Tonight, the Top 22 is revealed on Canadian Idol, and I, for one, cannot wait. I’m getting hooked on this show. There’s some great talent this year, particularly among the males, and there are quite a few musicians mixed into this bunch. CI is going to be a great way to while away the summer. I’m excited!
Around 10 pm, the videos will appear here, courtesy of the awesome igrecman. I’ll post each video as they arrive. Look for them after the jump. Canadians and border dwellers? The show starts in a few minutes on the East coast, feel free to start a discussion! If you can’t wait an hour, VFTW has some spoilers HERE.
Update: The big twist tonight? The first Top 24 in Canadian Idol history was revealed. Of course, not to be outdone by super-twistyness, there are more boys–15! and only 9 girls. I actually have no idea how they are going to manage this during the semis. Lots of talented boys in this lot, but many of them are really similar in style–rocker/singer-songwriter types with guitars. They will quickly begin to cancel each other out, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see a girl as the last one standing…
But we’ll see! If you haven’t already, check out the videos. There’s tons of talent amongst the girls and the boys. CI is an awesome thing for those of us who need an Idol fix. Below, is the Top 24. After the jump, videos and a longer recap.
- Lindsay Barr, 26, Halifax
- Lisa Bell, 27, Winnipeg
- Marie-Pierre Bellerose, 25, Quebec City
- Adam Castelli, 26, Hamilton
- Paul Clifford, 26, Port Moody, B.C.
- Jesse Cottam, 23, Calgary
- Mark Day, 20, Portugal Cove, Nfld.
- Katelyn Dawn, 19, Winnipeg
- Shaun Francisco, 25, Vancouver
- Martin Kerr, 25, Edmonton
- Omar Lunan, 29, Toronto
- Mitch MacDonald, 22, Port Hope, N.S.
- Mookie Morris, 18, Toronto
- Gary Morissette, 21, Fruitvale, B.C.
- Tetiana Ostapowych, 25, Toronto
- Oliver Pigott, 27, Toronto
- Sebastian Pigott, 25, Toronto
- Lindsay Robins, 21, Montreal
- Katherine St-Laurent, 17, Otterburn Park, Que.
- Jessica Sheppard, 22, Toronto
- Earl Stevenson, 22, Lloydminster, Alta.
- Theo Tams, 22, Lethbridge, Alta.
- Amberly Thiessen, 19, Seven Persons, Alta.
- Drew Wright, 28, Collingwood, Ont.
Video is UP…After the JUMP…
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Part 6:
RECAP:
The episode picks up after the last group number. The look on Marie-Pierre Bellarose’s face when it looked like Lisa Bell would go though and she wouldn’t. KILL THAT BITCH. As soon as she found out she made it too, she turned and gave Lisa a big hug. MEOW!
The next day, the remaining contestants sing for the judges one more time. Then, they face the judges to find out whether they made the cut or not. At the very end of the episode, the math gets crazy. It turns out they are letting in more boys than girls, and there will be a Top 24 competing in the semi’s. Here’s a summary of who sang what, and whether they made the cut or not.
Mookie Morris, 18 - Toronto, ON - “These Eyes” by the Guess Who - He’s a good guitar player, but he contorts his mouth when he sings, it’s a little distracting. He might get lost in the sea of boys. TOP 24
Omar Lunan, 29 - Scarborough, ON - OMG. Before he performs, he launches into this huge story about his brother who was killed. He’s a good singer. Manipulation not needed! - TOP 24.
Sebastian Pigott, 25 - Toronto, ON - “Your Cheating Heart” by Hank Williams - Took me a bit to recognize the song. Nice Job! The competition between Sebastian and his brother Oliver will be a major backstory in the weeks to come, I’m sure. TOP 24
Oliver Pigott, 27 - Toronto, ON - “Umbrella” by Rihanna - Wow, way to stand out, dude! Took me a minute to bit to catch on here, too. TOP 24
Kristine Lankinen 23 - Kanata, ON - I have no idea what she sang. And she still sucks. ELIMINATED.
Vincent Vorkpor 23, Vancouver BC - “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5. OMG. His English. He sings like Eddie Murphy doing Buckwheat. ELIMINATED.
Ramil Omosura 23, Vancouver BC - He sang some shouty thing. ELIMINATED - Aw, he was balling his eyes out when he heard the news.
