Toronto, ON (July 6, 2005) – Eleven previously eliminated competitors stated their case live in front of Canadian Idol viewers tonight on CTV with the hope of winning enough votes to move into the Wild Card round. In a world first for the Idols format, Canadian Idol voters are being asked for their picks in choosing competitors to compete in next week’s Wild Card show. Voting lines opened immediately following tonight’s show for the second Canadian Idol telephone poll this week. The eight successful competitors selected by the public to perform in the Wild Card show will be revealed live next Tuesday, July 12 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.
The 11 Wild Card contenders are: Stephane Aubin, 21, Edmonton, AB; Jenn Beaupré, 22, Drumheller, AB; Vince Benenati, 25, Toronto, ON; Dianelys Hernandez, 21, Saint John, NB; Devika Mathur, 27, Toronto, ON; Luke O’Reilly, 17, Caledonia, ON; Josh Palmer, 22, Saskatoon, SK; Barrett Peitsch, 23, Winnipeg, MB; Julie Tellier, 25, St-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC; Danian Vickers, 23, Toronto, ON; and Aaron Walpole, 26, St. Thomas, ON.
The 11 Wild Card contenders were decided at the discretion of Canadian Idol’s four-member judging panel – Farley Flex, Jake Gold, Sass Jordan and Zack Werner. Collectively, the judges chose the competitors – out of a field of 24 who previously had not advanced from the Top 32 – that they felt had the best chance of succeeding in the Top 10. Some of the competitors only found out they were Wild Card contenders tonight. O’Reilly, Walpole and Vickers first found out they did not advance from Group Four into the Top 10 and then, moments later, were told they were Wild Card contenders.
In tonight’s live broadcast, the 11 Wild Card contenders were revealed one-by-one. After a short video re-cap of their previous participation in the series, the contenders were subject to comments from the Canadian Idol judges – both for and against them moving forward into the Wild Card. Finally, the contenders were given less than a minute to make their case in whatever format they chose: a song, a poem, an impassioned speech.
In next Tuesday’s live, one-hour, Wild Card performance episode, all eleven contenders will be brought on stage at the beginning of the show. Host Ben Mulroney will then announce the results of tonight’s vote. For some of them, their dreams will be dashed immediately and they will leave the stage to return to their hometowns. For eight others, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing again for the Canadian public and make one last stab at the Canadian Idol Top 10.
The final two Top 10 slots will be revealed live one week from tonight on Wednesday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV. All 10 finalists return to Canadian Idol on Tuesday, July 19 in the first live, Top 10 performance show.
Credit: CTV
