Hawai'i's 'Idol' finalists advance to next round

Poll: Who do you think will be this year's American Idol?

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

And breathe.

For Maryknoll's Jasmine Trias, last night's first elimination vote for the 12 finalists of "American Idol" was a breeze.

The viewers, like the judges, apparently loved her performance so much that host Ryan Seacrest barely bothered with any suspense when announcing Trias' verdict. She'll be back performing next week, along with Maui's Camile Velasco.

But unlike Trias, Velasco's night was one big Maalox moment.

The 18-year-old waitress advanced, but had to suffer through several gut-wrenching minutes of anticipation before her fate was announced. She spent nearly five minutes of the hourlong show clutching hands with Jennifer Hudson, a 22-year-old Chicagoan, as they waited through a commercial break to see which of the two would join Leah LaBelle, 17, of Seattle, and Amy Adams, 24, of Bakersfield, Calif., on center stage for the announcement of who would be the first finalist to be voted out.

In the end, it was LaBelle who was the first casualty of season three. She was the student with Bulgarian roots whose fate was possibly determined when judge Simon Cowell predicted Tuesday that she'd be the one to be axed and told her to pack her bags.

Show gets 'bigger and bigger'

For Velasco, getting paired with Hudson wasn't easy. The judges gave Hudson high marks for her performance Tuesday night while giving Velasco tempered praise and a little pep talk to believe in herself more when she performs. Based on the judges' comments, it was surprising that Hudson was even considered for elimination.

But Velasco probably didn't have to worry, either.

Her fan support here, and abroad, could easily have been among the top three. Verizon Hawai'i reported yesterday that almost 3 million phone calls — a record — were logged by rabid "Idol" fans in the Islands. The number of calls represented a 14 percent increase over the normal 9 to 11 p.m. slot. The tally does not include AT&T Wireless calls or text messages, totals of which are kept under the lid by Fox and AT&T. Nationally, Verizon monitored 27.4 million calls.

"Tuesday's ratings were out of the box," said Rick Blangiardi, general manager of KHON-2, the Fox affiliate that televises the show in Hawai'i. "The show gets bigger and bigger."

Seacrest said 18 million votes were tallied nationally, but the top vote-getters were not identified. Tuesday's show also was the highest-rated ever, he said without pegging a figure. In past weeks, anywhere from 27 million to 30 million viewers have been tuning in.

For Trias, seeing LaBelle cut was bittersweet.

"I'm happy to advance, but right now, I'm also sad," said Trias, reached at her Hollywood hotel last night. "Leah is a minor, too, so we've become good friends, studying together. I'm a little bit of both right now — happy to make it but sad for Leah. I simply don't know what America wants; I can't know what or how to prepare."

Proud parents speak

Velasco, who planned to eat pizza and saimin while watching the Los Angeles telecast of the show in her dad James West's hotel room, declined comment. But her father said she felt good about advancing to the next round.

"Eventually, everyone gets cut until you're the winner," West said. "But even with the drama, I was confident that Camile would make it. She was the top vote-getter in Group 2 (during the semifinals). But the way they did it ... it was tough — but a good wake-up call. Camile will have to give it her all."

Velasco's mom, Rennie West, watched from her Maui home and cried with relief when she learned Camile was not one of the bottom three vote-getters.

"I talked to her (after the show) and she thought, 'Oh, my God, it's going to be me,' " said her mom, based on the lukewarm critique Velasco got from the judges Tuesday.

Velasco, who sported curls on Tuesday, displayed straight locks last night. Her mom said that "Camile ironed her hair for the show. She should have her curls back next week."

Clay Aiken, runner-up from last season, was a guest performer last night and demonstrated, with ease and eloquence, how second-placers can emerge from defeat to establish a recording career.

The countdown continues next Tuesday when the 11 survivors compete, with one more to be eliminated next Wednesday.

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