Luci Yadao of Lihu‘e, an advertising representative with Kauai Publishing Co., the parent company of The Garden Island, is one of about 1,000 wannabe pop idols who are in line at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. They all have high hopes
Luci Yadao of Lihu‘e, an advertising representative with Kauai Publishing Co., the parent company of The Garden Island, is one of about 1,000 wannabe pop idols who are in line at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
They all have high hopes of performing well enough to make the cut for Fox-TV’s “American Idol 3” TV show.
Yadao, who plans to sing Bette Midler’s song “The Rose” for her audition, called in a report to The Garden Island Monday afternoon, following a long day and night of waiting in line for her big chance before the judges.
“It’s a long line, and there’s a lot of people,” Yadao said of her situation Monday afternoon.
She is wearing wrist bracelet number 412, and is making the big wait until her tryout today with her mother, Debra Carveiro of ‘Ele‘ele, at her side.
“There’s concession booths set up. It’s like a big block party,” she said. “Everybody is taking care of each other, there’s a lot of local people, and a lot of Mainland people. I saw a couple of people from Kaua‘i” and there’s a lot from New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other Mainland areas, she reported.
Yadao said Hawai‘i’s own “American Idol” star Jordan Segundo, who is a senior at Farrington High School on O‘ahu, came by the audition line and performed for the anxious crowd.
“Justin sang out in the open, by the radio booths of 104.3,” she said during the phone call.
The Kaua‘i singer said she needs to make it through a quick, 15-second audition today, then another one later today, if she makes the first cut. If successful, she’ll move onto to an audition at a Waikiki hotel.
Singers who pass the last round in Honolulu will have the chance to perform before judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul this weekend.
The hit Fox television show made Honolulu its final stop for auditions for its third season. Hopeful singers in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Houston and San Francisco have already made the cut.
“American Idol” drew 38 million viewers for its season finale this year. The Hawai‘i auditions are scheduled to be aired when the new season starts in January.
David Goffin, supervising producer of “American Idol,” said he hoped for up to 1,500 contestants to line up Monday.
“It’s the American dream, a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Goffin said.
