It’s Tuesday, and it’s the first day of the new school year. So is there a better way to celebrate than to watch 3 wannabes sing about Grade 9 and KD? Of course there is, but reading this report takes, what, 5 minutes? So join me as a chronicle the adventures of the CI3 Trio.
Last week, the Idols failed to shake, rattle and roll during Elvis week, and Suzi Rawn got booted back to B.C.
This week, the Idols are going from rock royalty to busker infamy, as they take on the songs of Barenaked Ladies. And finally, we’re back to a theme that the kids can relate to, as BNL burst onto the scene in the early 90’s with the “Yellow Album”, a 5-track indie cassette (recorded a mere 2 blocks from my parents house) that quickly shot to gold status (60,000 copies sold. Or maybe it’s shipped. I can’t remember), aided by a former Toronto mayor’s (no, not Mel) banning of the band because the name “objectifies women”.
Anyways, I’m expecting much better performances this week from all three performers, as BNL is all about energy and fun. And as an aside, yes, I know who went home, but I haven’t seen the actual performances, so consider this a hindsight-is-20-20 look at the show.
Roll Credits
Ben Mulroney is out to applause from the audience, and he notes that Barenaked Ladies are in the house. Hopefully they won’t have to pretend that the kids sang their songs well, like Darryl Hall and John Oates did with Scott Savol. Er, anyways, Ben welcomes us to the penultimate (performance) show of Canadian Idol. And here are the “architects” behind the CI House of Dreams:
Asked (in a decent Zack-type voice) why it’s important to win this thing, Zack Werner notes that it sure beats losin’. Ben mimics a homerun swing, basically admitting that he set himself up for that.
Sass Jordan thinks that the Top 3 performers are a testament to how the competition lets them grow.
Farley Flex thinks that the kids will need to win over some of the other singers’ fans. Which is incorrect – they need to win over SUZI’s fans (like Murtz) as well as the neutral fans – the “swing voters”, if you will.
Jake Gold gives props to the work ethic of BNL.
And here are your Idols! And here’s a look at Barenaked Ladies. And here’s a standing ovation for BNL. The singing starts, after the
Ad Break
We’re back, and Shawn “Iceman” Ashmore is in the audience, in part to promote CTV’s Terry Fox biopic.
Our first performer is Rex Goudie, singing “Brian Wilson”. It’s passable, but that’s about it – Rex basically sings the whole song at one volume, and the way they chopped up the song really does it injustice. He is definitely not Elvis Pretzel though.
Jake – Thought it was the most fun Rex has had so far.
Farley – Thinks that Rex will be an identifiably Canadian rock artist. What, did the accent give it away?
Sass – Thought it was very Counting Crows-like, and liked when he cracked his knuckles at the end.
Zack – Thinks he’ll make some good records
Ben – You kicked that song just like Rex Goudie does.
More to come after the
Ad Break
We’re back, and Andrea Lewis from Degrassi: TNG, is in the audience. I wonder if Miriam McDonald complains about shoulder tears all the time? Anyways, we’re back, and Mrs. Jon Dore is here to give us a history lesson, in honour of Back to School. This is about as funny as all his usual skits.
Aaron Walpole is up, and he’s singing “Break Your Heart”. And, it’s about as good as all his recent performances. He’s passionate and he’s not moving around too much (although he “Constantines” the camera). And the first real big glory note moment in a while. I miss those. Ok, not really. I guess he’s going with an upbeat song for his second performance?
Farley – You’re the best singer left in this competition hands down.
Sass – Nice to see you can take a Star Search moment and make a marathon out of it.
Zack – There’s no question, if pipes are the issue, you’re the best one here.
Jake – I can’t really say anything other than what Farley already said.
Ben – One word: Epic.
Now here’s Melissa O’Neil, singing “The Old Apartment”. She gives it a more female – Jann Ardenn-ish? – feel to the song. Which to me, is neither bad nor good, just different. But I feel that she could have done a bit more here. I know that this isn’t Rock Star, but this was a real “get the audience involved” song if I saw one.
Sass – I think that out of everyone, you have the greatest challenge because you’re female, and you pulled it off. And as far as I’m concerned, YOU are the best singer in the competition.
Zack – It’s one thing to say how good Aaron sings, but it’s an Idol competition. You’re by far and away my favourite singer.
Jake – You emoted really well with the song. He disagrees with Sass, because being female, she can make it more her own.
Farley – Agrees with Jake.
Ben – You never need my help up here. Ben helps?
And here’s a L’Oreal commercial with the Idols – the entire Top Ten. And here are the real commercials in this
Ad Break
We’re back, and so is Rex, singing “Call And Answer”, and well, it’s painfully bad. Worst performance of the Top Ten – even worse than Casey’s stuff. He’s flat, he’s stiff, and it won’t matter because he was gonna be in the finals anyways.
Zack – Unless the little girls vote in droves your radical inability to sing is gonna come back to haunt you after tonight.
Jake – You wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t sing, and you obviously have some problems with your lower register, but you pulled it off in the end.
Farley – I can’t add anything else to that.
Sass – And thank you.
Ben – Good job, Rex.
More to come after the
Ad Break
Back LIVE in Toronto, and singing “Enid”, its Aaron Walpole, who has some nice flair with the “Gordon” coloured wristband. And he’s sporting “the Beckham” again, so you know he’s out to have fun. Which is a good thing, because the singing sucked. Not as bad as Rex, but it was bad. Funny moment as he’s out in the audience, starts bouncing up and down, but stops because he’s a little gassed.
Jake – A lot of people wouldn’t attempt to sing a song like that. You gotta have fun with the song, and you did that.
Farley – Your theatre experience benefited you.
Sass – I know you can take it from me. It felt like you were leading an aerobics class.
Zack – In the first performance you showed that you wanted to win. In this one, it showed that you wanted to imitate BNL. I think you might be back in trouble.
Ben – There is a huge difference between imitating and doing justice, and you did that song justice.
We’ve got the final performance of the night after the
Ad Break
We get promises of pop-punk band Hedley on Wednesday’s show. But it’s time for the last performance, and singing “When I Fall”, it’s Melissa O’Neil. And to be honest, it’s the best performance of the night. She’s spot on, and you could really feel the emotion coming from Mel.
Farley – I always have to remind myself that you’re 17. That was a professional, mature, smooth, comfortable performance. It’s unbelievable.
Sass – I would catch you if you fell, but I don’t think you ever will.
Zack – There’s you, and you are It, and that’s all that matters.
Jake – Agrees with Farley. You really showed how good you are.
Ben – It was a beautiful way to end the show.
Here’s the Recap, and we’re out.
