Citation :Canadian Idol: The Toronto,Calgary and Edmonton Auditions
Posted: June 03, 2008,by Sarah Millar
Television
And we're back. Nine months since Brian Melo was crowned Canadian Idol and less than two weeks after David Cook won the latest American title, Canadian Idol is back.
No one really stood out in the Toronto auditions, nor really in the Canadian Idol capital of Canada (otherwise known as Alberta). As much as American Idol may be thinking of getting rid of the audition process, I hope Canadian Idol doesn't do that, as much as it is mostly watched for those who do not quite meet the vocal conditions of the competition, it is also interesting to see if anyone we see a glimpse of in the auditions makes it all the way. I remember Brian Melo's audition in Toronto last year, only because he is from my hometown not because he was outstanding.
As Ben Mulroney happily informed us, this is Idol's sixth season and over 150 episodes, they have seen over 52,000 auditioners. The only thing the medley showed me at the beginning of the show was just how often Farley Flex uses sports cliches. As well as a new season of Canadian Idol, we also got new credits this year - which actually aren't too bad - the Idol-bots in them seem more real than computerized (the female one actually looks like Eva Avila from season 4).
This year, Idol kicks off its audition highlights in the last city it stopped in for auditions in April in Toronto. After a bit of advice from Brian Melo, and a clip of Natasha Beddingfield's free concert, we got to see a bit that Toronto had to offer.
It seemed this year's auditions in T.O. were better than they normally are - ever since Canadian Idol started, Toronto has always seemed to be the pit of Canadian talent despite being the highest population in Canada. Most auditions were not too bad. Taylor Abrahmse, 16, of Peterborough was the first one we saw to make it through. Being a huge Queen fan, I wasn't quite sure how to take his unplugged version of Tie Your Mother Down, but he grew on me - and it is hard to believe he is only 16, he seems to have much more confidence than that of a teenager. He also has the best comeback to Zack so far this season, by bursting into the Juicy Fruit song when that's how Zack criticized him.
Kudos Idol for promoting the future Canadian version of So you Think You Can Dance with contestant Vanessa Kalal of Ajax.
The only other Toronto audition I enjoyed was Omar Lunan, 29, from Scarborough - his voice reminded me of Peabo Bryson. I really didn't care much for the Pigott brothers, though the judges (except for Zach, since we didn't hear what he thought) loved Oliver, but all were not sure (except again for Zack who pushed for him) about the younger brother, Sebastian. I guess we'll see how the Toronto boys do in the top 200.
Then we flew to Calgary, and one thing stood out clearly from the Alberta auditions. Attention all Idol wannabes: unless you are Whitney Houston, DO NOT sing a Whitney Houston song in the first audition. It never works - and if it does, the Canadian public does not see it. Save your embarrassment. And save the viewers.
Franco Baccari, AKA Franky B, was not quite as bad as his set up made him sing. I may be tone deaf, but when he sang he wasn't too bad. He wasn't necessarily Toronto worthy, but the judges made him sound horrible.
Jesse Cottam, 23, from Calgary reminded me of Greg Neufeld - I was not expecting that kind of a voice from his gruff look.
And Idol gave us a feel-good story of the night. From the town of Leoville, SK that has a population of 300 people, came Brianne Chalifour. Her voice was decent, but the judges began to pass. She burst into tears saying that she wanted to learn from their advice by living it - and she would not be able to get the experience they wanted in her small town. When she told the judges how many people were in her town she added one fact that must have hit the hearts of the judges.
Her graduating class was a class of six.
That was enough to persuade the judges while she didn't totally have the talent, she had the will, and maybe Toronto would be good for her.
And Jully Black made her first appearance, though it's still a little unclear what she is going to be doing with the contestants besides giving a free concert to the auditioners and jamming with them. She has great presence and here's hoping this Idol correspondent lasts more than one season with the show.
Next Monday, Idol hits Winnipeg, Vancouver and Montreal.
source:
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blog ... chive/2008
/06/03/canadian-idol-the-toronto-calgary-and-edmonton-auditions.aspx
--Message edité par felix le 2008-06-04 17:02:17--