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Citation :Brian fesses up to his relationship with Tara

Updated Wed. Dec. 5 2007 2:13 PM ET

Eye on Idol

After holding in the secret for months, Canadian Idol Brian Melo has come clean on his relationship with Top 6 finisher Tara Oram. While discussing his album "Livin' It" with CTV's "eTalk," Melo finally admitted that Oram is more than just a back-up singer on the newly minted rock record.

"I'll set it straight," he said last week, in Toronto for a stop on the Top 3 concert tour. "We are together... I feel like we have something very special. But I think the way to do that is to try to keep things personal."

The pair had been keeping a lid on their romance for months, despite rumours that have been swirling since before Canadian Idol's September season finale that crowned Melo as the winner.

Melo's apprehension in going public could stem from fear of following in the footsteps of Idol's past winners. Season 4 Idol Eva Avila publicly announced her romance with Top 4 competitor Chad Doucette the week of the finale, only to find that he fell off her radar shortly after she left on tour.

Season 3's Melissa O'Neil waited until the year after her win to announce she was dating runner-up Rex Goudie, although the two parted ways less than a year later.

Then again, the uber-focused Melo has always been pretty intent on keeping the public focused squarely on his music.

"I just wanted to keep it quiet before the album came out and stuff and even still after, I just still want to keep things private," said Melo, whose record features Oram's sweet twang on the track "Emily."

"I'm a private person anyways and my main focus is on music so if I keep my mind set on that and not on going out and partying and acting like an idiot then things should be okay," he added, noting he feels no pressure to lead a celebrity-type lifestyle since entering the public eye.

"I worked really hard to get to where I'm at now and I'm not going to screw it up by going out and partying my life away."

Oram isn't even the only evidence of Melo's personal life on the album. The record, which includes five of his own writing credits, also features two harmonies with his older brother Larry, who encouraged him to try out for Canadian Idol in the first place.

"Larry and my other brother, Dave, have been great supports, and having some family on this album was a big thing for me," said Melo, whose Portuguese clan hails from the east side of Hamilton.

"Hopefully by the second album he'll be harmonies the whole way through and it will be a whole family affair... My brothers were my role models growing up. They're musicians themselves, so (I'm) just following their footsteps."

source: site officiel de CI