MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-Mexican “American Idol” finalist Jessica Sanchez has not won in the tilt yet but she’s already enjoying the rockstar treatment as seen in her recent hometown visit on May 12 (US Time).
Thousands of fans packed the Eastlake High School’s football stadium in Chula Vista, San Diego, California to get a glimpse and hear the voice of the young “Idol” superstar. They lined the streets and screamed the 16-year-old singer’s name while holding homemade signs as her motorcade drove by.
The “Idol” Top 3 finalist couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the huge amount of people that trooped to the venue. According to a report posted on Fox5sandiego.com, about 4,000 fans crowded the field while a whopping 2,500 people packed the stands.
Sanchez sang three songs during her first stop – “Try A Little Tenderness,” “Stuttering” and “I Will Always Love You.”
The Whitney Houston hit was supposed to be her last number in the venue but after much prodding from her fans the youngest contender in “Idol’s” Season 11 agreed to do an encore, “Proud Mary.”
The teen continued her homecoming celebration at the USS Midway Museum around midafternoon. There she sang the U.S. national anthem and “Try A Little Tenderness” for fans aboard the ship. Sanchez asked her US Navy dad, who is set to be deployed to Singapore soon, to come up with her on stage while she dedicated her emotional performance of “Dance With My Father” to him.
In honor of Sanchez's achievements, city leaders County Supervisor Greg Cox and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders proclaimed May 12 as “Jessica Sanchez Day” in San Diego.
After her performances aboard USS Midway, Sanchez left via a helicopter from the ship to head back to Los Angeles in order to resume her preparations for the Wednesday (US Time, Thursday morning in Manila) performance night together with other finalists Joshua Ledet and Phillip Phillips. For this week the Top 3 are tasked to perform three songs – judges’ choice, “Idol” mentor Jimmy Iovine’s choice, and the finalists' own choice.
The two finalists who will be moving on to the finale will be announced on Thursday (US Time, Friday morning in Manila).
article source: mb.com.ph