Alaska's hottest young pop singer is suddenly singing the blues.
J.R. Aquino, the Dimond High student who outperformed more than 100,000 hopefuls to land among the final 44 contestants on last season's blockbuster TV show "American Idol," has learned he is ineligible to audition for next year's installment of the star-making program.
"Idol" changed its rules, deciding that the previous season's top 44 singers cannot compete in future shows, thus eliminating Aquino. In the past two seasons, only the top 32 singers were ruled ineligible from upcoming seasons.
"It's really just a big bummer," Aquino, 17, said from his South Anchorage home Wednesday. "I'm so young, and I really, really wanted to try out again. So much preparation, all this hard work, for nothing."
Aquino learned of the rule change recently when he and his voice coach, Big Mitch, visited "Idol's" Web site to plan a trip Outside for one of "Idol's" regional open auditions. Annually, more than 100,000 singers try out at the regional events, all vying for a shot to become the next "American Idol" and reap the spoils that come along with the title (a recording contract, instant riches and pop stardom -- remember Kelly Clarkson?).
Aquino and Big Mitch selected the Aug. 18 audition in San Francisco, since it was the nearest and was also where Aquino was "discovered" last winter. He eventually advanced from that tryout to the round of 44.
But reading further into the 2005 auditions announcement, Aquino and Big Mitch found the rule change.
"This thing popped up! What!" Big Mitch said. "I got mad right away."
So mad, Mitch immediately searched for an explanation, calling the local Fox affiliate (Fox 4-KTBY), which carries "Idol," and writing letters to "Idol" staff and Sen. Ted Stevens. (Alaskans apparently ask Stevens for help with anything.) The vocal coach said KTBY couldn't assist him, and he still hasn't heard back from "Idol" representatives or Stevens.
"No one will tell us why the rule changed," Big Mitch said.
A message left Thursday at "American Idol's" Los Angeles publicity department was not returned.
This wasn't the first time "American Idol" has played with the emotions of Alaska singers. Last September, the program pulled the plug on its scheduled Anchorage open auditions two weeks before they were to take place at Sullivan Arena. Arena officials expected between 4,000 and 5,000 participants.
That cancellation and the recent developments truly stung Aquino, a devoted pop singer and "Idol" fan who seemed poised for his own "Idol" success.
After a lifetime of singing (he mimicked McDonald's jingles when he was 2) and three summers spent watching "Idol," one of television's highest-rated programs, Aquino finally reached the show's minimum age requirement of 16 last year. Undeterred even after "Idol" canceled its Anchorage event, he won a local talent competition that scored him airfare and access to the San Francisco audition. From there, he advanced with fewer than 200 other national aspirants to a closed Los Angeles tryout, where he moved into the field of 44.
Only 24 from that group were selected to become contestants on the show's fourth season, and Aquino wasn't among them. But just after he was eliminated, celebrity judge Paula Abdul stopped him.
"She said, 'Would you promise us you'll try out again?' and I said yes," Aquino said. "That made me feel good, like they wanted me to try again."
With his "Idol" opportunity now gone, Aquino is only slightly shifting his performance focus. He'll continue rehearsing and performing but put his extra energy into recording a demo instead of pouring it into "Idol" preparation. After he graduates from Dimond, he says, he may move to the Philippines, where his parents hail from, to pursue a music career, or maybe he'll attend college Outside and get into music production. Wherever he is, he'll be singing and dreaming.
"I want to become a well-known singer, and 'American Idol' was the fast track, a shortcut to getting there," he said. "That would have helped a lot, but no matter what, I'm going to get there. That's what I'm telling myself, and I will."
Daily News reporter Josh Niva can be reached at jniva@adn.com.
