DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM

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Eye in the idol

With her debut album, concerts and
a movie role on the way, Jasmine Trias
is breaking out

So you think you have Jasmine Trias all figured out as the sweet, poppy local girl who beat the odds to finish third on "American Idol" in 2004. That girl with the Pizza Hut single. But come tomorrow, when her self-titled debut album hits record stores worldwide, Hawaii and the nation might find it's time to give Trias a second look.

Jasmine Trias CD release party: 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow Place: Kapono's, Aloha Tower Marketplace Admission: Free Call: 536-2100, ext. 103 Trias also will appear at these events to promote her new CD: Tomorrow 10 a.m.: Tower Records Aiea Noon: Borders, Waikele 2 p.m.: Tower Records, Kahala 4 p.m.: Tower Records, Keeaumoku Wednesday 11 a.m.: Wal-Mart, Keeaumoku 1:30 p.m.: Kmart, Nimitz 5:30 p.m.: Borders Express, Pearlridge Thursday 10 a.m.: Costco, Iwilei 1 p.m.: Costco, Waipio

"I think a lot of people think of me that way," Trias said, considering her public image during a lunch interview at Palomino last week. As she spoke, her publicists were handling by cell phone last-minute arrangements for television interviews, radio spots and the general logistics involved in promoting an album.

Trias describes the recording as "a reinvention."

"People -- not only just in Hawaii, but all over the rest of the U.S. -- kind of underestimate me. I was like the underdog on the show. Now (that I'm) coming out with an album, people are just like, 'What is she all about?' Now they'll know."

Anyone expecting fluffy light local pop will be pleasantly surprised to find that Trias makes an effective first impression as a contemporary R&B/urban diva-ette. Almost every song would fit perfectly on that format of radio station anywhere in the country.

"We went R&B because I've been growing up with R&B my whole life -- that soulful kind of music -- and I thought it was the best direction for me to go in. Pop is OK, but I don't think it would have been the best choice for me."

Trias wanted to be home for the national release so she could celebrate with loyal fans here first. She's doing a free all-ages show at Kapono's tomorrow at 6 p.m. and will autograph copies of the album until 9. It will be the end of a long day that will include calls or visits to local radio and television stations, and autograph sessions at several major record stores.

By the end of the week, Trias will be on the road promoting the album on the West Coast and in Canada and the Philippines. She also plans a bigger show here and a series of performances on the neighbor islands later this year.

Trias' status as an "American Idol" alumna should boost her chances of getting a hearing from the corporate power brokers who decide which new artists get play on thousands of radio stations.

By any measure, tomorrow will be a big day in what has already been a big year. Trias' first single in Hawaii, "Flying Home," released in February as co-promotion with Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, helped maintain her high profile after the initial wave of "Jazmania" had subsided. Coming up is her first feature film, "All Girl Band," in which she'll play a singer/drummer in a Go-Go's/Bangles-style group fronted by the Duff sisters.

Back to the album, Trias has several favorites.

"'Excuses' is one of them. Lyrically it's very powerful ... and has a lot of meaning to it. Musically it's great. I love how the music flows, and it just really captures you. And 'All I Need' -- I sang that one on 'American Idol' also for Motown Week/Ashford & Simpson Week, (but) on the album I did it a little differently with more of a club version."

Trias' "American Idol" fans will applaud the decision to include one song outside the R&B/urban format. "'Inseparable' was the first song I sang as a Top 12 finalist ... the first time I stepped on that stage, so that was a pretty memorable moment for me," Trias says.

"Inseparable" remains one of Trias' all-time favorites.

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Before lunch at Palomino Restaurant, Jasmine Trias took time to pose with brothers and sisters Keaka, left, Kaimi, Kanoe and Keahi Grisman-Key.

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The "American Idol" experience provided a crash course in dealing with the stress that comes with being a young celebrity, Trias says. "It made me more comfortable around the press, media and a bunch of people. ... It also prepared me for the recording experience, because every week we had to record the track or the song that we were going to do that week ... and also we had to learn choreography. A lot of it we had to learn quick."

Trias is more outspoken than she was even a few months ago. For instance, she says that her alliance with Pizza Hut and Taco Bell kept her in the public eye but that the song and the marketing left people confused about her image.

Many thought "Flying Home" was the first single from her album and didn't understand why it was selling at fast-food restaurants and not at record stores, she says. "Now, with this album, I have to put my foot on the ground and let people know that this me, this is the real Jasmine Trias. Moving on."

Trias has also been "moving on" in learning conversational Tagalog. She recorded two Tagalog songs in the Philippines and found it difficult to put her emotions fully into lyrics she didn't understand. Equally important, she says, as a Filipino American she wants to be fluent.

"My mom and my relatives are helping me get comfortable with the language, but it's still kind of tough. I can understand but speaking it is totally different. ... But I'm getting there."

All things considered, Trias is ready for national and international success above and beyond "American Idol."

There is no one to represent Asians on the national music charts the way Jennifer Lopez does for Latinas, she says, "and that makes me even more motivated to just keep on going and not only to pursue music, but also to be representative of that ethnicity and Hawaii, and be an inspiration."

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BACK TO TOP
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Trias shows she’s ready
to move up

One of the biggest hurdles local performers face when aiming for national success is making that huge step up from local pop or Jawaiian to match the work of big-name hit makers. Jasmine Trias does that here.

"Jasmine Trias" Jasmine Trias (ClockWork Entertainment)

Trias' renditions of two familiar "oldies" reaffirm the timeless impact of songs with traditional verses and pop-music hooks. The others show that Trias is ready to compete with the nation's top contemporary R&B/urban and pop singers. In short, where Brandy and J.Lo have gone, Trias is equally qualified to go.

While several other local acts have tried and failed to make the national Hot 100 and Pop Album charts, Trias' debut has the right stuff to get her there.

An imaginative reworking of Mary J. Blige's remake of "You're All I Need to Get By" stands out. The emotion of the original 1968 Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hit comes through convincingly. The multilayered blending of music tracks and sound bites wrapped around Trias' seductive voice adds a fresh, contemporary feel. A guest rapper's references to Hawaii helps personalize it and remind the listener that there is something special here.

Trias' straight pop copy of "Inseparable" will appeal to anyone unfamiliar with Natalie Cole's 1975 hit.

Trias and her producers keep the mood mellow for the most part and quickly establish her seductive appeal on songs that address almost all aspects of love's ups and downs. With "Excuses," she dismisses a guy who has proved himself unworthy. "I Won't Worry" is about staying with someone your friends disapprove of. "Silly of Me" laments losing a lover by failing to commit.

Give Trias and her producers credit for avoiding the heavily sexual "girls gone wild" content of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Trias gets a bit edgier than some might have expected after hearing her "Flying Home" single earlier this year, but she keeps it sweet, seductive and G-rated throughout.

Count this as an impressive step forward for Trias, and notice to the rest of the country that Hawaii produces solid R&B/urban pop artists, too.