GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Maui residents gathered at the International House of Pancakes in Kahului last night to cheer on restaurant waitress Camile Velasco on "American Idol." Residents interviewed last night said they enjoyed her performance and hoped she would continue singing on the program next week.
Hawaii ‘Idols’ bring
fire back to performances
Backed by a Motown house band, "American Idol's" final 10 contestants aimed to impress the judges by putting their own spin on classics from the fabled Detroit record label.
First up to bat was Maui entrant Camile Velasco, who was noticeably more animated than in previous performances, imploring the crowd on hand to "give it up for the band" before launching into "For Once in My Life," made famous by both Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder.
Despite earning cheers from the studio audience, Velasco reaped mixed reviews from the panel.
"For me, it was all right, man. You had a rough ending," said Randy Jackson, whose comments immediately drew boos from the audience. "It was very pitchy in and out. It was a good song you chose, but it wasn't your best performance."
"Man, do you have wax in your ears tonight," said judge Paula Abdul as she chided Jackson, to a hearty round of applause. "Camile, I think that this is your best performance. You're having fun. Bravo."
Guest judges Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, of the R&B duo Ashford & Simpson, had equally kind words for the Maui girl.
"I loved your energy, I loved the sound of your voice and most of all, I love your eyes, how you pulled me into it," Ashford remarked.
"Oh really?" joked Simpson, his wife, with mock jealousy, before adding her own valuation. "Great," Simpson concluded.
"Average, Camile," said Simon Cowell, dropping a bomb on Velasco. "I think you have one more week in this competition. You just didn't raise the bar."
Meanwhile, at Camile country on Maui -- the International House of Pancakes -- scores of people who watched Velasco on "American Idol" said they thought she did better than last week. Velasco works at the Kahului restaurant.
Pastora Monces, a Kahului resident and frequent IHOP customer, said: "She was on fire tonight. She did real good. Tonight, she woke up the world."
Hailey Bonafacio of Wailuku said: "I support her all the way. I think she did good. I like the song she picked. I'm going to vote for her."
Hawaii's other "Idol" contestant, Jasmine Trias, was the consummate show-woman, sauntering over to one edge of the stage to sing a few lines of "You're All I Need to Get By" to a member of the band before gliding back to center stage to address the audience and judges.
"I'll say one thing: It was a great last note," Jackson remarked. "Other than that, it was a little pitchy."
"I'm not hearing what he's hearing tonight, I'm really not," Abdul said. "You're effortless, you know? And you're beautiful."
Ashford enthused, "First of all, I really love your voice and, having written the song, you did a great rendition of that."
Cowell offered: "Jasmine, I think last week you were bland. I think this week you brought back what we love about you."
Tonight, as with every Wednesday evening until the show's May 25 finale, the contestant earning the least votes will be eliminated from the contest. The show will air locally at 7:30 p.m. on KHONFox 2.
Star-Bulletin reporter Gary Kubota contributed to this story.