Jade Padua 19, Pickering, ON - “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie - EEP she sounds like Minnie Mouse! - ELIMINATED
Mitch MacDonald, 22, Cape Breton, NS - “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5 - Hm. He didn’t stand out as well as he did during his audition. - TOP 24
Drew Wright 28, Collingwood, ON - “She Wil Be Loved” by Maroon 5 - He lost his grandmother. His family couldn’t be with him. He adds some nice little twists to the song. I like his unique interpretation. He’s one of the unseen and could also get lost amongst the sea of boys. I see something here. I hope he breaks out. It happens! Heh. - TOP 24
Katelyn Dawn 19 Winnipeg, MB - “Umbrella” by Rihanna - Forgot her words, Rhu rho! No matter, she’s still TOP 24.
Earl Stevenson, 22 - Lloydminster, AB - He pulls a total Brooke White and stops in the middle of his song. He’s got a great style, but he’s obviously inexperienced. TOP 24
Nicholaus J Gordon - 16 London, ONT - OMG what a trainwreck and a poseur. He should have never made it out of his audition. ELIMINATED. Thank Jeebus.
Katherine St. Laurent, 16 - Otterburn Park, QC - “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne Carolyn Dawn Johnson - She pulls a Brooke too. Stops and totally forgets her words. Nevertheless, she’s still TOP 24.
Adam Castelli, 26 - Hamilton, ON - One more guitar playing boy performs “Umbrella”. He’s very nervous, he gets going and stops. Gets going and stops again. He has some great moments, nevertheless. TOP 24.
Tetiana Ostapowych, 25 - Toronto, ON - “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5 - She made it to Hollywood Season 7, but no further. But Canadian Idol said, we’ll take you! TOP 24.
Gary Morissette, 21 - Fruitvale, BC - “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gary is the only auditioner who made it to Toronto via CI’s online auditions. He rocks out, totally. They call him “Cyber Boy” Har. He kisses Ben Mulroney right on the mouth. Too much! TOP 24.
Mark Day, 19 - Portugal Cove, NL - “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5. He’s much better than he was during his audition, but he’s still schlubby and awkward. One of the seemingly few boys who don’t play guitar. TOP 24.
Carly Campbell 26, Kamloops, BC - “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie - Whoa–Screechy McScreechfest! - ELIMINATED.
Jesse Cottam, 23 - Calgary, AB - “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd - So many guys with guitars - they are getting hard to tell apart! TOP 24.
Amberly Thiessen, 19 - Seven Persons, AB - “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne Carolyn Dawn Johnson. She has a pure clear voice. Really nice tone. TOP 24.
Paul Clifford, 25 - Port Moody, BC - “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd - One of the few contestants to sit at the piano. His phrasing is really nice, but I don’t care for his super-raspy vocals. TOP 24.
Shaun Francisco, 25 - Vancouver, BC - “You Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5 - He talked back to the judges during his audition, but he’s still alive! He finally wins over Jake with this last performance. TOP 24.
A bunch of people are shown quickly as getting through:
Lindsay Robins, 21 - Montreal, QC - TOP 24
Martin Kerr, 25 - Edmonton, AB - TOP 24
Marie-Pierre Bellerose, 25 - Quebec City, Quebec. She stands in front of the judges with her nemesis, Lisa Bell 27 - Winnipeg, MB. They are both TOP 24
Theo Tams, 22 - Lethbridge, AB - He’s shown getting through with Shaun Francisco and Jesse Cottam. TOP 24
Lindsay Barr, 26 - Halifax, NS - TOP 24
Jessica Sheppard, 22 - Whitby, ON - TOP 24 - She and Paul Clifford are the last 2 standing. They both make the Top 24
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I’m right here with you, MJ! I can’t wait to see the final 22. I just wish it was a final 24. The talent is so good.
It’s like….whoa….too many favorites to choose from.
I wasn’t going to watch but you coaxed me into it and I already am hooked. I’m glad I waited till the top 22 (I mean 24). I already have my favorite guy.
This is gonna be a great season. Every guy and girl I wanted to get into the voting rounds got in. Gonna be tough picking a favorite.
I am hooked too! They are great! I have never watch Canadian Idol. It looks WAY better than Nashville Star. This group is really talented. The guys are hot!
I haven’t wacthed Canadian Idol since season 3. But damn, I’m glad I started to watch randomly - these contestants are pretty great. I think I like Mitch & the cyber-boy. Mookie’s a maybe. He seems a little affected.
