Aloha, Jasmine

American Idol Jasmine Trias (shown here as Smart endorser) takes her first trip to the land of her parents’ birth with great expectations

Aloha, Jasmine Trias! Mabuhay! Tuloy ka!

That’s what we should all be saying – nay, screaming! – as we spread the welcome mat for Jasmine who’s flying in day after tomorrow for a promo for Bench (she’s the newest image model as you must have seen in all those huge billboards all over the metropolis) and Smart which is putting on an invitational concert (Jasmine Trias: Fil-Am Idol Live in Manila, with Jay-R, Erik Santos and Christian Bautista as guest performers on Oct. 16) at the Araneta Coliseum, directed by Audie Gemora with Gerard Salonga as musical director.

Jasmine is also endorsing McDonald’s in the Philippines. While in the US, she recorded a special song penned by Filipino songwriter Jimmy Antiporda. A CD of the song plus a minus one track will be available soon in McDonald’s store for free! We also heard that the song will be the contest piece in a Jasmine Trias Sing Alike Contest on MTB.

No, Jasmine is not a Balikbayan.

"It’s my first time to visit the Philippines," she told Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN’s News Bureau Chief in North America, during a one-on-one the other night in Honolulu before Jasmine and the 11 other American Idols (including kababayan Camille Velasco, the girl from Maui who used to "front act" for Filipino artists having concerts in Hawaii, such as Regine Velasquez and Judy Ann Santos) mounted the stage on the third and last night of the group’s three-month post-American Idol concert tour (all the 12 finalists, including the champion, Fantasia Barrino, are included on the show’s album).

"Before the American Idol," added Jasmine whose parents, Rudy and Nora Trias, are pure Filipino from Cavite (Jasmine has two siblings, Ronel, l5, and Neolani, 6), "the farthest I’ve been to was California."

By now, of course, everybody knows that Jasmine was born on Nov. 3, 1986 in Honolulu where she grew up and studied voice at the Performing Artist Academy while pursuing secondary education at the Maryknoll High School where she graduated along with 140 other students.

The graduation ceremonies, at the school’s Blaisdell Concert Hall, was an event in itself, held as it was after the American Idol where Jasmine finished No. 3. According to Honolulu sources, a section of the venue had to be roped off specially for relatives and close friends of Jasmine who nearly choked under tons of leis placed around her neck (and over her head).

"So many things have been happening in my life," Jasmine was quoted as saying. "Graduation is a huge thing for me. I mean, it changed my life completely."

And how!

She became an overnight sensation not only in America where American Idol was beamed but also, more so, in Filipino communities around the world, including celebrity-crazy Philippines where instant Jasminians who, I’m sure, voted for Jasmine via overseas calls to make her win. In fact, Jasmine’s singing prowess alone was already a winner.

During the show’s Disco Night, Jasmine wowed them with a rendition of Everlasting Love, followed by Raining Men. In other episodes, she won even more hearts with her stirring versions of The Way You Look Tonight, It’s Almost Like Being in Love, When I Fall in Love (from her favorite animated movie, Lilo & Stitch), Don’t Let The Sun Shine Down On Me, You’re All I Need To Get By, Breath, Inseparable and Whitney Houston’s Run To You (the one she sang on the night she was eliminated).

What a singer she is!

Asked in an interview when she first sang, Jasmine said, "Since I could talk."

That’s not all. She also plays the piano, the ukelele and the guitar, and dance hip-hop and, you guessed it, the hula. She revealed that she has a Filipino soap-opera soundtrack in her collection, the first CD she ever bought was that of N’SYNC (she adores Justin Timberlake, the N’SYNC who has made a huge name solo) and Christina Aguilera, and loves all kinds of music. She has some kind of a ritual before going onstage: "I sip hot tea and say a prayer."

And she warns, "I can be very shy." (Those attending the presscon on Wednesday, arranged by Smart, better beware and be careful about asking her especially "personal" question. Otherwise, Jasmine might retreat into her shell.)

Meanwhile, here are excerpts of Ging Reyes’ exclusive interview (facilitated by Smart and Ben Chan of Bench) with Jasmine, to be shown in full Sunday next week (Oct. 10) on the ABS-CBN show Rated K, hosted by Korina Sanchez who, with Ging’s permission, very kindly shared her "exclusive" with Conversations:

It’s been four months since we last talked. How was the tour?

It is an experience that’s kinda once in a lifetime. I don’t know if I’ll have a tour again; this could be my first and my last, so it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been having the time of my life. All of us are getting closer. It’s like graduating – almost, you know. We’re all getting so close but towards the end, we’re all going to be sad, we’re gonna do our things, working on our careers and everything. We’re sad and we’re happy. It’s been a great tour.

