There was much talk heating up the Internet following Pia Toscano’s surprise exit on American Idol. Outraged, many New Yorkers (Pia is from Howard Beach, N.Y.) said they would no longer watch the show–or at least not for the remainder of this season.

But, no matter. The latest Nielsen ratings are out and they feature the first Idol figures since Toscano left the show.

The Fox powerhouse took hold of the top two positions, actually bettering its own recent performances. Dancing With The Stars had been a consistent number two since returning.

For the number one showing Wednesday night, Idol estimated 1.8 million Fox 5/WNYW viewers with a 9.0 rating. As for the elimination show, it had 1.6 million with a 7.9.

Then came Dancing, in third place for Monday’s night performance (1.5 million/7.7) and fourth with 1.3 million WABC viewers and a 6.5 rating.

The rest of the Top 10 after the jump.

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In what was one of the biggest (and earliest) upsets in American Idol history, Howard Beach’s Pia Toscano was eliminated last night.  In the 9 a.m. hour of Good Day New York, the hometown girl, Toscano, was interviewed live from Los Angeles by Greg Kelly and Rosanna Scotto.

During the four-minute talk, the anchors showed how incredulous her elimination was.

“I’ve been consoling Greg all morning because he’s been hysterical about it,” Scotto said.

 ”Oh Pia, we are still very confused,” Kelly told Toscano. “You are clearly the  most talented person of the [group]. You’re tops. That was kind of the collective wisdom. Everybody really assumed you would win.”  

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