Was this the first time we have seen Drew Wright? His rendition of ‘She Will Be Loved’…..unbelieveable.
That makes six males who seem good enough to win this thing, and Mookie is one of then. Outstanding version of ‘These Eyes.’
And Earl Stephenson is another. The Piggott brothers and Adam Castelli.
I’m sure I a missing a couple of others.
Is it Monday yet? LOL
I can’t choose a favorite - I love too many of them. Watching CI and AI back-to-back is interesting. There are stark differences. I think I only counted one, maybe two balladeers or power singers. The majority is raw, organic talent - and I love it! The judges seem focused and present - that’s a nice change, too. Lastly, I really like that there aren’t 12 guys and 12 girls. I would have hated to see a couple of those guys cut early just to make it even.
All in all, I like it and I am really looking forward to next week.
aw, I wasn’t going to watch the videos, but curiosity got the best of me….consequently, I’m hooked on ANOTHER show, haha. I really like Mookie! Thanks for putting the videos up, MJ!
Wow. Just finished watching the show. There is a whole lot of talent this year, especially with the guys. I was sooooo relieved and thrilled that CI had the sense to break through the arbitrary even girl/guy ratio. I only hope that AI is picking up some clues here. CI broke through last year with the addition of instruments, which gave us the wonderful Brian Melo. Of course, we would probably have never seen or heard of David Cook without that change on AI.
This year, CI is loaded with really original and gifted talent, and I agree, it is so refreshing to see this show switch up the traditional karaoke-type or power singers that normally dominate these contests. The focus here is clearly on artistry, which is just terrific! There were close to a dozen performers in this group that made me stand up and take notice. This season promises to be amazing. I can’t wait!
MJ you are the best for posting these so fast!
Wow. This has to be one of the best top 24s I’ve seen on any Idol ( I watch Aussie and Canadian Idol along with AI). It will be interesting to see what happens. There is so much flavour here, especially amongst the men.
For girls I really like Amber and Katelyn (she’s from Winnipeg, my hometown!!).
So many great guys, but my faves so far are:
Adam Costelli
Mookie (but not sure what he’s gonna do with himself)
Oliver (loved love LOVED his Umbrella)
Earl
Omar (man, that was touching)
Theo (although they didn’t show him singing at all this episode!)
Shawn
and Drew Wright (where did he come from?! He’s insane!)
All in all, I’m feeling mighty proud to be a Canadian after watching that. Even if I do live overseas :(
I’m so glad to learn it’s a Top 24 because I was was hoping Paul would get in, too. I still remember his group’s fantastic performance. All of them made it. Yay!
Right now, I am most interested in seeing what Mookie can do, even though his voice may not the best (or even my favorite) of the lot.
I’m really LOVING Canadian Idol. Forget Nashville Star, heh.
Contestants I Really Like:
Earl- Nice voice.
Gary- Canada’s Blake Lewis? He’s unique.
Omar- Beautiful R&B voice
Theo- Strong motional connection, but he needs to stop with the runs.
Martin- Great voice, but I’m not sure how Canadians will take to his personality/looks.
Paul- Unique vocals, but I don’t think he’ll go very far.
Pigott Brothers- They’ll split votes so Sebastian will get booted first. Oliver’s my pick to win.
Drew Wright- Is it just me, or does he look like a character in the Hobbit? But he sounded so much like Adam Levine, it was a little scary.
Ok:
Shaun
Mookie
Do. Not. Like:
Tetiana
Adam Costelli
This looks like it is going to be great!
I think all on my list made it, woohoo! Thanks CI for putting Shaun through!
Looking forward to:
Shaun
Oliver
Theo
Paul
Mookie
Earl
Sebastian
Adam
Martin
Gary
Umm yeah, that’s my list, looks like they are all guys too, whaddya know, heh.
MJ, are you going to put all the performances here for those of us who don’t get CI? T his is the first time I have seen any of it, and I was impressed.
Looks like it will be a good season .I am happy that CI did not see the need to be even with the girls and guys .
There are quite a few I am interested in hearing more from .
Where can we catch Canadian Idol on American TV? I want to follow!
We can’t. Unless you live right on the border and can get Canadian TV, Americans can’t watch this show, except online.
I’ll be posting the online episodes here so everyone can watch. As far as clipping out individual performances–the clipping service I use does not carry Canadian TV and I don’t get the show on my TV, I’m relying on what online like the rest of you.
