 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori, and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou School Boys Varsity Tennis Team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books, Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game, and it's about inspiration, character, mindset, and building a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today is an actor and singer who performed on American Idol. She is Lyric Maderos, and today we are going Beyond Music. Hey, Lyric, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Uncle Rusty, thank you so much for having me. Lyric, I know your family very well. Your parents, Glenn and Tammy, are extraordinary people. You have your brother, Cord. I want to ask you about your family. But what types of values and disciplines did your parents instill with you and Cord? Absolutely. My parents have definitely emphasized, I think, above all, appreciation, being appreciative for the things we have in life, for the things we've been blessed with, and also giving back. Service has been a huge part of my life. My dad and my mom would both wake up. My brother and I at around 5 a.m., almost every Saturday morning, to feed the homeless at the feel any park, and when I was little, I really didn't appreciate it. I was like, why are you waking me up so early? But definitely older, now 22 years old, I realized the significance behind that and what my parents were really trying to do. And that was teaching me appreciation and giving back. Well, Lyric, you attended Punahou School. You graduated from Punahou School. You were there on a full merit scholarship. You received the President's and Principles Award. Tell me about the type of impact that Punahou School had on you that helped to shape you. Absolutely. I'm forever grateful for Punahou for so many different reasons. One, I did receive a full merit scholarship, a Portuguese scholarship for one year, and that was only for my senior year of high school. The other three years, I was there paying, but I was definitely grateful to get that scholarship for my senior year, and that was an academic scholarship. So I received that due to my grades. Punahou has helped me in so many ways. I truly believe that you don't realize the significance of Punahou until you leave the school, and it's so true. Everyone, even on the mainland, knows what Punahou is, knows the connections it allows you to have, the prestige that it has, and the values that it teaches you and so. It's pretty cool to say that you went to a school that a former President of the United States went to as well. Yeah, that is cool. And I know Punahou School for many, many years. And Lyric, then you went on to Notre Dame. You were on the Dean's List, and you graduated Notre Dame in three years. How did you do that? Yes, it was difficult. Honestly, with COVID happening, I did end up not continuing my freshman year, the rest of my freshman year, because we were sent home during spring break. And so I was doing online classes at home. I was waking up for classes at 3 a.m. in the morning on Zoom because of the time difference here in Hawai'i in comparison to Indiana. But COVID allowed me to take extra courses at Notre Dame, and then also some summer courses, too, which allowed me to fulfill my graduation requirements to graduate with a double major in English and film television and theater and a minor in journalism in three years. And so I'm really grateful that Notre Dame and all of the faculty there that helped me to achieve that. So while you were at Notre Dame, what were some of the best parts of being there on campus? The community, by far. You'll hear this from every single Notre Dame alumni and graduate that Notre Dame's main theme, main value, one thing that they're known for really other than the football team, is the community aspect. Everyone will tell you, if you're at Notre Dame, if you go to Notre Dame, you will feel that community value shine so strongly. I worked in the admissions team when I was at Notre Dame. I was very grateful to be an intern. And one of the main things that I emphasized to prospective students is that Notre Dame may be far from home. It may be in a place that's different, and college is about new experiences and being in somewhere new that you're not comfortable with. But Notre Dame creates a community that makes you feel comfortable immediately. And I think, in part, it has to do with the faith aspect, the social aspect, and also this great pride that every single one of the students and alumni at Notre Dame can speak to. So Lyric, after graduating Notre Dame, you are now at the University of Hawaii Law School. Yes. Tell me what interests you about law and what specific type of law might you be pursuing? Sure, the funny thing is that I actually wanted to go to med school. I entered Notre Dame as a biology major thinking that I wanted to go to med school. I love helping people. I'm very passionate about helping others. And so I wanted to go to med school. And then I realized that I am not a big fan of blood. I cannot handle it. And so I was like, time to switch majors. And so in the middle of my freshman year, I switched to English because I love reading and writing. And I was really encouraged to pursue law because a lot of law school is reading and writing. And it also provides me with a way to help others in using those strengths and that love for reading and writing. And so that's how I found law school. And essentially, I decided to come home and go to University of Hawaii Law School