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Idols ready
for isles
Jasmine and Camile are
part of the 10-member
"AI" dream team
Ten American Idols swept into the Ala Moana Hotel conference room yesterday in aloha wear, smiles, leis and laughter to meet the media for their three sold-out concerts in the "Pop Tarts Presents American Idols Live!" tour, which begins tonight at the Blaisdell Center arena.
"Hi, how you all doin'?" said a grinning Fantasia Barrino, winner of this season's "American Idol" competition on Fox Television. "I've got to say it sure is great to be in Hawaii where we can have fun, fun, fun.
"This is such a dream."
Barrino sat beside other kids who sang their hearts out in the face of tear-inducing criticism, including Maui's Camile Velasco, George Huff, Amy Adams and John Stevens. At an adjacent table were Oahu's Jasmine Trias -- she took third this year -- second-place finisher Diana DeGarmo, Jennifer Hudson, Jon Peter Lewis and LaToya London.
Barrino wore a baseball cap sideways and a tie-dyed T-shirt. Trias was accompanied by her 7-year-old sister, Neolani, who sat quietly on big sis' lap during the news conference.
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The entertainers talked about their futures once this tour is over, personal growth from the "AI" experience, bonding, groupies, even diet tips. Huff gave his best effort to come across local, repeating several times "Mele Kalikimaka" and a few "manapuas." His sister worked for Disney with several Hawaiians, so she taught big brother the words before his trip here.
The tour has drawn light crowds in several markets and received mixed reviews. Highlights from previous concerts include Barrino's "Summertime," "I Believe" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours." Barrino, Diana DeGarmo and Jasmine Trias sing "When Doves Cry." George Huff sings "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and duets with Jennifer Hudson on "Nothing Compares 2 U." Amy Adams sing "Knock on Wood," and LaToya London, "Kiss."
After the "American Idol" Singapore concert next month, Trias will visit the Philippines for a possible TV appearance, meet with sponsors and visit family. She hasn't decided whether she'll move to Los Angeles to complete an album, but might commute.
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Velasco, after Singapore, will return briefly to her parent's Haiku, Maui, home, then head to Los Angeles to finish writing songs for an upcoming album while living with her grandmother.
Adams, of Bakersfield, Calif., following the Honolulu concerts, is getting married Monday on Waikiki Beach to her longtime boyfriend. She had planned to do some appearances on a Disney Channel TV show and on Nickelodeon, but, since she's three months pregnant, that part of her career is on hold, so she'll record an album instead as part of her "five-year plan."
Most of the Idol sentiments focused on what members of the group have meant to one another before and during this three month, 47-city tour.
"We are going to deeply miss one another deeply because we've been together for a long time," said London. "But I know we're all looking forward to our professional careers."
"Ditto everything she just said," Huff said. "And Mele Kalikimaka."
Velasco said "it's now up to us to make it happen, 'cause we're not going to be together no more."
Barrino said, "I know we'll see one another at the top."
As for staying healthy during the tour, many Idols credited Trias' inspiration as the "water queen."
"I never saw her without a bottle of water in her hand," Barrino said. "She drank five bottles in one sitting. I don't know how she didn't burst."
The key to staying alert and well was "lots of water, sleep and vitamins," Trias said. "I live in Hawaii, so I love water."
"And manapua," Huff said.
Velasco's plan is simple.
"I just wake up every morning, and I love life," said Velasco, 19. "It's a new city every day, and I'm so excited. ... It's all good."
Barrino said her "AI" exposure has given her more friends than she ever imagined.
"Everywhere I go, people stop me and say they feel they know me," she said.
The Idols plan to use their days in Hawaii jet-skiing, hitting the beach, surfing, visiting family, sleeping and meeting locals.
"I can't wait to sleep in my own bed," Trias said.
Velasco wants "to keep my tan going."
