Jasmine sails safely into final six on 'Idol'

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Sick of “American Idol?”

Hardly.

Wondering just how accurate the “bottom three” voting really is?

You bet.

“American Idol” has become the best drama on TV — full of surprises and chock full of shock value.

Last night wasn’t exactly “Who Shot J.R.?”, but a twist in the results announcement, coupled with unbelievability about the lowest vote-getters, was so unexpected it even led to the highest traffic ever for one of the Advertiser’s online-discussion boards. More than 300 people logged in all at the same time to chat about the drama.

This time, it wasn’t all about Maryknoll’s Jasmine Trias. Though she easily moved into next week’s final six, the tension surrounded who, and how, the bottom three were announced.

(A record number of vote attempts — 4.3 million, up 500,000 from last week — was logged by Verizon Hawai‘i, which monitors landline calls. The tally does not include AT&T Wireless calls or text-messaging, since AT&T, a sponsor of the Fox talent search, does not reveal figures.)

The final seven were split into two groups of three, with George Huff left on the couch during a commercial break to sweat it out. Then host Ryan Seacrest said Huff was safe for another week — and told him to walk over and “join the top group of last night’s vote-getters.”

Group A included divas Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London and Fantasia Barrino — consistently the judges’ favorites.

Group B included Trias, red-headed crooner John Stevens and Diana DeGarmo — three high schoolers who’ve struggled to escape the wrath of Simon Cowell and company.

Huff paused, then slowly shuffled past Group B, waiting for a hint from Seacrest to stop. When he passed them without a word from the host, Huff was met with hugs and celebration by Group A — and nobody in Group B seemed to disagree with his choice.

Then Seacrest stepped in.

“I said join the top three,” Seacrest repeated.

Huff’s jaw dropped as he realized the gravity of his mistake. Stevens cuffed his face. Trias blurted out, “Oh, my God” — a spontaneous reaction that was visible, if not audible.

Manipulation or luck of the low-voting draw for Fox?

Whichever, it came across as an ingenious move and a brilliant twist last night.

It was also perplexing.

In the end, 22-year-old Hudson was ousted. It was a surprising turn of events, since she had been championed by the judges as the one contestant improving each week and a serious threat to win the competition.

Not anymore.

The drama even seemed to catch Trias by surprise.

Moments earlier, when Stevens was assigned to her group, Trias was shown letting out a sigh — presumably anticipating the worst.

“We never expected this,” said Rudy Trias, Jasmine’s father, from Hollywood last night. “It was a shock to Jasmine. But it’s so amazing how they (the producers) do these (surprising) things. They keep you guessing. You can’t figure it out.”

The judges — and even Seacrest — were equally bewildered at the bottom three turnout. “I can’t believe it,” said Randy Jackson. “This is not a popularity contest.”

But as Paula Abdul pointed out, “All three did an incredible job. I think it maybe is a popularity contest.”

Cowell tossed orchids to Trias and DeGarmo, when asked about the divas’ predicament. “I don’t want to take anything away from Jasmine and Diana last (Tuesday) night,” he said of their performances. “They did good.”

Cowell then “scolded” viewers to get out the vote and show support — something Hawai‘i has been doing anyway.

Trias’ loyalists have maintained the weekly “Idol” voting and vigil with vigor, and support is mounting.

Next week, contestants will explore the salsa and Latin rhythms of Gloria Estefan.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.

Local video didn't make finals

If you searched the Internet in vain beginning yesterday to view and then vote for a music video submitted by University of Hawai'i-Manoa freshman Nelson Quan for a national contest, you weren't alone.

The video was not one of three finalists in the third phase of an "American Idol"-related online competition sponsored by Ford Motor Co. Relying solely on information provided by Quan, The Advertiser incorrectly reported in an Island Life story posted Tuesday that his video was a finalist and would premiere on "Idol" and Ford Web sites beginning yesterday. Ford revealed the list of finalists yesterday and Miles Johnson, the company's public affairs manager, said Quan's entry "was received, but it did not advance."

Advertiser Editor Saundra Keyes said the newspaper should not have run the story until information was verified with the contest sponsors.

Quan, 19, a webmaster at UH's Academy for Creative Media, said yesterday that he had entered the contest and had mistakenly assumed his video was good enough to make it to the finals.

Chris Lee, Academy for Creative Media chairman, said Quan is "guilty of excessive enthusiasm. One thing I don't question is his talent. We know he will learn from this experience."

The good news: Lee said that the video would be posted on the Academy for Creative Media Website at www.hawaii.edu/acm or acm.hawaii.edu/index2.shtml.