because I've been told that Hawaii has a great community here around the law school in terms of the legal community connecting with the law school and a lot of those graduates working directly for Hawaii firms right after school. And so it was the perfect way to go to a school that was going to allow me to give back to the Hawaii community through law. Are you thinking more on the prosecuting side, defense side, or what are you kind of leaning towards right now? I'm not too sure just yet. Because of my love for music and acting, I've been told, maybe entertainment law would be great for you. But I really am passionate about litigation. I love public speaking. And so this summer, I'll be at the prosecutor's office working as an intern. And I'm excited to see how that goes. Get into the courtroom more often and just observe and use the skills I used in my first year and really see them in action. Well, that sounds good to me, Lyric, and Lyric, I want to ask you about your dad, Glenn Maderos. Everybody knows he's a famous 80s pop star. I mean, huge hit songs. Nothing's going to change my love for you. She ain't worth it with Bobby Brown. He sold millions of albums. He's traveled to over 30 countries performing. Looking back at his career, what are some things that really stood out that you admire about his time being an 80s pop star? Sure, there's a lot of things that I definitely admire my dad for. I think above all, though, I think it's his determination to want to help others. He had this amazing lifestyle of going to events and singing and performing at some of the largest venues in the world and traveling the world and meeting people like Prince and all of these great stars. And yet all he wanted to do during that time was give back to others and to really get into education. And the fact that after his time in the spotlight, he decided to get a doctorate degree. And now he wants to give back through education. It's just really so touching to see. And you know, I actually have a TikTok page right now. And I started it when I was at Notre Dame in my last year. And what I do on there is I create a family page, whether it's updates on my family, the Madaris family, or I do highlight my dad a lot. I show videos of him when he was younger. His famous hit, Nothing's Going to Change My Love for You has a video on YouTube that has over 45 million views. And so I'll show it on TikTok. And then all of his fans from Germany, from Austria, from Tahiti, from literally everywhere you can think of, Ireland, the UK, everywhere, they are commenting on there saying, oh my goodness, this is his daughter. And we now have over 408,000 people on my TikTok every day watching my family and I do the fun little acts or scenes that we do every day. And talking about my dad and just reminiscing on his time as an 80s teenage pop star, but also remembering where he is today and what he's doing for the Hawaii community at St. Louis School. Well, Lyric, I mean, your dad is a man of great character. He's an exceptional leader, president of St. Louis School. I know him very well. I wanna ask you, when you're performing, well, you've performed songs with him and I've seen some of the videos that you had put together on TikTok and it is absolutely priceless watching you and him perform together. Now, what specific advice has he given to you about singing or how has he really specifically helped you with performing? Absolutely, my dad has taught me a lot of great things when it comes to singing, but I think above all, he's definitely taught me how to use your gift to help others. And for me, I love singing, I love acting, I love learning and my dad has always encouraged me to use those gifts and those strengths to help others. And so singing is a very special thing because you're able to touch others, you're able to make them feel a certain way, whether that's happy or sad and doing it that I'm able to touch the hearts of others and singing is something that I love because of that reason. And so I'm so grateful that I've been able to do that not only here in Hawaii, but also on a national level too when I was fortunate enough to go on American Idol and to sing in front of the country, which was crazy. Well, we're gonna get to that in a little bit. I wanna ask you about your dad performing at the Hale Koa hotels right now and you performing at the Hale Koa hotel, tell me about that. Yes, I get so excited to talk about this because it's truly as a gift that I'm able to perform where I grew up watching my dad perform on stage. My dad has been at the Hale Koa for I believe almost 14 years now, if not more than 14 years. And I grew up watching him hosting the Luau show, singing, nothing's gonna change my love for you there. And to be able to switch positions with him and to be on stage every Tuesday where I perform weekly at the Hale Koa Luau show as the host, the position that I watched up that I grew up watching him play is surreal. I'm so thankful. I'm so grateful every time I get on that stage at the end of the night, I thank my dad for giving me that opportunity and allowing me to fill his shoes quite literally. I mean, it's absolutely wonderful what you guys are doing there. And Lyric, when you're performing at the Hale Koa Luau, what's the best part and what's the most challenging part of performing? Absolutely, the best part about performing I think is seeing the reaction that the people in the audience have, seeing the joy that it brings them when you sing a Moana song. I sing how far I'll go at the Luau show and