Who Will Stay Alive? - Canadian Idol 3, 9-13-05by Andrea Cranfield
Tonight’s Canadian Idol is the second last show of the entire season. The whole thing started off with 187 gold tickets handed out and 4 weeks of eliminations to make 187 become 32. Tonight is the main event where the top 2 will face off, and tomorrow night the winner is announced in a two-hour grand finale. The rest of the top ten Canadian Idols from this year were in the audience. Ben introduced the judges and when he got to Zack he said “and someone who kinda looks like Zack Werner” as Zack was dressed like Elvis. Zack said, “This isn’t Elvis night?” Ben said that every night in his world is Elvis night and Zack said that he was so embarrassed.
Ben asked Sass what the top two have to do tonight to keep their eye on the prize with everything swirling around them. Sass said “It’s like a merry go round, you gotta keep your eye on the horse” to which everybody laughed. Ben just moved on to Farley and asked him why tonight is different than all the other nights. Farley said “Tonight’s the night where these two kids, we’ve seen them evolve over the course of the show and I think they’ve both really stepped up to the occasion right through, so I think tonight is going to be the ultimate. It’s going to be a phenomenal show.” Ben said “Jake, it’s been a long time since we’ve auditioned across the country months ago, did you see things unfolding this way?” Jake said, “Well first of all, what is Schmelvis doing here?” Zack stood up to show off his jacket some more. Jake said, "Honestly we had a fantastic top ten. They were all worthy of being in the top two like Rex and Emily...” “Melissa” Ben corrects him. “Melissa, haha, Elvis you threw me off” Jake says, then continues “The reality is the 2 of them probably played it better than anybody else in terms of how you play this game.”
Ben then asked what the judge’s thoughts were in shaping the hottest Canadian Idol season ever. Sass said “My favourite part of going on tour is what the exercise is really about; when you actually find someone who’s really fun, fascinating, new, different, and you think ‘Oh man this is going to be an amazing adventure watching this person get on this phase of this thing the whole way through, this could be really cool.’” Zack said “The surprise of who’s going to walk through the doors next. At times I obviously look like I ain’t too happy to be sitting there, you know the day is filled with constant discovery.” Farley said, “As you’re going along it’s one big train of performance. I look in their eyes and try to figure out exactly why they’re there and discern whether they’re there for humor or whether they’re there because they really believe they can fulfill a dream through this process.” Jake said, “The moment a person walks in the room, I forget about how long I’ve been there, how many people are left, I don’t pay any attention to that; they walk in the room, I wanna hear what they can do, because at the end of the day you never know who’s walking in the door.”
Zack said that the top 100 is a weird process because a person who has real potential could mess up and then that’s it for them. Jake said, “If you give them five minutes with Bird (the singing coach) then they will be as good as we think they can be.” Farley said, “When we put someone through (a round) we have to think ‘Are we ok with this person winning the show?’” Sass said the only way to stay sane is to have a sense of humor. There were some clips of the judges who said when they fight on TV it is real and Sass said about Zack “I can see how you could not, but I love him.”
After the commercial there was a shot of the honorable Tony Ianno, minister of state who was in the audience. Then there was some catching up with some Idol contestants in previous years who did not win but whose lives had been enriched by the show. They all said it was a great experience, but also all of a sudden BOOM! It’s over just like that. They also said if you work at it, it could still help to launch your career. A lot of them got record deals. Anna Cyzon went on to be a reporter/correspondent for celebrities.
Theresa Sokyrka preformed a song from her Debut album called ‘Turn My Back.’ She is very reminiscent of Lisa Loeb with her guitar, glasses, and voice. She said that she has been all over the country and her album is doing great. Ben asked her if she had any advice for the top 2, as they’re about to go out and win Canada’s votes. Theresa said, "Well it’s so important to keep an eye on who you are. Don’t lose sight on what your parents taught you. Fame can change you, but you’ll always fall asleep the same person every night so don’t get cocky.”
