American Idol

Pia says she thinks we gave her good advice when she was in our office last week -- stand next to someone famous to fuel the rumor mill.

Pia and Mark hit it off so well during their date in L.A. on Friday, that Mark invited Pia back to the West Coast for another round of tonsil hockey ... and TO MEET HIS MOTHER.

Manfred Westphal, who heads up communications for Fremantle (which produces "Idol"), tells TMZ, 19-year-old Ashley Kauffman and her party of 6 were some of the first audience members to arrive for the April 7, 2011 show. Westphal says, "Our audience coordinator explained they had 6 great seats on the floor; however, the seats were in 2 groups of 3."

Westphal says Kauffman and her party agreed to be split up. And, Westphal says, contrary to Kauffman's allegation, she was not sent alone to the back of the studio. Westphal says Kauffman and 2 others in her party were seated 4 rows behind their friends, "directly in camera shot, in some of the best seats in the house."

We're told before Pia was booted, America's votes put her in the murky middle -- she was never near the top of the heap. As one "A.I." spy put it, "It was only a matter of time before Pia was kicked off. She was never going to win."

And, our spies say, there are 5 remaining contestants who are "fairly consistently placing in the top 4." Our sources would not reveal who they are, but we have an educated guess as to 3 of them -- Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and James Durbin. As for the remaining 2, we're guessing Jacob Lusk and Casey Abrams.

As for Pia, don't feel bad. We're told the rumored record deal she has with Interscope Records is more than a rumor. We're told it's a "certainty" Pia will sign. And something else -- Jimmy Iovine will ignore the judges, who wanted Pia to sing some up-tempo songs. Jimmy, we're told, will go strictly for ballads.

Our spies say Pia is flying in from New York later in the day and will have several dates with Mark during her stay. And they've already scheduled an evening where Mark's mother, Shirley, will break bread with the "American Idol" castoff.

TMZ broke the story ... Pia and Mark had a hot date last Friday and sucked some serious face. Pia was angling to meet Mark for awhile, and slipped Mark her phone number using "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Chris Jericho as a go-between.

Mark, we're told, is "totally into Pia and thinks she's amazing."

As one spy told TMZ, "They're totally smitten."

TMZ broke the story ... Mark and Pia went on a dinner date in L.A. ... and now we know what they had for dessert -- a big, fat mouthful of each other.

After her overdose/suicide attempt last year, it's good to see 'Tasia back on her feet again.

Our "Idol" spies tell us hundreds of fans have been begging FOX to recognize the injustice of kicking Pia off the show, and bend the rules. It appears these fans are organized, because they come with a singular message -- Stefano has no chance of winning and therefore he should be removed now as a sacrificial lamb so Pia can come back.

We're told the fans have even reached out to Stefano ... pleading with him to remove himself from the competition.

As TMZ first reported, Pia and Mark went out on a date Friday night and it went real well ... so say our spies.

So here's how it went down. Pia and Mark both shoot their respective shows -- "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" -- on the CBS Television City lot in L.A.

We're told Pia had her eye on Mark for several weeks, but needed an introduction. So Pia -- who turns out is pretty resourceful -- has a friend who is friends with Jericho, a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars," Pia gave her friend a piece of paper with her phone number on it, who then passed it along to Jericho, who then passed it on to Mark.

Mark, we're told, was more than receptive. Even though he has an album coming out Tuesday -- he rescheduled a music video shoot so he could go on his big date on Friday.

They were both gussied up as they left Gulfstream restaurant in Century City, as Pia told us she -- like everyone else -- was surprised she got the "A.I." heave-ho.

Until Pia got the boot, they were both rehearsing and shooting their shows next to each other at CBS Television City in L.A.

The private gated 15,000 square foot home sits on a 2-acre compound -- and features a giant pool, one especially large room with a 28-foot ceiling ... basically marble everything ... and a "motor court" with enough room to park 100 CARS.

"Everyone was sobbing" after the show, says one of our "Idol" spies. We're told Pia was probably the most popular contestant among the contestants, and, "They were totally bummed out she was leaving."

The contestants -- sans Pia -- showed up for the "Kiss Off Dinner" at a restaurant in L.A. Pia made her entrance after everyone was seated ... followed by tears, more tears, and then one of the producers put it in perspective to make it all better, saying, "The point of 'Idol' is to launch careers. Pia, you're launched."

We're told Pia didn't check out of the "Idol" hotel last night, but she'll be out of there today.

UPDATE: Apparently, Pia ran out of tears, because earlier today she was seen out in L.A. with a big, fat smile on her face.

Question is ...

Multiple sources tell TMZ, former “Idol” contestants Chris Medina, Rob Bolin and Tim Halperin are hitting the road on a 5-city tour, spanning 4 states -- starting off in Toledo and ending in Chicago -- and the majority of the profits will go to benefit Medina's disabled fiancée.

According to sources, 95% of the money generated by the tour will be set aside for the Juliana Recovery Fund -- a charity set up to cover medical expenses for Medina’s fiancée Juliana ... who suffered severe brain damage after a horrific car accident in 2009.