what I do is I go down into the crowd and I sing with the children in the audience and I see if any of the young Kiki know the song and sure enough, they know every single Lyric and so I hand the mic over to them, we sing it together and seeing the joy that it brings to the child but also to the parents and the family watching the child sing, recording them sing at the Luau show here in Hawaii where they vacation is truly so special. I think the challenging part would probably have to be getting off the stage probably. I love performing so much. It's so tough for me to say goodbye to that moment because when you truly are in your happy place and doing what you love, it's always tough to step back and then go back into reality if that makes sense and so I would probably have to say the most challenging part is removing myself from that performing position because I love it so much. Well, I think you were born to perform with Lyric knowing you, you are a born performer. I mean, even when you were at Punahou, didn't you perform in the theater a bunch? Yes, I did a bunch of theater when I was at Punahou. I also, right before I went away to college, I was a principal role on Hawaii Five-O and so I was able to act on Hawaii Five-O. I recently just booked a voiceover project that came here from LA and so I recorded in the studio for that. It's called The Elvis Project and I'm very grateful for those opportunities and we're gonna keep working until we achieve our dreams of one day, hopefully becoming a full-time actress. But in the meantime, love law school. It's been great learning. It has been a challenge nonetheless, but I love learning and so we're gonna keep going. And Lyric, I watched your acting on Hawaii Five-O. It was on season nine, right? Yes, that's correct. Yeah, no, you were great and Lyric, I wanna ask you now about American Idol. Can you tell me about why you entered American Idol and take us through your journey up until performing on that first day, that first performance? Absolutely, American Idol was a surreal experience. It is one that I'm forever grateful for for the rest of my life and I will continue to be. It was an experience of a lifetime. How it happened was a producer of American Idol reached out to me on Instagram saying we are looking for new contestants for American Idol season 21. And if you're interested, please let me know. I auditioned with that producer and then I passed that round, went on to two more auditions with executive producers. And then after that third Zoom audition, they told me that I would be invited to perform in front of the judges, which were Katy Perry, Lionel, Richie, and then Luke Bryan. And so they flew me and my mom out to Nashville. That was one of the audition cities. And when I tell you I was going off in two hours of sleep, I truly was. I had to fly on a weekend, right before my midterms for law school to Nashville. That was about a 10 hour trip. And I also had a cold that week. And so I didn't have a voice. I was really nervous. It was kind of a hectic time, to be honest. But as soon as I got to Nashville, I was told to get ready to come back, to do interviews, to do social media things, and then to audition in front of the judges. And when I tell you it happened so fast, it truly did. Before I knew it, once we landed at the airport, in the next three hours, I was in front of Katy Perry, Lionel, Richie, and Luke Bryan. And that was just, it was crazy. It was an experience of a lifetime, but definitely one that I will remember forever and that I will always be grateful for. Well, I watched it and it was really fun to see how animated Katy Perry and Luke Bryan got. And when Katy came up to you and said, give me another song and give me more. And how did that make you feel? Because you were on it. I mean, you started that next song with Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats. Tell me about what you were feeling at that moment. Sure, the crazy thing is, is that that was my main fear. Auditioning for American Idol, I used to watch it growing up as a young girl and I knew that they would always ask the contestants for another song, give us another song, do something a little different, do something with this kind of style to it. And that's what I was hoping wouldn't happen to me. But in the back of my mind, I knew that that was gonna happen. And so I was like, okay, if they say we don't want this song, this song, this song, what's your backup song? And so honestly, Before He Cheats was not any of my backup songs, it was the first thing that came to mind when they asked for something a little bit more gritty and more, I don't know a way to describe it other than gritty, but so I went with that song and it went in my favor. Luckily, I did receive a no from Luke Bryan. He told me I was too pretty for an ugly business. And so I did receive a no, but then Katy Perry was ultimately the deciding factor and she decided to give me a chance, which I'm super grateful for. And then we went on to Hollywood Week about two months later. So tell me more about Hollywood Week now and tell me about some of the lessons you learned. How did that experience help you grow? Yes, what a lot of people don't know is that Hollywood Week actually takes place about four to five months before the actual season comes out and it's a series of rounds. And so Hollywood Week isn't just one show, it's typically three shows because there's three different rounds. First round is you sing a song, you go one by one in a line and they say front row you're going