Tampa singer gets her 'Idol' time
Jessica Sierra got her moment to shine Tuesday on TV's American Idol. Tonight, fans find out how she did.
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published February 23, 2005
TAMPA - Jessica Sierra has always been a star in her family. From the time she was 3 and sang Mary Had a Little Lamb in front of her church, her aunt knew she was going to be famous one day.
"She had perfect pitch," Sheila Baxter said Tuesday. "It was truly amazing."
"Jessie," as she is known to family and friends, showed the country what she had Tuesday night as an American Idol finalist. She performed Against All Odds in front of a live audience in the first elimination round for female singers.
Her family will be sitting on the edge of their seats in their South Tampa home tonight when they, and the rest of the show's fans, find out if Jessica, 19, advances to the next round.
Whether she becomes the next American Idol or not, they're certain she'll go far.
"If this doesn't work out, she's moving on," Baxter said. "She will be in the music industry."
Raised by her grandparents, Betty and Jose Sierra of South Tampa, and her father, Joseph Sierra of Plant City, Jessica attended Robinson High School for a year before transferring to D.W. Waters Career Center, a public school that offers career training. She studied cosmetology at D.W. Waters and graduated at 17.
Jessica worked for a year at a kiosk at International Plaza, selling software that teaches singing. Her family would walk through the mall and hear her voice as she demonstrated the product for buyers.
"We can recognize her voice anywhere," Baxter said. "She has the most beautiful voice. It makes you feel warm inside."
American Idol bars contestants from talking to the media, but her family says she has long dreamed of becoming a famous singer.
She was on Star Search last year, winning Round 1 but losing to a more seasoned veteran in the next phase of competition, Baxter said.
She also tried out for American Idol two years ago but didn't make it far enough to perform for judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, who went from city to city inviting their favorites to Hollywood.
Jessica continued to perform locally, singing the national anthem at spring training games and performing about 50 times a year all over the country with Entertainment Revue, a song and dance troupe.
Then last August she drove to Orlando for the latest American Idol auditions. Screeners invited her back to perform before the judges, but the judges never made it to Orlando because of the hurricanes.
Instead, American Idol flew Jessica to Las Vegas, where she sang for the trio. That's when she got the good news.
Her family doesn't know what song she sang in tryouts.
"Everything just happened so fast," said her sister, Jennifer Sierra, 20.
During the American Idol auditions, Jessica had been working as a nanny, living with a family on Bayshore Boulevard. A week before she was to report to Los Angeles for the American Idol finals, the family moved to Seattle. Jessica helped them make the move to their new home and then flew straight to Hollywood.
Her grandfather has erected a homemade sign on his front lawn, urging those who pass by their S Lois Avenue home to vote for Jessica. "We're so proud of that girl," Jose Sierra said.
Jessica is close to her family, calling her father every day from California since arriving Feb. 15.
The show's publicists have described Sierra as a "niece" of Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, but apparently the relationship is somewhat more complicated than that. Her stepmother is the daughter of Iorio's sister-in-law.
Joseph Sierra had two extra telephone lines installed in his house for voting.
"We're all excited," he said Tuesday, just moments after speaking to Jessica over the telephone. "We're all hoping and praying she pulls through."
Jessica reported to her dad that it has been raining all week, but she's having a great time.
"She's always been able to gather a crowd wherever she's at," Joseph Sierra said. "I'm sure she'll end up somewhere."