Idol Chatter & Voice Views

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Remember Jasmine Trias, the 17-year-old gal from Hawaii who finished third behind Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia on season three of American Idol?

She’s now 23 and recently signed a year-long contract to perform with the Society of Seven at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The group has been in existence since the 1960s.

She’s also working on a second album, one she hopes to have out sometime this year and one she says will be more personal than her self-titled debut album, released in 2005.

That album failed to catch on in the mainland U.S., but earned Jasmine awards for Best Pop Album of the Year and Best New Artist of the Year at the Hawaii Music Awards in 2006. The year before, she was named the Hawaii Music Awards Entertainer of the Year for her performance on Idol.

The album was also a hit in the Philippines. Not surprising considering Jasmine was the first Filipino ever to advance in American Idol finals. In fact, she released a deluxe version of her album in the Philippines, where she was named R&B Artist of the Year in 2006.

Idol Chatter caught up with Jasmine in Vegas to talk to her about her time on the show, her role with the Society of Seven and her plans for that second album.

Idol Chatter: So, what have you been doing musically recently?

Jasmine: “I’ve been working on my second album. I’ve been more involved in the song-writing process and behind the scenes with production and everything because my first album — I so young at that time, I was thrown into it and kind of took direction from the people involved.

“But now that I’ve grown up more and have more life experience to talk about, I want to express myself more in my music. So I’m writing my own stuff. That’s a long process because I want to get it right. I feel like the first album was a bit rushed for me. It was thrown together and put out there just to get it out while the hype of American Idol was still there.”

Idol Chatter: How is that project going?

Jasmine: “I’ve recorded about eight or nine songs, but I’m still writing and recording more just to make sure I get the right stuff out and also try to keep up with what’s out there commercially. Song choice is everything. It has to encompass who you are. It has to work with your fans. And it has to work commercially.”

Idol Chatter: Now, the first album was R&B/pop with a lot of dance beats mixed in. Will the sound be the same on the new album?

Jasmine: “Yes and no, I guess. We’re still experimenting with different sounds. Music is changing right now. Music right now on the radio is so overproduced. It’s really hard to get out there with a great ballad. I’m still working and trying to find the sound that will work. But I still think it will have that R&B, pop, soul vibe to it. I think I might be adding more acoustic stuff as well.”

Idol Chatter: So, all in all, how did you feel about that first album?

Jasmine: “I thought it was a great album. I thought it was great music. But, looking back, I’m not sure it represented me that well because I think I was talking about mature things in the songs, and I was 17. I thought it was a great album. I was really happy with it. But now that I’m older I look back and think, ‘Oh, I wish I would have done this and that.’

Idol Chatter: Now, I understand you’re performing in Vegas with the Society of Seven. First off, what is the Society of Seven?

Jasmine: “It’s basically a group of seven guys. It’s a band, and they all work together to put on a great show. Everyone plays instruments. Everyone is a lead singer at one point in the show. They all work together to sing, dance, do impressions. They do Broadway. They do group numbers and comedy. It’s basically a variety show.”

Idol Chatter: Now, I understand you’re the lead female singer for the group. Exactly what does that role entail?

Jasmine: “I do impressions. Beyonce. Cher. The Supremes. I do some Broadway. And, of course, I do an American Idol bit in the show where I do some songs that I did on American Idol. I think I do about 10 costume changes.”

Idol Chatter: Of the impressions, which one is the most challenging?

Jasmine: “Most challenging? I would have to say Cher. It’s just difficult to get that low voice that she has. When I was rehearsing, I would have a tendency to go back to my voice. So I just have to concentrate and stay in character.”

Idol Chatter: So, do you have to wear a Cher wig and everything, too?

Jasmine: “I wear a Cher wig, costume and everything. It’s a great bit. People love it. It’s funny. It’s hard for me not to laugh when I do my impressions because people (in the audience) are laughing. It’s a lot of fun.”

Idol Chatter: What type of reception do you get when you go back to Hawaii?

Jasmine: “I do notice, when I’m at home, people do greet me and say, ‘Hi, Jasmine, how are you?’ It’s almost like they know me, but I’ve never met them before. And I’m like, ‘Hi, how are you?’ It was kind of hard to get used to. I didn’t realize how huge of a deal it was in Hawaii for me to be on the show.

“Everyone always says, ‘Oh, we watched you on the show. We always voted for you. We had voting parties. During certain time there was no traffic on the freeways because everyone wanted to get home to watch you on American Idol.’ You get all this feedback, and it’s just amazing how people supported me back home in Hawaii. I also got that a lot from the Filipino and Asian communities.”

Idol Chatter: How much musical experience had you had, prior to Idol?

Jasmine: “Not much. Prior to Idol, I was just trying to focus on my senior year in high school. I was much involved in the choir at my church and the choir at my school and anything musical I could get my hands on, talent shows, singing at family weddings, graduations, birthday parties, things like that. That’s pretty much the extent of my musical experience before Idol.”

Idol Chatter: Looking back, is there anything you’ve been able to do because of Idol that you don’t think you would have gotten to do otherwise?

Jasmine: “Travel. Living in Hawaii, I was just planning on living in Hawaii my whole life, going to college there, becoming a nurse there.

“And I really love to do what I do. It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to be a singer. But I never thought it was possible. It was such a far-fetched dream for me to think a small-town girl from Hawaii would even make it as close as I did and be able to do what I’m doing. I love being on stage. It’s a great gig. It doesn’t feel like work at all.”

Idol Chatter: Now, in the past I know you’ve done some commercials (in the Philippines for McDonald’s, Bench Clothing, a cell phone company and a toothpaste; also for Pizza Hut and Taco Bell). And you were in a Black Eyed Peas video (playing the little sister of apl.de.ap in the video for “Bebot”). Do you have any other projects in the works right now?

Jasmine: “My main project right now is working on that second album. I have a different perspective on music now. Before it was, ‘I just love to sing.’ And I was happy to do covers or songs by people I idolized. But now I want to be able to put great music out there and be that influence on other people.”

After the second album, Jasmine says she’d like to put out an album of traditional Hawaiian music someday, as well as a a Christmas album. She already has a song on the American Christmas album featuring several former Idol contestants; it was released in November 2008 and is available through iTunes.

You can hear her track from that album, as well as some of the songs not included on the American version of her debut album on Jasmine’s MySpace page. You can also follow Jasmine on Facebook.

And, if you happen to be in Vegas, the Society of Seven puts on two shows at the Gold Coast on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — a perfect schedule, Jasmine says, that allows her time the rest of the week to work on that second album and take online classes from the University of Phoenix.

And, finally, here are links to a promotional video for Jasmine’s 2005 single “Excuses” and for the Black Eyed Peas “Bebot” video.