home, front back row you're staying, you're moving on, then you go on to a second round which is duets and then you go on to a third round which is a showstopper where you perform in front of a real audience. And so Hollywood Week is really just a bunch of challenges that you have to pass in order to make it to that top 21 group that eventually comes to Alani and Hawaii. One of the things that I learned is that despite me not making it very far in the Hollywood Week round, you really have to stay true to yourself. And at the end of the day, if you know that you did your very best and that you put it all out there and you gave it your best shot and you stayed true to you, then that's all you can do. And I think for me, it was definitely new being in an environment where I was encouraged to be a little bit more hard around the edges and stray from maybe what seemed like the perfect or the nice girl kind of view I may have given off in the beginning and that they wanted me to break out of. I know that in my heart, I really stayed true to myself in that Hollywood Week performance and showing them that I can sing and that I have this range but also staying true to the person I am and that someone who's sweet and very giving and wants to give back and won't stray from that. Well, you were absolutely incredible and you represented Hawaii very well. And I wanna ask you because you know about the behind the scenes. Let's talk about Ian Tonghi. Did you get to meet him and why do you think he really ended up winning and just succeeding and winning over the hearts of America? Absolutely, I was so grateful to be able to meet him. It's so funny when I was on my way from the airport LA to the concert hall that we were performing at Ian Tonghi was in the same bus as me and he was talking to someone saying how he's from Hawaii and I turn around and I go, I'm from Hawaii too. And he's like, no way. And we just started talking from there and I am so proud of him. I'm so happy for him. Congratulations to Ian Tonghi. That's huge to be able to win American Idol, to be able to represent Hawaii so well and to touch the hearts of so many on a national level is just amazing. And so I'm so happy for him and I'm just so proud of him really. And to be able to say that I got to meet him, I'm just so grateful. And so I couldn't be happier. Way to make Hawaii proud. How awesome. Well, I was watching the finals along with everybody in Hawaii and crying multiple times watching it. It's amazing how his songs, I mean, just really touches people, I mean, emotionally. And Lyric, I wanna ask you, you sang the national anthem for the NBA Clippers and Raptors game. How nerve-wracking is it when you're standing in the middle of the entire arena singing the national anthem? So nerve-wracking. I saw Blake Griffin walk past me literally before I started singing. I was like, oh my goodness, this is crazy. And I think the hardest part about singing the national anthem is that you have to find the note on your own. And so you have to come in with the starting note on your own. And so I was just playing the note in my head. I'm like, oh, oh, say, like in my head, making sure that I knew it before I actually opened my mouth and started singing. But of course it's very surprising when you see all of these super tall and famous basketball players in front of you. And I'm like, Lyric, focus on the note so you can get it right. Well, I can only imagine because even just to remember the words, let alone in front of thousands of people there. And Lyric, I wanna ask you about my books. You have both of my books. What are some things that stood out to you in it? Absolutely. I think the messages in Beyond the Lines, both of your books have great messages. I really, really enjoyed and I'm really thankful to have been able to read your book and for you giving them to us. So thank you so much. It really offers a great perspective on what it means to be a leader and what it means to achieve and sustain success because we all know that there's a lot of different ways to do that and achieving success is not always easy. It's a bumpy road to get there sometimes but everyone goes through it and there are different ways to achieve that success, different ways to look at that success in terms of mindset. And so I really enjoyed reading your book and hearing those themes all throughout it and then comparing them to my own views and then seeing the best way to move forward. I think it's always helpful to have a different perspective on things so that you can create your own. And so I'm really grateful that I was able to read your books and to take away those messages that you wrote in there. It's very beautiful. Well, thanks Lyric and your dad. I mean, in addition to being president of St. Louis School, he's also teaching a college class at Chaminade University, a doctorate level PhD class about leadership and he's using both of my books as the textbooks there. And you know in chapter one, I talk about choices and I'm trying to inspire people because a lot of people might feel stuck or they're complacent in their professional or personal lives. And I wanna let them know that they have a choice to do something different, maybe something better, maybe to pursue a passion. And then also to take calculated risks because anytime you make a choice, there's some level of risk involved. What are your thoughts about choices and risk? Absolutely. I think that was a great way to put it. And I think it was so beautifully written in your book. When it comes down to