It’s your last night together with the other Idols, your last performance together. Have you started saying goodbye to each other?

Not yet…kind of, sort of. But this whole tour has gotten into such a rhythm that we’re just doing shows and it’s a whole schedule of things that we’re used to. I don’t think it’s really gonna hit us until tonight. Tonight is our last time on that stage together as a group. We’re going to Singapore, but not all of us are gonna be together. So this is gonna be our last show, our last song, our last time together as a group and I’m pretty sad. Actually on the first show, it hit me, here in Hawaii, and I started crying, you know, to get it all out before the last show. We’ve been starting to feel a little bit down here and there, but I think as a group we’ll just keep in touch and hopefully, stay in touch.

I’ve read articles and heard about negative reviews about the tour in the US mainland, about half-filled concert halls and mixed reviews. How do you react to these negative stories about the tour?

You know, you’re always gonna get criticism in everything you do but I think in this tour, it didn’t matter how many filled the arenas, it depends on how we catered to the audience. It doesn’t matter if we had a sold-out show, or a half —filled audience, it’s a matter of having fun on that stage together, as a group and I think that matters. The smaller crowds honestly have been our best crowds. The bigger ones, sometimes, were more conservative I’d say, conservative and polite. I don’t think the audience size matters. It’s about us on that stage having a good time and really living our dream.

I am sure audience size is not a problem in Hawaii.

Oh yes, exactly! The support here for me and Camille, and for the whole tour, has been so incredible. The first hour, when the box office opened to sell tickets, it sold out in like in less than an hour. And then, so they opened another show and another show. So I’m very proud that Hawaii really supported me and the whole tour.

It’s the only state that is hosting three concerts.

Yes, three sold-out concerts! And the crowds have been awesome. The first night, the crowd was great, the second night, it got better. And hopefully tonight, it’ll be over-the-top!

You’re going to Singapore along with some of your colleagues. What are your expectations of an Asian audience?

Yeah, I think they’re gonna be a lot of fun. I think Asians are very proud people, proud of their culture. They’re the kind of people that really show a lot of support, I think they’re gonna be a great audience.

And from Singapore, you’re flying to the Philippines. Is this your first time to visit the Philippines?

My first time everywhere, actually. Before American Idol, the farthest I’ve been to was California, so this is all new to me. It’s been such a great experience for me.

Your Filipino fans can’t wait to see you. The first feature story I did about you was shown on Rated K and viewers are looking forward to the next installment. What are your expectations? What have you heard so far about your fans in the Philippines?

I heard that they’re just crazy (about me). My manager was telling me that I’m the Britney Spears of the Philippines and I was just, like, oh my God! That’s just so hard for me to believe because I’m from a small island in the Pacific and I’m a small-town girl and American Idol has already been huge for me and to be on the level of Britney Spears in the Philippines totally blows my mind! I can’t even grasp that. It’s way beyond my imagination.

You’re doing a concert in the Philippines. Are you looking forward to being busy there? You must rehearse, all that stuff.

Yeah, I’ll be very busy in the Philippines. I’ve been working for about a year now, non-stop. I like it actually. I’m glad that I keep on having work coming in. Otherwise, I’ll be staying at home and be like…"so American Idol is done. Ok, what now?" I’m so glad that things keep coming to me, so that I can keep my dream alive.

Will you be singing Tagalog songs in your concert?

Yes, yes. I think I’m gonna be singing Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw, the song that I did for Smart phone.

How about TV appearances?

Yes, yes. I’ll be having a lot of TV appearances like, I think, A.S.A.P. Mania and other shows.

You are going to be pretty busy.

I will be pretty busy. I just hope I get my 10 hours of sleep. I always have to get my 10 hours of sleep!

What about visiting your relatives and having time for yourself?

I’m gonna try to have time for myself. I’m gonna try to go shopping and I’m gonna try to really explore the Philippines and you know, get to see my family there in Cavite.

Any places in particular that you want to see?

I wanna see the beaches. I heard the beaches are really nice, so I really want to have time for that.

What are your plans after American Idol and your visit to Manila?

After that, I’m gonna record my album in L.A. I’m looking at my options right now, with the deal and everything, but I’m definitely recording in November and December.

Is it going to be released before Christmas?

Probably after Christmas. I really wanna perfect it. It’s my first album and I really wanna make it right because this is gonna be a big step for me. It’s gonna decide whether my career is gonna last.

(Note: Starmedia is selling a limited number of tickets to Jasmine’s concert on Oct. 16 at the Araneta Coliseum. For inquiries, call 854-3322 or 854-3300 or e-mail [email protected].)

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