COURTESY TERRY ROWE
Camile Velasco is a shy kid at heart, her mother says, but displays a completely different personality onstage.
Maui's reluctant star
plans to belt out her best
in her "Idol" quest
This time, there's no way for Camile Velasco to shy away from the spotlight.
Tomorrow night, the 18-year-old from Haiku, Maui, will sing her heart out on "American Idol," for all of the country to see and judge -- and you can bet on a tsunami of phone calls from Hawaii as residents dial up Fox to cast votes for one of our own.
"American Idol": Airs at 7 p.m. tomorrow on KHON/Fox, with results announced at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
She and Hawaii's other two contestants, Jonah Moananu (appearing Feb. 24) and Jasmine Trias (March 2), will need as many votes as possible to get them to the next round in the singing competition.
Velasco arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon and was awakened by the show's publicist Thursday morning to start her rounds of media interviews.
In a sleepy voice, she reported that she was going to "relax, meditate, read and stay peaceful."
She seems to be taking her upcoming TV appearance in stride -- which is not bad, considering that she had to be prompted by family and friends to go to the third-season auditions on Oahu.
"The night before the auditions, I decided to try and flew from Maui to Honolulu. Seeing the 2,000 people gathered at Aloha Stadium was kind of intense and a little intimidating," she said. But by the time her audition took place that afternoon, she was ready to jump into the competition with her rendition of the Fugees' "Ready or Not."
Fugees alumna Lauryn Hill is just one of Velasco's many favorite hip-hop and rap artists, and she says she draws vocal inspiration from her CD collection.
FOX BROADCASTING
Camile Velasco is surrounded by the contestants who will join her in the next group of eight to perform on "American Idol." Clockwise from top, the other contestants are Matthew Rodgers, Jesus Roman, Marisa Joy Cloverdale, Briana Ramirez-Rial, Noel Roman, Lisa Leuschner and Kara Master.
There's a possibility that she will perform another of Hill's songs tomorrow night -- one of four choices -- but Velasco couldn't be specific because the publisher of one of the songs had yet to approve performing rights.
Velasco also writes her own songs and plays piano at her Maui home. Her 8-year-old sister, Divina, and her No. 1 fan, mother Rennie West, are with her in L.A. to lend support.
"She can be really shy, very private, but is still very friendly," West said of Velasco. "She's a completely different person when she's onstage.
"I'm definitely proud of my daughter ... and all this attention she's been getting didn't get into her head. But she's still just a little girl. ... I say this because when made she made the Top 32 group, I asked her, 'What can we get for you?' and she said, 'A jumping castle, so me and my friends can play in it!'
"I admire her for her strength," West said. "I remember singing back in the Philippines, and I certainly didn't have the strength she has at her age. When she found out that she made it to the round of 32, she started to cry and told me that she felt lucky and blessed but also sad for those who didn't make it.
"This will be a very good experience for her -- to prove to herself that she can take her love of singing to the next level or discover what needs to be done to get better."
"This whole experience has been awesome," Velasco said. "This group of singers is jam-packed with talent. There are a lot of different sounds this year, and everyone is so deserving. This will definitely be an interesting competition.
"And I've had so much support from not just friends and family, but the people of Hawaii as well."
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