If I do find clips, I’ll post them.
BTW. if you are having trouble seeing the clips I’ve posted (I had trouble with Part 3) Go straight to Igrecman’s Dailymotion site:
http://www.dailymotion.com/igrecman
And click on the picture of the video you want to see. I got it to work that way.
MJ, the “Complicated sung by the contestants was not Avril Lavigne’s song, but a different song with the same name by Canadian country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Just needed to say that.
This is by far and away the best top 24 I have seen on any Idol. Yes, there are a lot of boys with guitars. It’s Canada, I’d expect it.
I’m firmly entrenched in the Oliver Pigott/ Adam Castelli camp. I picked Adam since his audition in Hamilton. Oliver has grown on me over the last couple of episodes.
I’m trying to figure out how Katelyn Dawn made it through. She’s not that good ( at least to my ears).
This is a very eclectic group of contestants. I am very impressed. It’s going to be interesting to see if the artistic integrity will remain and that Idol doesn’t suck the cool out of some of these folks. I have very high hopes, so Canada, pick a great…top 12?? I’m in No. Calif, so I feel kinda hopeless here. I joined this site just to chat about CI. I even have a myspace blog about it. So, if you want to chat, my info is in my profile here.
MJ, thanks for a great site.
Tetiana sure changed her citizenship status fast. She was just in Hollywood at the beginning of the year for AI.
I’m thinking dual citizenship?
I feel like I’m watching a show with ten David Cook’s. :D So many guys with a guitar…
You don’t need citizenship for AI/CI/OzI, just proof of residency and being able to work in that country.
Btw, Americans can also watch CI if they have a satellite tv service that carries CTV. They don’t necessarily have to live near the border.
Since many of the top 24 don’t get a whole lot of face time on the show, and as more than a few have pointed out, there are a ton of “guys who play guitar” this year, it can be hard to distinguish one competitor from the next.
The official CTV site has posted some bio blurbs for each of the 24 here:
http://www.ctv.ca/idol/gen/Competitors.html
Metro news has posted more in-depth profiles of all the competitors here:
http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/entertainment/canadianidol
Thanks for the link to the metronews, RemusL. Interesting who they chose to highlight at the top of the page.
IDK I have direct tv and its not on any of my channels .
The only channel which shows a CTV show is WGN and thats Corner Gas .
I would love to have them pick it up but they have not done so .
Oh and one thing with CI this year is the youngest one is 18 .
Thank you CI for that .
I didn’t know that. Thanks!
primeminister, I think the online Metro news edition rotates on some schedule who it chooses to highlight at the top of the page. There are also print editions in 7 major cities across Canada and it would make sense for each of the individual editions to feature regional competitors more prominently.
Frogpond, I asked my friend in the U.S. who gets CTV via satellite to clarify and he said satellite access is a “technical issue”. I take that to mean the same way Canadians can get HBO and other American pay-tv stations that our local cable providers will not offer at all with ANY plan.
The only other way, as mj said, is to reside in those communities near enough the Canada-U.S. border to receive Canadian tv signals via antenna.
some great talent this year :)
last years runner up Jaydee Bixby (my lil elvis reincarnated lol) has an album coming out on july 8… if you like country music it sounds like a respectable first cd i love it :)
sure hope this years canadian idol produces some great new stars
Agreed. CI really needs a breakout star, that sells albums. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they have had that yet.
I am super-psyched about this Top 24! And, that MJ is covering it so I have a place to talk about it! I followed the last two seasons (from igrecman last year coincidentally) and this year’s talent seems to be so much deeper.
There are definitely a lot of “guys with guitars,” but the interesting (and frustrating) thing about CI is the regional voting. It is MUCH more of a factor on CI than AI and the South. I think the singers from Toronto have more trouble and the singers from the East have more voters. Somebody from Canada would know a lot more.
well the lead singer of Hedley came in third on one season of CdnIdol and they’re doing awesome
kalan porter is so veryyyyyyy talented… he lost a bit of momentum when he took a year off cuz his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer… but hes back and sounding fantastic :)
The CI contestants are really interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing Sebastian Pigott more than his brother actually. I like his vibe.
Mookie somehow reminds me of Jason Castro. Not the genre they sing but the way they sing.
This’ll definitely help the withdrawal symptoms from the lack of AI :).