There was another commercial before they FINALLY brought out the top 2. They were each to sing three times, once a song of their own choosing, once doing a song of the judge's choice, and once to perform the new single. Melissa was to sing first because of the results of a coin toss. The song the judges chose for her was ‘Angel in the Morning’ by Juice Newton. When she had finished Jake said, “At the beginning of the song I thought the parts of your lower register were a bit shaky but I thought at the end of it I’ll never forget your name again.” Farley said, “Well I’ve never forgotten your name, one thing I wanna say is when we were talking about that song for you, one thing we spoke of is your ability to take anything and emote and evoke emotion properly and appropriately for the song and that’s what you consistently do.” Sass said, “I have to disagree with Jake. I loved the sound of your voice in that lower register. It was really rich and sparkly. It was really beautiful and then the switch into the higher was amazing. It’s just the right touch of vulnerability and maturity. It was really beautiful.” Zack pretended to cry and sobbed, “That was really nice.”
This year’s winner will release a single across the country called ‘Alive.’ Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador was there to watch Rex Goudie perform it first. Jake said, "By far, without a doubt, your best performance ever on this show." Zack said "If somebody in this country isn't smart enough to give you a record deal, my friend, you give me a call anytime, any day." Farley said that Rex had an amazing ability to express emotion and said he sang the song as if he wrote it himself. Sass said, “You just kicked Canada's collective butt.”
There was a commercial before Melissa sang the song of her choice ‘A Broken Wing’ by Martina McBride. Melissa had sung ‘Concrete Angel’ by Martina McBride earlier in the competition, which got her into the top ten. Zack said, "I thought that was really good but it's not what you're going to be five years from now when you're selling multi-platinum all over the world.” Jake told her that he thought it was a bit boring but was good technically. Sass said that she appreciated Melissa’s "sexy, silky, sultry tones" in her delivery. Farley said “I hope there's some strategy with the song selection. You managed to tell the story.” All of the judges seemed to be a bit concerned with her song choice but agreed that she sang it well.
There was a commercial before Rex sang ‘Bulletproof’ by Blue Rodeo, which was his choice of songs. These Idols really stick to what they know. When he had finished Jake said, "I loved the fact that you picked a Blue Rodeo song as your choice, because in the Top 32 that's what you did and it was one of my favourite moments." He then added "You're one of the only guys who can wear a hat-head really well," as Rex had not worn his usual white hat during his performance. Farley said, “There's a sense of maturity in you tonight, keep it up.” Sass said, “You keep surprising me, I'm really impressed.” Zack said, “You know, you are exactly who you are, and you've made no bones about it.”
For Melissa’s final performance she sang the new single ‘Alive.’ Sass told her “That's a hit song and you're a hit singer." Farley said, "Two different singers, two different genres, two good versions. I would've worked the stage more and things like that, but overall it was a strong performance.” Zack seemed confident when he said, "In year one we had a waiter boy. In year two we had a little prince. Thursday morning it's going to say, 'the king is dead, long live the queen'." Jake said, “I think it was a really good version of the song. Well done.” Melissa’s version was a little smoother than Rex’s, both did a good job, I guess it just comes down to personal taste.
The last performance of the second last show of the season is by Rex Goudie singing ‘Superman’ By Five for Fighting, which is the judge’s choice. Farley said, "You've really risen to the occasion. That's the only mission you had tonight and you did it." Sass said, "It's not just about talent, it's about heart, it's about soul and you've got it." Zack thanked Rex for singing his household's beloved song and said, “It’s not about silly moments of vocalism, it’s who you are.” Jake told Rex "Because of that performance, we (the judges) look really good tonight. Good job."
A long night of performing for both Idols, and now the winner will be announced on Wednesday’s show where there will be a two hour finale starting at 8:00 featuring performances by The Top Ten, Kalan Porter, Sass Jordan, Debra Bird, and the Barenaked Ladies.
Contact Andrea with questions or comments at andrea@realityshack.com.
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