Lucas: Bluffton 'Idol' hopeful Lee Jean enters second week in Hollywood with parents, school behind him
Camera crews from local and regional television stations descended on Bluffton on Tuesday for a bit of an unusual press conference.
Just moments before, the stage where the camera crews assembled had been teeming with singers and dancers.
The students and faculty who jammed into Bluffton High School's packed auditorium Tuesday morning were there to send "American Idol" hopeful Lee Jean off in grand style, as only a room full of teenagers can do.
"It was so loud ..." Jean told reporters after the assembly, as cameras and microphones came at him from every angle. "It was amazing -- just seeing everybody come out. I wasn't expecting my whole school."
Jean, 16, has been making regular appearances on the reality show and competition since Jan. 27 when its infamous "Hollywood Week" started.
He held his own during the grueling "Group Rounds" in which contenders were placed into small groups then eliminated through a sudden-death styled format. He was even singled out by Jennifer Lopez when, like a lip-gloss-wearing angel from on high, the megastar told Jean herself that he was "going through."
Still, throughout it all, the teen has maintained his poise and a cool-under-pressure demeanor usually found in more seasoned performers.
"I really try to calm myself and think this is what I love to do, so why be nervous?" Jean said Tuesday when he admitted he still, every now and then, gets nervous.
"It's J. Lo., Harry and Keith. So how are you not (going to get nervous)?" he said smiling.
With his family by his side and many of his friends and teachers watching from the wings, Jean fielded the reporters' questions with the same ease and confidence he's carried with him from the start.
"Lee is the genuine article," said principal Mark Dievendorf as he watched the Bluffton High School junior answer questions. "As talented as he is, as wonderful of a musician as he is, he's an even more wonderful human being."
Dievendorf said none of the faculty was surprised by Jean's success on the show. They've been seeing something special about him for several years now.
"He's definitely the full package," said his dance teacher, Beth Herring. Herring said she was impressed with Jean's dance moves from the very start, when he took her first class a year ago.
"He has this incredible musicality about him," she said. "And he gets along with every type of student."
So much so, that at times Herring has enlisted him to help with choreography.
"I keep telling him, 'After you're done with 'Idol' we need to get you on 'So You Think You Can Dance,''" she said.
With all his newfound fame and attention, it could be easy for some of it to go to his head.
But Jean's parents, Veronica Jean and Lee Jean Sr., seem to have found the secret to keeping their son grounded while continuing to encourage his natural talent.
"When he's home, we try to let him be 16-year-old Lee," Veronica Jean said, "... because when he gets to Hollywood it's all work. So we try to keep that balance. ...
"Hopefully it all pays off."
"American Idol" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox.
Follow reporter Mindy Lucas on Twitter at twitter.com/MindyatIPBG.
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This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Lucas: Bluffton 'Idol' hopeful Lee Jean enters second week in Hollywood with parents, school behind him."