Maui resident Camile Velasco is back in Hawaii, resting up for the "American Idol" tour this summer.
Camile revitalizing
before ‘Idol’ tourThe Maui singing sensation is
enjoying some rest back home
WAILUKU >> Back in Hawaii and enjoying being with her family and friends, Camile Velasco is resting before plunging into an "American Idol" entertainment tour of the United States this summer.
Velasco, 18, finished ninth on the television show this year, and is learning about the craziness of being a celebrity, with people jumping to market unauthorized products of her on the Internet -- Camile Velasco T-shirts, trading cards, autograph cards, refrigerator magnets, reggae wristbands, and, oh yes, a Barbie.
"That's insane. That's crazy. It's amazing," said Velasco, a bit overwhelmed.
Velasco said she was waiting at a mall on Oahu recently when someone recognized her and pointed to his reggae wrist band -- the kind she wore while performing on "American Idol."
He said he kept it to remind him about her.
"I can't believe people wake up in the morning and give me a thought," she said. "It's really amazing."
Before entering the tryouts for "American Idol" last year in Hawaii, Velasco was working as a waitress at her mother's Kahului International House of Pancakes. She was saving her money, she said, with plans to move to Los Angeles and begin a songwriting and singing career.
Her appearance before some 25 million viewers weekly for about a month has put her career on the fast track and given her the kind of public exposure few beginners receive in the entertainment industry.
She and Oahu resident Jasmine Trias were among the 12 finalists to be included on the CD "American Idol3" released on Tuesday.
Her song on the CD, "And So You Come Back to Me," has that rhythm-and-blues dimension that appeals to her, although her first love is hip-hop music.
Velasco said the experience with "American Idol" has done a lot for her confidence and direction.
"It just made me realize that that's really what I want to do -- make music and sing for other people," Velasco said.
She hopes a year from now to be living in New York or Los Angeles and pursuing a entertainment career, but for now, she's looking forward to spending time at home composing music and finishing a 12-song album; she's already completed three songs.
Velasco said before "American Idol," she sang publicly about four times but never for money -- once at a birthday party and the other three on stage, sometimes as the vocalist in the opening act for entertainers from the Philippines.
Camile said she gets a little of her self-confidence and spirit from her mother, Rennie West, who went from being a manager at Taco Bell to putting together financing to buy the International House of Pancakes franchise in Kahului.
West moved her family from Makati City in metropolitan Manila, the Philippines, in 1987.
Camile said since her American Idol experience, she's learned to be patient and not take herself so seriously, to avoid receiving "negative energy," to have fun, to accept criticism to better herself, and to stay true to herself.
Velasco said it would be inappropriate to say anything bad about the American Idol judges.
"I just couldn't allow myself to do that," she said. "After all, these guys are the professionals."
Velasco, who was voted off the program on April 7, said the events involving American Idol have occurred so fast they seem like "a blink of an eye."
"I'd really like to say thank you to all the people of Hawaii who supported me," she said. "For the experience, I'm grateful forever."
