Jasmine Trias: What can I say! Shakespeare rocks!

Jasmine Trias made waves when Pinoys all over America took to texting in their votes and made her reach third place in the 2004 American Idol Search. Meeting her up close during the shoot for Bench, I realized that this 17-year-old kid has what it takes to make it in the larger American market. Her performance on American Idol proves that although the Pinoys rallied for her, it took a lot more than just votes to get here there.

Jasmine had to shoot for Bench in between her performances which have totalled 54 all over the US. I went to a concert closest to our shoot in Worcester, Massachussetts with my sisters, brothers-in-law and nieces in tow. The 15,000-seater coliseum was filled to the rafters with families. After the show we were privileged to be among 50 select audience members (arranged by Jasmine’s dad Rudy Trias) to meet some of the American Idols up close for autograph signing. I took the opportunity to ask Jasmine to share her top 10 books with us:

1) Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare – I’m a sucker for tragic love stories and it is the classic love story.

2) The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne – Great moral to be learned.

3) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain – Great adventure story that taught me a lot about the times when racism was a huge issue.

4) Frankenstein by Mary Shelly – Again I love the moral of the story. A great book!

5) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Again one of those great stories. It was an absorbing read.

6) The Odyssey by Homer – What an adventure!

7) Othello by Shakespeare – So many twists...what a plot!

8) Night by Elie Wiesel – It opened my eyes to what happened during World War II with Hitler.

9) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

10) Macbeth by Shakespeare – Great action and tragedy!

What can I say! Shakespeare rocks!

All her favorite books are available at National Book Store branches and Powerbooks.