JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM Jasmine Trias and Lincoln Jacobe of Hawaii Pacific Entertainment announce the release of her single, "Flying Away."

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Jasmine’s back,
and she’s taking wing

JASMINE Trias, who turned down a highly publicized attention-grabbing $100,000 offer from a local record label while "Jasmania" was at its peak last spring, will make her local debut as a recording artist with the release of a CD-single, "Flying Home," on Feb. 27.

The CD-single is being released as a special project produced by Kit Ebersbach and Pacific Music Productions for Trias' management team, Hawaii Pacific Entertainment, and the TD Food Group. It will be available as a promotional item exclusively at Hawaii Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Hawaii locations. The CD will sell for $1.99 with any purchase and will be available for drive-through and delivery orders as well as dine-in and carryout customers.

Trias introduced the pleasant, appealing pop tune, along with her new Hawaii Pizza Hut/Taco Bell Hawaii television commercial, yesterday during a mid-morning press conference at the Liliha Pizza Hut. Trias and her manager, Lincoln Jacobe, President and CEO of Hawaii Pacific Entertainment, explained that "Flying Home" is the first of several projects she's working on specifically for the Hawaii market. Trias has already recorded in the Philippines, singing in Tagalog as well as English, and is in the middle of recording an album in L.A. for national release.

With her "American Idol" and Philippines experiences to build on, Trias says she can handle stressful situations and the demands of being a celebrity better now than a year ago. It took a day to record the song, and another to do the editing and post-recording work.

Trias described the sound of her mainland project as "more hip-hop" than the material she and Jacobe see her doing for local consumption when she records and releases a full-length Hawaii-only project.

She says her longterm aim is to diversify "like J.Lo" and make films.

Leah Allen, field marketing director of the TD Food Group, said that 200,000 copies have been pressed and will be on hand for Trias' fans in 45 Hawaii Pizza Hut and 35 Taco Bell locations on the 27th.