Pia Toscano and Paul McDonald Have Mastered the Art of the American Idol Boot

Getting kicked off of American Idol sucks – you’ve lost your chance at the record deal prize offered up to the winner of the show. But every booted finalist’s role model is Jennifer Hudson, who rebounded from a surprise elimination in season 3 (eventual winner: Fantasia) to star in Dreamgirls and win an Oscar. The most recent bootees from this season of Idol, Pia Toscano (pictured) and Paul McDonald, clearly got a class in good PR. The strategy? Immediately hook up with someone famous so that your name stays out there.

Pia was kicked off last week, and although the judges said it wasn’t her time they were unable to save her and keep her around. Undeterred, she went out on a highly-publicized date with Dancing with the Stars pro Mark Ballas, and the paparazzi snapped photos of her shopping and “accidentally” running into her fans all over New York. And this week’s bootee, Paul, said in his exit interviews with the press that he is dating Twilight actress Nikki Reed. I wonder if they just happened to find really savvy publicists or if perhaps Jennifer Lopez gave them some behind-the-scenes expert advice. Either way, nice work, both of you!