Jasmine Trias (; born November 3, 1986) is an American singer-entertainer who was the third place finalist on the
third season of ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
''. She has released one album to date, ''
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
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
from
Tanza
Tanza, officially the Municipality of Tanza (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 312,116 people. It has a land ar ...
,
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
. Trias attended Maryknoll School, a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
preparatory school of the
Diocese of Honolulu. As a representative of
Maryknoll School
Maryknoll School is a private, coeducational Catholic Church, Catholic school serving children in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The school is located on the island of Oahu, Oahu and is administered by the Roman Ca ...
, 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 gained recognition on the
third season of ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
''. 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
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
replying, "Jasmine, it was just superb".
Paula Abdul even threw a rose to her on the stage and, together with
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive, television presenter and musician, best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013.
Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing b ...
, praised her maturity in that performance.
She was able to survive eliminations, despite criticisms on her performances on some instances of the competition. She landed on the bottom 3 with
Camile Velasco
Ciara-Camile "Camile" Roque Velasco (born September 1, 1985), known by her stage name Eli-Mac, is a Philippines, Filipino American singer and came in ninth place on the American Idol (season 3), third season of the reality/talent-search televis ...
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
Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...
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
*
: When Ryan Seacrest announced the results in the particular night, Trias was in the bottom two, but declared safe when George Huff was eliminated.
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
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, among others. The
Manila Times
''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrative offices at 2/F ...
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
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
, "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 the reality show ''
Extra Challenge'' with
Ruffa Gutierrez
Sharmaine Ruffa Rama Gutierrez (born June 24, 1974) is a Filipino actress, model, TV host, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was the 1992 Look of the Year - Philippines, Binibining Pilipinas World 1993 and Second Runner-up to Miss World 199 ...
and
Donita Rose
Donita Rose Cavett-Palad (born December 5, 1974) is a Filipino-American actress, TV host and former MTV Asia VJ.
Early and personal life
Donita Rose Cavett was born in Utah on 5 December 1974 and moved to the Philippines
The Philippin ...
. She also visited the housemates of ''
Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition'' on March 6 and stayed in the house overnight, leaving on March 7.
In 2006, Trias' life story was dramatized in the anthology series ''
Magpakailanman,'' where she was played by
Jolina Magdangal
Maria Jolina Perez Magdangal (; born November 6, 1978) is a Filipino singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Philippine Pop Culture", she is credited for heavily inf ...
. In 2006 and 2007, Trias starred in two episodes of the music anthology series ''
Your Song'' which featured two of her songs as the title songs.
Career
Managing Director of Honolulu
Ben Lee
Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He app ...
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
James R. "Duke" Aiona Jr. (born June 8, 1955) is an American politician and jurist who served as the eleventh lieutenant governor of Hawaii under Linda Lingle from 2002 to 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he also served both as an attorn ...
, 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
Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...
and
Taco Bell
Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...
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
Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...
and ''
Seventeen'' "Rock Your Prom" Fashion Show. She performed in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
and
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles.
As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
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
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
and
Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...
(headed by
P. Diddy), to record and produce her debut album. She also signed a record deal with
Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
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.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
It has since sold 14,000 copies in the US alone according to
Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
and a reported 50,000 worldwide. She has since been certified platinum in the Philippines. Trias headlined tours in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, Los Angeles, and
Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
in 2004. To end her whirlwind visit to the Philippines, dubbed "Jasmania," she met President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
. 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
LIVE365 is an Internet radio network which enables users to create their own online radio stations and listen to thousands of human curated stations. Online radio stations on the Live365 network were created and managed by music and talk enthus ...
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
The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...
single "
Bebot," playing
apl.de.ap
Allan Pineda Lindo (born November 28, 1974), known professionally as apl.de.ap ( ), is a Filipino-American rapper, singer and record producer. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas (BEP). With the BEP, he has been nomin ...
's sister. She was featured as a commentator on
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
/
TRL for the
sixth season of ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
.'' She also filmed a movie in the Philippines titled "Suddenly It's Magic"; it is shelved indefinitely. 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.
[ ''Callbacknews.com'' Retrieved on 05-09-07]
Discography
Albums
Singles
* 2004: "Love 'Ko To"
* 2005: "Excuses"
* 2005: "Lose Control"
* 2006: "Sana Lagi"
* 2006: "Kung Paano"
* 2006: "I'd Rather"
* 2007: "The Christmas Song"
Album appearances
*2005: ''American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics''
**"Midnight Train to Georgia"
**"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (with the Top 12 finalists)
Awards and recognitions
Videography
*2004: "Love 'Ko To"
*2004: "Kailangan Koy Ikaw" (for Smart IDD)
*2005: "Excuses"
*2005: "Lose Control"
*2005: "Sana Lagi"
*2006: "Kung Paano"
*2006: "
Bebot", Generations 1 and 2 (by
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...
)
*2007: "Pinoy Love" (by
Honore)
Filmography
Television
Notes
External links
*
*
Honolulu Advertiser's American Idol Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trias, Jasmine
1986 births
Living people
21st-century American women singers
American child singers
American women pop singers
American Idol participants
American musicians of Filipino descent
Musicians from Honolulu
People from Tanza, Cavite
21st-century American singers