Jasmine Trias

Biography

Trias was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Mililani Town, Hawaii. She is the eldest daughter of Filipino immigrants to Hawaii from Tanza, Cavite. Trias attended Maryknoll School, a Roman Catholic preparatory school of the Diocese of Honolulu. As a representative of Maryknoll School, she won the Brown Bags to Stardom 2001 state singing competition and the Road to Fame 2003 youth talent competition. Trias graduated from Maryknoll School in June 2004.

American Idol

Trias first gained recognition on the third season of American Idol. She auditioned in her home state of Hawaii. Trias made it to the top twelve performers. She received praises on her rendition of "Inseparable" on Top 12 night, with Simon Cowell replying, "Jasmine, it was just superb". Paula Abdul even threw a rose to her on the stage and, together with Randy Jackson, praised her maturity in that performance.

She was able to survive eliminations, despite criticisms on her performances on some instances of the competition. She first landed on the bottom 3 with Camile Velasco and Diana DeGarmo. On Top 4 performance night, when she received criticisms for her performance of "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls, Cowell suggested that night that she would be eliminated the next day, but she made it into the top 3. On the Top 3 results show, when Ryan Seacrest announced that Trias was eliminated, she had her last message on American Idol: "I wanna thank all my fans for believing in me and for embracing my talents and for making my dreams come true. I mean, this top 3, I cannot ask for more".

Trias was the highest-placed Asian-American contestant on American Idol until Jessica Sanchez made it in the eleventh season finale.

Performances/results

Post Idol career

After Trias' appearance on American Idol, her fanbase grew in the United States and in foreign countries where the show was aired: Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, among others. The Manila Times newspaper captured the mood of her ancestral country in an April headline: "Everybody Wants Jasmine." During the American Idol season, hundreds of internet fan sites from over a dozen countries were established in several Asian and European languages. She also appeared in the fourth season finale and the fifteen season finale of American Idol.

Trias in the Philippines

In the Philippines, Trias has done television commercials and billboard ads for McDonald's, Smart Telecommunications, Hapee Toothpaste, and Bench Clothing. On October 6, 2004, Trias released a promotional single for McDonald's entitled "Love Ko 'To" (the local translation of McDonald's "i'm lovin' it" slogan). McDonald's restaurants in the Philippines offered a promotional meal called the "Jasmine Trio", which consisted of a Strawberry Float, fries, and the McDonald's exclusive Love Ko 'To CD-Single.

Trias also appeared on GMA Network's reality show Extra Challenge with Ruffa Gutierrez (former Miss World runner-up) and Donita Rose (former MTV VJ). She also visited the housemates of Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition on March 6 and stayed in the house overnight, leaving on March 7.

Career

Managing Director of Honolulu Ben Lee summarized the mood in Trias' home state of Hawaii by saying, "Jasmine has enough votes in Hawaii to become governor or mayor easily." Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona, in his capacity as acting governor, declared Jasmine Trias Day by executive order. Trias has also done various commercials in Hawaii discouraging smoking, drinking, and drug use. On February 27, 2005, Trias released a CD single entitled "Flying Home," which was sold exclusively in Pizza Hut and Taco Bell stores in Hawaii. The single was intended to capture her feelings of returning to Hawaii after months of working on tour and on her album.

Trias was a part of the JCPenney and Seventeen "Rock Your Prom" Fashion Show. She performed in Springfield, Missouri and Glendale, California in March 2005.

Musically, some have compared Trias to Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton. Trias signed a record deal with Clockwork Entertainment, a company which has worked with Dream and Bad Boy Records (headed by P. Diddy), to record and produce her debut album. She also signed a record deal with Universal Records for the album's release in the Philippines. Her self-titled debut album with Clockwork Entertainment was released on July 12, 2005 in the U.S.. It has since sold 14,000 copies in the US alone according to Nielsen SoundScan and a reported 50,000 worldwide. She has since been certified platinum in the Philippines. Trias headlined tours in Manila, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Guam in 2004. To end her whirlwind visit to the Philippines, dubbed "Jasmania," she met President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Trias left Clockwork Entertainment due to poor management and promotion; and is now with Universal Records Philippines. "Excuses," "Sana Lagi," "Too Many Walls" and "DJ Don't Quit" peaked in the Top 10 on a popular Live365 Internet station called Idol Waves. "I'd Rather" managed to reach number one.

Trias was featured in the music video to The Black Eyed Peas single Bebot, playing apl.de.ap's sister.

She was featured as a commentator on MTV/TRL for the sixth season of American Idol. She also filmed a movie in the Philippines titled "Suddenly It's Magic" produced by GMA Films; it is shelved indefintely. In addition, she was featured as a guest judge for a children's competition on The Tyra Banks Show and made appearances on three American Idol national follow-up shows: American Idol Extra, American Idol Tonight and It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle. Trias has stated in many different interviews that she will start working on new albums for the U.S. and the Philippines for release this year.

Trias is the host of a television program called Pacific Groove in Hawaii.

Trias is currently performing with Hawaii's very own Society of Seven at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The show debuted on Aug. 16th 2012.

Singles

Album appearances

Videography