From Del Norte to ‘American Idol’

’02 graduate clears hurdle in auditions

Hollywood can seem a long way from Del Norte County, especially for a local kid with dreams of stardom.

Paris Lo is one step closer to his dream.

Born and raised in Crescent City, Lo recently auditioned for the star-making TV show “American Idol” in San Diego. He got his chance to sing and dance in front of the celebrity judges, Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, and was told he was “going to Hollywood.”

Someone noticed Lo and it spread on Facebook like wildfire that a local had made it to the next stage of the singing competition.

“It was the coolest thing,” Lo told the Triplicate in a telephone interview Thursday. “I went viral on Facebook. Everybody was talking about it.”

“I’m overwhelmed with the support and love,” he said. “I was not expecting this.”

The 28-year-old has been dancing and singing since he was a child. He performed for local audiences with the Del Norte High School drill team and choir.

Now living in Las Vegas, Lo (his given name is Peng) has been working as a professional dancer in shows. He tried auditioning for “American Idol” before, to no avail, but said he never stopped trying to reach his dream of being a performer.

“It’s what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Lo said.

“American Idol” continues to hold auditions and those like Lo who impressed the judges will go through the “Hollywood Rounds,” which will air Feb. 9, Feb. 15  and Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. on Fox, according to the show’s website.

The contestants will go before the judges during the “Performance Challenge” airing Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. and the top 24 semifinalists (12 male, 12 female) are announced the following night, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. That’s when the voting rounds begin and viewers can vote for their favorite contestant. For more information, go to americanidol.com.

The right moves

Lo auditioned for “American Idol” along with 10,000 other hopefuls in San Diego.

He can’t give details about the process because he’s signed a contract, but he earned the opportunity to audition in front of the celebrity judges. Lo joked with Lopez, who’s known as JLo, about having the same last name and being related before singing Bonnie Rait’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”

“It’s an honest song,” Lo said. I’m saying to the judges, ‘I can’t make you love me, but my talent is good enough to put me through.’”

Then he danced and did some flips for the judges. Tyler was impressed with his moves and Lopez said he was definitely a performer.

Lo was one of 53 people in San Diego to receive a “golden ticket” to Hollywood.

Road to Hollywood

Growing up in Crescent City, Lo started dancing as a child. He’s self-taught and practiced dance moves and acrobatics until he perfected them.

“I was a dancer way before I was a singer,” Lo said. “I discovered I could carry a tune. One thing led to another and I was singing all of the time. It’s something I loved to do.”

At Del Norte High School, Lo was on the drill and cheerleading teams and was in the dance production class. Lo was also a member of the Madrigal Choir and performed with the group in London. His senior year, Lo was named best dancer by his peers.

“Growing up, Peng was one of a kind,” said his younger brother Meng Lo. “He was the first guy to be on the cheerleading team and the dance team. He did it all. He was the first one to open the door for other guys to join.”

It all started with pigeons.

“When I was younger, my dad raised homing pigeons,” Paris Lo said. “I was so fascinated with the birds. When they went out to fly, they made it look so effortless. I want to do that. I want to fly. I was pretending I was flying with the pigeons — that led into dancing.”

Lo was about 9 or 10 then. Soon, he was trying flips and dance moves that are featured in the many videos of him singing and dancing on his website, parislo.com, and YouTube.

Dancing and doing flips just came naturally to him.

“Trust me, I wasn’t perfect — I’ve fallen a couple of times,” Lo said laughing. “You just get back up and dust yourself off and try again.”

At about 12 or 13, Lo realized he had a singing voice while warbling along with the radio or his mom’s favorite singers, Madonna and Celine Dion.

‘Leap of faith’

Being a performer has been Lo’s dream since childhood. Whether it’s singing, dancing, or cracking jokes, he likes to entertain people.

“I like making people smile, feel inspired or good about themselves,” he said.

After graduating from DNHS in 2002, Lo moved to Las Vegas, where his sister lives, to be a professional dancer.

“It was a leap of faith,” he said. “I was really following my dream ... I grew up in Crescent City. All I’ve known is the beach and the redwoods.”

Lo found work dancing in “Les Folies Bergere,” one of Vegas’ longest-running shows, at the Tropicana hotel-casino, and recently in “Zen Magic.”

His goal is to get a recording contract and “making music and sharing it with the world.”

He said it’s his love for dancing and singing that keeps him going when he falls down. Lo didn’t let rejection at a couple of “American Idol” auditions stop him from trying to reach his goal.

In front of the judges

Lo credits his relaxed and calm demeanor for helping him make it through the audition this time.

“Before, I was way too nervous and over-thinking everything,” Lo said. This audition, his attitude was, “Yeah, I’m here, having a good time.”

Lo auditioned in front of the “American Idol” judges once before when Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell were still on the panel. The judges told Lo then he wasn’t quite ready, but he had talent. He thinks his nerves got the best of him.

“The rejection made me realize I need to work harder,” he said. “When I got the golden ticket to go to Hollywood, it was a confirmation that I do have what it takes.”

See his video about his “road to Hollywood” on the “American Idol” website at www.american

idol.com/videos/season_11/road_to_hollywood/paris_lo where he describes how his dad’s pigeons inspired him to dance.

Traditional dancing

It wasn’t just Lo’s father’s pigeons that had him dancing as a child.

He learned traditional Hmong dancing and performed in the New Year celebrations held in Crescent City as a child.

“We love entertainment,” Lo said of the Hmong people.

But anything that wasn’t a traditional movement was considered taboo, he said. It took his parents time to accept Lo’s interests, having been born and raised American — a background completely different than his parents’ lives in Laos before coming to the U.S. about 30 years ago. They grew up just trying to survive, living through the Vietnam War.

“It’s a completely different world for them. They’re still trying to adjust to it,” Lo said.

His parents are supportive of his dreams, though.

As first-generation Americans, their parents wanted their 10 children to have typical successful careers as doctors or lawyers, said Meng Lo. But they’ve all found their paths: Meng and Paris want to be entertainers, their siblings went the more traditional route in law enforcement and nursing.

His older brother has encouraged Meng Lo to try out for other talent competition shows, such as “America’s Got Talent” or “The X-Factor.” He has his own videos on YouTube doing “random, funny things,” Lo said.

Paris Lo will be heading to Hollywood soon for the next round of the competition. He knows that Crescent City will be supporting him.

“Look out for me in Hollywood!” Lo said. “There’s a lot of pressure — I know I’m going to get support. It’s a huge step to make it to Hollywood and I’m proud of that.”

Reach Kelley Atherton at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it