'Idol' tour may add stops in Honolulu, Maui
| • | Jasmine in final three |
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Honolulu and Maui fans likely will get to see the "American Idol 3" tour here in late September — though specific dates have not been set.
Tickets would go on sale at 10 a.m. May 22 for the entire 52-city tour, which begins July 14 in Salt Lake City and ends, according to the idolonfox.com Web site, Sept. 26 in San Jose. Only 48 stops are posted, but on the weekly Fox TV talent competition, four additional stops have been mentioned. The tour would start after the May 26 crowning of the "American Idol" winner.
"Looks like Honolulu is on the radar," said a tour source who declined to be named at the Creative Artists Agency, which is booking the itinerary. The show's top 10 finalists — including Jasmine Trias of Mililani and Camile Velasco of Ha'iku, Maui — would be on the bill, with the winner headlining.
The Honolulu concert would be at the 8,500-seat Blaisdell Arena.
Camile Velasco's dad, James West, co-owner of the International House of Pancakes restaurant at the Maui Mall, said he is negotiating to bring the tour to the 4,500-seat A&B Amphitheater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Velasco was voted off the show on April 7.
The buzz at the contestant level is that the winner will select a city not on the itinerary. Velasco has befriended Fantasia Barrino and LaToya London, who was voted off last night, and shared living quarters with Diana DeGarmo while competing. Barrino and London have never been here and could request a Hawai'i stop, since the tour already is going to Barrino's home state, North Carolina.
London, from Oakland, told West earlier in the competition that she would request a Hawai'i concert. DeGarmo is from Georgia and the tour is already booked in Atlanta. She auditioned in Hawai'i last fall and has a cousin attending Hawai'i Pacific University.
With the 10 finalists, there would be additional musicians and crews on the tour, and transportation costs have been a factor in considering Hawai'i in the first wave of planning.
The show will have national sponsors, such as Coca-Cola, but additional local sponsorships were not immediately part of the plan. A local source is poised to help with booking and promotional arrangements for the tour, but was awaiting instructions from the Mainland office before going public.
Besides Trias, Velasco, Barrino, London and DeGarmo, the other finalists touring are George Huff, John Stevens, Jennifer Hudson, George Huff, Jon Peter Lewis and Amy Adams.
Tickets are expected to be in the $50 range for all dates.
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
