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Sierra gets family support in person

The father and grandparents of American Idol finalist Jessica Sierra of Tampa fly to Los Angeles for tonight's live performances.

By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published March 15, 2005

TAMPA - When South Tampa's Jessica Sierra, one of American Idol 's 12 finalists, sings before a live audience again tonight, she'll see familiar faces.

For the first time this season, family members were invited to become part of the audience. Grandparents Betty and Jose Sierra and dad Joseph Sierra arrived in Los Angeles on Monday and will attend tonight's performance.

From here on out, the contestant who gets the lowest number of viewer votes will be booted each week, as opposed to two guys and two girls each week like the previous round.

Sierra, 19, got some flak after last week's performance, not for her choice of song, but for her choice of clothing. She wore a revealing dark teal velvet top, which prompted several postings on American Idol message boards.

While some criticized it, others said the focus should be on the talent, not the wardrobe.

The talk has stung Jessica, her uncle, Donney Sierra, said Monday.

"Their outfits are picked by the American Idol people," he said. "She was real embarrassed about it."

Sierra sang (The Boys Are) Back in Town by 1980s rock 'n' roll group the Bus Boys. Judge Randy Jackson said it was one of the best performances he had heard all season.

Joseph Sierra said "people got something to say about everything."

"She's got the talent," he said in a telephone interview after a long, turbulent flight from Tampa. "I'm not worried. She's going to go all the way."

For the past several weeks, Sierra's family and supporters had been cheering for her at the Press Box, a sports bar in Tampa.

This past week, family and friends contributed to a travel fund to help pay for airplane tickets and hotel rooms for Sierra's grandparents and her father, who raised her together, Donney Sierra said.

Monday night was a reunion for Sierra and her family. She hadn't seen them in a month.

"She's been lonely," Joseph Sierra said. "She misses home, but she's not in any hurry to go home."

LOS ANGELES - American Idol finalist Mario Vazquez, citing "personal issues," withdrew from the competition Sunday, and producers of the Fox show called in the son of baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith as backup.

Fox put Nikko Smith into Vazquez's spot because Smith, ejected with Travis Tucker last week after getting the lowest vote totals, got more votes than Tucker, the network said.

Viewers have a chance to reconsider Smith when he and the other 11 finalists perform tonight as the last round of competition begins.

Vazquez, 27, had been picked by many fans and three fellow finalists as a favorite to win.

He told TV Guide 's Web site that he dropped out to "take care of some personal issues with my family in New York. And with Idol being a live show, it just wouldn't have worked out schedulewise."

Vazquez said his departure had nothing to do with Fox or the show. "It's just a personal family thing," he told the Web site. "My family is my top priority."

Vazquez's mother, Ada, told the New York Post that she knew of no family problem and had no idea why he left the show. His brother Rich, 30, said he was shocked that Mario left. He said Mario told him that the reason wasn't life-threatening but he couldn't talk about it.

Smith, 22, of St. Louis, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in an interview before Sunday's announcement that he wasn't as disappointed at being voted off as people might have thought "because I've made it so far. I'm happy to get all that exposure."

After Fox's announcement, a relative of Smith told the Post-Dispatch that the family had been asked not to speak about his callback. Smith was not available for comment.

Vazquez is not the first to leave Idol unexpectedly, though few have done so willingly. Last year, George Huff was called back to Los Angeles when contestant Donnie Williams was cited for DUI. In 2003, Fox dropped three contestants, two for failing to disclose arrest records and another for posing on an adult-oriented Web site.

[Last modified March 15, 2005, 01:07:17]