Ypulse Essentials: Pia Toscano May Have Won, Get Your Degree In App Building, Webby Nominees

Pia Toscano (might have lost “American Idol,” but she may have won the game. After all, many non-winners have become top sellers. Rumors swirl that the ousted crowd favorite has already scored a recording contract. In other reality TV news, Paula Abdul might be crazy — crazy like a fox! Her new website AuditionBooth lets contestants try out for reality shows via webcam) (Salon, day pass required) (Billboard) (New York Magazine) (Pop Candy)

- College computer geeks (can now get a degree in app development from Rasmussen University. Just another sign how critical a role mobile devices will play in the future. And perhaps this will keep students from dropping out of school to pursue their tech dreams) (All Things Digital) (Gawker)

- Webby award nominees (were announced yesterday and include Justin Bieber for his takeover of Funny Or Die, Angry Birds for best mobile game, and Arcade Fire for their video for “We Used To Wait”) (Reuters)

- Britney Spears scored (yet another Billboard #1 with her “Femme Fatale” album, due in part to a social buying strategy a la Groupon. A former Billboard chart topper, Green Day’s “American Idiot,” will become a movie based on the Broadway play, which ends its run April 24) (Mashable) (MTV)

- MySpace’s revenue slump (continues with the site expecting just over $100 million in revenues for the year ending June 2011, which doesn’t come anywhere near covering its operating costs of $275 million. In other social media news, Facebook has been bested by Vevo in video viewership) (TechCrunch) (Nielsen)

- Can’t make it to Coachella this weekend? (You can still see performances by The Black Keys, The National, Interpol and Mumford and Sons from the [non-muddy] comfort of your own home via YouTube) (Paste)

- Disney star Ashley Tisdale (poses nude for Allure to make the point that she’s not the little girl that everyone thinks she is. This just as Disney is releasing High School Musical spinoff Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure on DVD. Maybe the 25-year-old should stop playing teenagers if she doesn’t want people to think she’s a teenager rather than posing nude? In other grown-up former Disney star news, Lindsay Lohan may be returning to the big screen in the John Gotti biopic Gotti: Three Generations) (BuzzFeed) (Cynopsis) (Hollywood Reporter)