choices, I've definitely had to make a lot in terms of what was happening after Notre Dame for me. When I graduated from Notre Dame, I knew that I wanted to pursue acting, but I also wanted to continue learning because everyone knows that the entertainment business can be very competitive and oftentimes it may not be the most financially stable job to choose. And so for me coming out of graduating from Notre Dame in three years, I definitely wanted to navigate how I was going to achieve that goal of wanting to be an actress, but also providing myself with a job in the future that would lead to that financial stability that I would like to provide my family with one day. And so I had to make a choice and that was to come to law school and go to the University of Hawaii and study in a place where I'd also be able to pursue my love for acting with my TikTok account, which I've created and also doing self-tapes here at home. And then also having the support of my family like my mom coming with me to American Idol, something I would not have been able to do if I did go away from home. Now I love hearing those insights and I wanna ask you more about your young generation. What are some of the big challenging adversity issues that your generation is facing nowadays? Sure, I think with the rise of social media, it's so easy to compare yourself to what you see on a screen because a lot of times we go on Instagram, we go on TikTok when we're bored and we look at what others are doing and we think to ourselves, why am I not doing that? Why am I not traveling to Italy? Why am I not pursuing my dreams of being an actor in LA? Why am I not getting into good schools like this other person? It's so easy to compare with social media nowadays, but I think one thing that I've really tried to emphasize in my TikTok is that a lot of it is highlights of people's lives. We post what we want others to see and I think that's something to remember. A lot of people don't post about the downsides, the adversity that they face in life. They post about those highlights and so it's important to remember that when scrolling on TikTok or Instagram or any sort of social media platform and also to remember how your path is your own path. We make choices, whether it's because of family members or whether it's for ourselves as individuals and we each have our own individual path that we're forming. And so while we do compare ourselves to others, it's also great to remember where we are in ourselves and what we're doing to better ourselves and achieve our own definition of success. Lerek, I'm so glad you brought up social media. In your generation, you're born into social media and I mean, there's so many stories about bullying and various pressures. Did you experience any bullying or pressures through social media yourself? Absolutely, I think I've experienced more cyber bullying now that I have a platform on TikTok with over 400,000 people being on my TikTok page in particular. I do receive quite a bit of negative comments on my page and naturally when you read those comments you do take it personally and you think, oh my goodness, that's really hurtful what someone said and wow, is that really what people think of me? And I think something important that I've learned is that you never know what these people are going through in their own lives. You never know if they're dealing with something on their own or their reason for writing that comment. And so all you really can do is spread positivity in your own way and spread positivity and encourage it on your page. And that's all I really can do on my TikTok and that's something that I try to do. I try to stay really positive with the content that I post and hope that it puts a smile on someone's face on the other end. Well, I can see that because for you, everything that you post, you're literally really trying to inspire others. I mean, you're such a young woman of great character. You're trying to do things in the right way to, like you said in the beginning of the show to really help others, right? Yes, thank you so much for saying that I'm flattered. But I also wanna say too, I mean, with all of the positivity that I radiate and things like that, and I try to radiate, I also have low moments too. And I also go through challenges myself and I make mistakes too. And I think that's something that I really wanna encourage is that with every mistake you learn from it. And so I've definitely made mistakes and I definitely had those moments where I felt low but I've learned from every one of them. And it's human and it's natural to feel like you don't know where you're going. You don't know what you're doing. The choices that you're making are wrong, but it's human and we're all human. And so that's something that I also try to emphasize with what I post as well. Having that real aspect but also spreading positivity and trying to radiate that. Well, Lyric, I have to say it was an absolute pleasure having you on the show today. You are so authentic, so genuine, so inspirational. I know that you are going to be a great role model for countless people. And I wanna thank you for taking time to be on the show today. Oh, thank you so much, Uncle Rusty. And you truly are a leader for so many people like myself today. And so thank you so much for writing books that truly inspire people in my generation as well. Thank you, Lyric. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Lyric and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and donate to us at ThinkTechHawaii.com. Mahalo.