Jasmine Trias waved to her fans as she departed Waikiki for her public reception last Friday. An original single that she recorded in Los Angeles will be released sometime after the finals of "American Idol" next week.
Isle ‘Idols’ are
keeping busyMore show-related appearances
are in store for Jasmine Trias
and Camile Velasco
Even though Jasmine Trias has made her exit from competition on "American Idol," television viewers haven't seen the last of her.
After Wednesday's show that determined Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo would advance to next week's finale at the Kodak Theatre, a two-hour special on Fox last night showed the Hawaii auditions where Trias and DeGarmo were discovered.
And Sunday night, there will be "American Idol: The Phenomenon," an overview of the show's first three seasons, culminating in this year's sometimes tumultuous competition.
In the meantime, according to Trias' vocal coach, William Daquioag, Trias is continuing her stay in Los Angeles, where she and the other eight finalists, including Maui's Camile Velasco, will sing on Tuesday's show.
From there, Daquioag said, Trias intends to return to Honolulu to join her fellow Maryknoll School classmates for their graduation ceremony June 4 at the Blaisdell Center concert hall.
Show producer Simon Lythgoe said during Trias' two-day visit last week that an original single she started work on in Los Angeles would be released sometime after the finals.
Velasco said she is relaxing at home on Maui and writing songs before returning to the mainland for the show's finale.
Velasco, who placed ninth in the competition, said she has written five songs and wants to complete 10 to 12 before producing a CD.
Velasco, who likes hip-hop music, described the songs as having a positive message.
"They're kind of helpful lyrics," she said.
Trias and Velasco will perform before fans in Hawaii on the American Idol 50-date summer tour, which features performances from all 10 finalists. The tour will end with two shows at the Blaisdell Center arena, Sept. 28 and 29. The tour starts July 14 in Salt Lake City.
The Hawaii concerts were announced Tuesday by co-promoter Tom Moffatt. All tickets will cost $48 and go on sale starting at 9 a.m. tomorrow at the arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations (including all Times Super Markets), online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at (877) 750-4400.
There will be an eight-ticket purchase limit per person.
Star-Bulletin reporter Gary Kubota contributed to this report.
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Jasmine’s run brought
pride to Philippines
MANILA >> It seems that nearly every Filipino is an aspiring singer, so when word spread that Jasmine Trias was crooning her way through the early rounds of “American Idol,” she became a source of pride for a country that hasn’t had much to cheer about recently.
While Trias, 17, was born and raised in Hawaii, her parents originally hail from the Philippines. Her success in reaching the “American Idol” semifinals sparked near-daily articles and photos in newspapers here. Internet chat rooms were filled with Filipinos cheering her on.
The weekly 6 p.m. broadcasts became must-see TV.
Then came a collective sigh of disappointment today as news programs announced that Trias, known for her perpetually sunny smile, had been eliminated.
“Of course we are disappointed. We were looking forward to her winning,” said Guillermo Trias, 70, uncle of Jasmine’s father, Rodolfo Trias Jr. “But we accept the decision and we are happy that she was able to get as far as the magic three.”
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s deputy spokesman, Ricardo Saludo, said Trias’ elimination was another disappointment following Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao’s controversial draw against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez.
“But it’s a great achievement certainly for Jasmine to reach as far as she did, in the same way that the fight that Pacquiao gave was credit to the country,” Saludo told reporters.
Des Buenaobra, 26, a corporate secretary at a Manila hotel, said she was rooting for Jasmine, but she and her officemates also recognized that Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo, who reached the final, may be better singers.
“As a Filipino I was hoping she would win and make us proud,” Buenaobra said. “But I think Filipinos could also accept that Jasmine would not win.”
“American Idol” is shown here on a one-week delay from its U.S. air time. So Guillermo Trias and his neighbors were still keeping their hopes up as they watched last night’s episode, in which Jasmine survived the final four.
About two dozen neighbors huddled close to a small television set at the elderly Trias’ mom-and-pop store in the coastal town of Tanza, 20 miles southwest of Manila, to watch Jasmine belt out songs.
Trias said he has seen Jasmine only in pictures, but has closely monitored her growth, and had been regularly updated by his brother Rodolfo Trias Sr., Jasmine’s grandfather.
Another relative, Melba Abad, said she has been clipping articles about Jasmine to make into a scrapbook.
Her children in Vancouver, Canada, had been following the competition closely and sending updates through cell phone text messages.
For Dan Dave Abad, 9, the “American Idol” contestant is a winner no matter where she finished.
“Jasmine is my idol,” he said.
