Maui deejay
makes first
‘Idol’ cut

WAILUKU » A Maui woman is among 193 hopefuls chosen to audition in Hollywood for Fox TV's "American Idol" show.

Alysha Matsuura: Island reggae disc jockey "Alize" sang as a student at Maui High

Alysha Matsuura, 26, a Pacific Radio Group announcer on "Da Jam" KJMD 98.3 FM, was selected during auditions in San Francisco.

Matsuura, a 1996 graduate of Maui High School, and the other 192 will be performing at auditions in Hollywood for two weeks, starting next week.

"American Idol" will have a Hollywood semifinal round airing on Tuesday and a final round on Feb. 15.

Thereafter, judges will make their selection, whittling down the Hollywood hopefuls to 24 semifinalists -- 12 female and 12 male.

On Feb. 22 and March 1, contestants are scheduled to perform and compete to become America's favorite vocalist.

After each competition, the American public votes for their favorite performers, with the results revealed live.

Two male and two female contestants who receive the fewest votes each week will be eliminated from the competition.

Matsuura is the daughter of Maui County liquor control inspector Harry Matsuura and his wife, Valerie, who works in the parts department at Cutter Automotive Center in Kahului.

Matsuura said she and her parents signed a contract that prevents them from giving interviews unless they are approved by "American Idol."

"American Idol" has declined to release information about Matsuura because the competition is in the preliminary stage.

At the radio station where she has been working for about a year, Matsuura goes by the entertainment name "Alize."

The station is known for its rhythmic top-40 island/reggae sound.

"She's awesome," said station program director Neldon "AZD" Mamuad.

Mamuad said Matsuura has a great voice and that she's been doing well working from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Her aunt Coreen Nater said Matsuura sings often at family gatherings.

Nater said Matsuura's grandparents Hymie and Juanita Felicilda also sing at parties and have encouraged her to be a singer.

"They're the ones who got her to sing at family festivities," Nater said.

Relatives said Matsuura and her father enjoy singing karaoke.

Laurie Felicilda, another aunt, said Matsuura has the drive to succeed.

"She's a confident competitor," said Felicilda, who works at Accents Hair Design.

At Maui High, Matsuura joined a number of student clubs, and many of the teachers remember her being selected to represent the school in a "Brown Bags to Stardom" contest in the mid-1990s.

Matsuura sang before a crowd of about 200 people at the school's semiformal Winter Fantasy Ball at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in 1995. She was a cheerleader and member of the Maui High Peer Mediation Club.

Maui High principal Randy Yamanuha said Matsuura was a good student.

"She was very well liked," he said.