Jessica Sanchez excited to meet Filipino fans, relatives

“American Idol” Season 11 runner-up Jessica Sanchez is excited to meet Filipino fans and family members in the Philippines. 
 
The Filipino-Mexican singer arrived in Manila with nine other finalists of American Idol Season 11 on Tuesday, September 18, to hold a one-night concert and a series of mall shows. Jessica, together with Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips, Joshua Ledet, Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine, Elise Testone, Colton Dixon, DeAndre Brackensick, Heejun Han and Erika Van Pelt met the press on the same day at  Manila Hotel.
 
“This has been a highlight for me even though I’ve just been here for a couple of hours, meeting everybody here so far. I’m excited to meet all fans who are coming to the show,” Jessica said at the press conference.
 
Jessica, whose family hails from Bataan, said she wants to visit relatives, if her busy schedule permits.
 
“If I have any downtime, I want to definitely visit my family. Visiting my family is one thing I really wanna do. But I think I’m gonna be way to busy.”

Endorsements


Jessica shared that she will be staying here longer than the rest of the finalists because she sealed a couple of endorsements.

Local clothing brand Bench announced on Twitter that Jessica is its new endorser.

“I’m actually staying here in the Philippines, after they leave, for a couple of endorsement deals,” she said.
 
The 17-year-old singer also shared her excitement in tasting variety of Filipino food while in Manila.
 
“I am Filipino myself. I come from a Filipino family, who is born and raised here. I learn from them. The Filipino food I had in America was amazing, so to be here in the Philippines and have home-cooked food, I’m really excited for that. And to meet all of you guys and the supporters, thank you very much.”

Debut album


Jessica announced that she is set to release her debut album by the end of the year. She clarified that the finalists are not slated to do collaborations with each other for now since they’re working on their solo careers.

“No collaborations with each other right now. We’ve been doing our own thing and doing a lot of stuff with each other on tour, but definitely not on our albums. My album is supposed to come out by the end of the year, I’m excited for that,” she said.

What did she learn during the American Idol run?

“Just having to push so much for something we all want,” Jessica replied.

The Americal Idol Live! Tour 2012 will be held on September 21 at Smart Araneta Coliseum. The finalists will also have  mall shows at Eastwood (September 19) and Alabang Town Center (September 20) to promote their albums.