Every town is rooting for its own American Idol
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By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer
You loved him. You hated him.
Now he's gone.
Jasmine Trias
The collective "about time" sigh surrounding John Stevens' ouster from "American Idol" last week comes with an asterisk nobody seems to have thought about beforehand: Now that the lightning rod for criticism and jaw-dropping guffaws is no longer a fixture on the show, who's left to root for besides local girl Jasmine Trias?
Without Stevens, there's nobody left to hate and nobody who's really stepped to the front as someone to embrace nationally. Last year the hype surrounded the inevitable showdown between the ever-changing Clay Aiken and the huggable-teddy bear Ruben Studdard.
This year? We're down to the final five, and it wouldn't be surprising to see any of them win — or be the next to be voted off.
Which is why tonight's one-hour special may set the tone for the eventual winner. The Advertiser contacted people in the hometowns of each of the finalists last week, trying to get a feel for who has the strongest network. One thing is for sure: Each has strong hometown support. Even last week, when Stevens was voted off, host Ryan Seacrest said he gathered more than 4 million of the 28 million total votes.
'American Idol'
We start our breakdown of what we found in our own back yard with Trias.
The Maryknoll senior has current students, an alumni network and and much of the state's 1.2 million residents pulling for her. Another network: perhaps the Filipino community nationwide. The 17-year-old from Mililani had a Fox crew follow her around the island when the competition began; tonight may be when much of the footage is revealed.
Of the others, perhaps LaToya London, 25, of Oakland, Calif., is the biggest threat if home-state size is important. California has a population of 34.5 million, according to a 2001 Census Bureau estimate.
The other finalists are Diana DeGarmo, 16, of Snellville, Ga.; Fantasia Barrino, 19, of High Point, N.C. and George Huff, 22, of New Orleans.
Fox
If school support is a factor, Huff may be getting thousands of votes from the University of Oklahoma, where nearly 31,000 students attend campuses in Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, school officials said.
"Idol" contenders are (clockwise from top left) Fantasia Barrino, George Huff, Diana DeGarmo, LaToya London and Hawai'i's Jasmine Trias.
Huff is an education major and works at the school's Couch Restaurant.
"On Tuesdays, during the show, we have a dining room set aside pretty much for him with all three TVs on and decorated marker boards," said Bobby Weaver, supervisor at the restaurant.
The viewing parties draw nearly 100 patrons, Weaver said.
"Just here in Norman itself, (he has) his work, obviously, and his Gospel choir that he founded here," he said.
Huff receives regular coverage from the campus paper, The Oklahoma Daily, as well as Fox's Tulsa affiliate, Weaver said.
Weaver has worked with Huff for about five years, but has known him for six.
"Exactly what you see on TV is what you get," he said. "He's the same fun-loving person who's always smiling and the kind of guy you should get to know."
In Georgia, DeGarmo has a devoted following among her nearly 2,000 schoolmates at Shiloh High School, where she is a junior.
"Somebody put up a billboard, a lot of the stores have posters up and Shiloh High is running a viewing party every week," said Rodney Ho, a features reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Barrino comes from a city with a population of about 80,000, but her appeal seems to extend beyond her hometown.
"One guy, not from North Carolina, e-mailed me after he read one of my stories that he started a Fantasia fan site," said Erica Kinnard, a features reporter at the High Point Enterprise. "It's bizarre. He said he's in love with her. If you look at the Web you see a lot of support for her not from the state."
Kinnard said the local Fox affiliate prompts viewers to vote for Barrino, and the newspaper covers viewer parties each week. Some of the parties, particularly at Providence Place, are huge.
"Gospel singers from Fantasia's church perform," Kinnard said. "You get a couple of hundred people watching. ... It's what everyone is talking about."
A viewing party last week for London at a barbecue restaurant in Oakland drew nearly 700 fans.
"We have been having 'American Idol: Vote For LaToya' " parties from the very beginning," said Dorothy King-Jernegan, owner of Everett & Jones Barbeque. "We'll continue to have them every week until she wins."
King-Jernegan's parties are just one of many in town, she said. In addition to constant news coverage, King-Jernegan said she's coordinating with city officials to step up London's exposure by putting up a billboard, posters and balloons throughout Oakland.
"She is one of our stars," King-Jernegan said, "and we know she's going to win."
Reach Zenaida Serrano at 535-8174 or at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.
