January, when Pia’s manager and longtime Kings fan Mark DiDia invited her to watch a game at the Staples Center in L.A. Pia inquired about singing the national anthem before a game.

She got the gig. Then was invited back.

And it seemed to work out that when she sings, the Kings win.

They’ve been winning a lot lately, advancing to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 19 years. On Saturday, they recorded their second straight overtime victory over the Devils.

Not bad for a team that entered the playoffs as the eighth and final seed from their division.

“The Kings are the underdog, and I feel like an underdog, too, so I feel like we’re the perfect fit,” said Pia, who finished ninth on Idol in Season 10 despite displaying one of the best voices on the show.

Shortly after her stint on Idol, Pia released a single called “This Time” that didn’t do very well.

Since then, she’s made a number of public appearances, posed for lots of attractive photos and done red carpet interviews for americanidol.com prior to the Season 11 finale.

But we’ve yet to get a release date for that debut album she’s been working on. And she wasn’t coughing one up during an interview with Wetpaint.com just before the Idol finale.

As for tonight’s national anthem appearance, you can watch live on NBCS.

But, if you miss it, the Pia fan site piafans.net has promised to post video ASAP.

Now, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Pia’s first performance of the anthem at a Kings’ game. Watch till the end for her explanation of her shoe-selection strategy.