Most of us can watch "American Idol" with a sense of impersonal detachment, rooting for our favorite singers on the Fox talent competition to do well - but if they get voted off, so be it.

SLIDESHOW: Check out the scene at an American Idol viewing party

Read Chris Hansen Orf's blog, 'Idol Speculation'

But for the 100 or so people who gathered around the big-screen TV last Tuesday at Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill in Mesa to watch "American Idol," most have a vested interest in the show - and, in particular, Mesa's own Brooke White.

"I went to school with Brooke, elementary and high school," says Staci Allen of Mesa, who watched Brooke's "Idol" performance Tuesday with her own family at the restaurant. "She wasn't always a singer - she got into it in high school - then she went to beauty school, but dropped out to (become a singer)."

White, who had been cutting hair since age 11, won a part in a Heritage Academy production of "Meet Me in St. Louis" and got the singing bug, but attended the EVIT Academy of Cosmetic Arts before deciding on a music career.

After an aborted attempt after high school, White moved to Southern California for good a few years ago to pursue her music career and released a debut album, "Songs From the Attic," on the New Millennium Records Group label in 2006. Watching "American Idol" live in the company of White's family - although her mother was there Tuesday, she and other family members are contractually obligated not to speak to the media - and friends adds a different dimension to "Idol" viewing.

When Brooke is announced by Ryan Seacrest as the next contestant after a commercial, applause breaks out in Costa Vida, and as the singer performs Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," the eating, the chatter and the clattering of glasses comes to a halt.

After White finishes singing, applause breaks out until the judges weigh in with their verdicts on the performance. There are smirks as judge Randy Jackson tells the singer "it was OK ... not your best performance," there are smiles when judge Paula Abdul tells White "it was a perfect way to close the evening" and more smirks when judge Simon Cowell calls the performance "nice" but lacking in originality.

"I thought she was wonderful," says Mesa's Jaime Hamelwright, a fan of White's who attended the viewing party with her mother and siblings. "I don't think it's true what Simon said (about the performance lacking in originality) - I thought she was wonderful."

"(Brooke) was excellent - her vocals are amazing," adds Allen. "In the Top 8, all of the singers are amazing, so I think (Cowell) was just picking at (Brooke) her for doing a mellow song."

With White closing in on the Top 5 in the "American Idol" competition, the Brooke White "American Idol" viewing parties (which have been held at California Pizza Kitchen as well as Costa Vida) will continue in the area of Baseline Road and Val Vista Drive in Mesa. Tonight's party will be at Molly Brannigan's.