Murtzcellanious – LIVE Canadian Idol Thoughts – September 7

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Hello, hello.

Here we go. After delivering a gift to someone celebrating a birthday at Canadian Idol, I prepared myself to go watch the second-last results show of the season.

After the standard opening stuff, Ben Mulroney came out before the show started and hyped the crowd about the appearance of Hedley on the show. Hedley is an up-and-coming Canadian band led by Jacob Hoggard (from last season’s Idol show). The crowd went nuts and it was quite clear that there were at least as many Hedley fans in attendance as there were Idol pundits.

The show began with a performance by the remaining trio of competitors.

Rex Goudie opened the performance by singing “One Week” by the Barenaked Ladies. It was quite clear that he did not seem as comfortable on the stage as his counterparts did.

“It’s All Been Done” was the second featured song. I thought it was interesting that the number of songs in the group concert had been reduced to only a pair of songs (now that the number of competitors had been reduced to only two). I was expecting the group performance to last longer, but I attributed this to Hedley also having to appear on the 30-minute telecast.

After the BNL tribute was finished, Mulroney said that Tuesday nights votes were very close with each competitor receiving at least a million votes. Translation is that at least 3 million votes were cast once again.

After a recap of the Tuesday performances, it was time for a commercial break.

During the stoppage, there was a complete overhaul of the stage and a drum and guitar set were prepared for the impending appearance by Hoggard and company.

The group came out and delivered a loud and completely engaging performance. Hoggard was his usual spastic self and the group’s first single “On My Own” is definitely a catchy tune that all you Americans should definitely check out if you haven’t heard it before).

After the song, Mulroney came out to fraternize with Hoggard. He thanked the lead singer for including him in the liner notes of Hedley’s first album and Jacob kissed Mulroney on the cheek.

I noticed a couple of interesting things during this whole exchange. First, I thought it was incredibly ironic that Jacob was asked to perform on the same night that he was eliminated last season (he was the second runner-up, eliminated right before the Kalan Porter/Theresa Sokyrka finale).

I also thought that Hedley’s performance highlighted why rock stars will always be better than natural singers in Idol competitions. I know that is a controversial statement, but I have always felt that the rockers are the ones who are able to best showcase their personalities. That’s why I always figured Suzi Rawn would win the show. I don’t know about you, but the rockers are the ones that I remember.

Constantine Maroulis.
Bo Bice.
Billy Klippert.
Jacob Hoggard.
Suzi Rawn.

Hedley’s performance was awesome and I usually get chills during most of the rock ones.

Anyway, there’s my tangent.

During the commercial break, some kids sang in the audience. I have never understood this, but why are Canadians so nice to children that clearly have no singing talent. Aren’t you offering them false hope? Because let me tell you this. Some of these kids that sing really should still be sucking on pacifiers.

When the show returned, a video clip of Jon Dore taking the kids out camping was shown.

The kids were lined up so that their fate could be announced.

From left to right stood Rex, Aaron and Melissa.

It was at this point that I had an inkling that the big man in the middle would be sacrificed. Before the show started, I thought that it was going to be Melissa, but now I was starting to change my mind…

Mulroney asked the judges for their comments.

Jake: (To Rex) Forget about your mechanic’s license.

Zack: (To Aaron) You have grown as a singer with criticism. Dude, you can sing!

Sass: (To Melissa) It was a joy watching you grow. You have blossomed…

Farley: Next week, the public get to hear the single. The kids get to sing their choice and the judge’s choice.

Mulroney said that the results would (finally) be revealed after the break. During the commercial, Aaron lifted up Rex and then Ben Mulroney. The crowd also started chanting the name of their favorite.

The show returned.

The name of the next eliminated contestant is…

Aaron Walpole.

I was shocked. While most people had predicted a Melissa and Rex final 2, I thought that things were going to be changed after Aaron nailed his songs on Tuesday. His elimination clearly indicates that the competition has now moved past who can sing the best. It is now a competition over who has the biggest fanbases.

The winner on Tuesday will be determined by where Aaron’s fans move.

Personally, I still think Rex can’t lose, but we shall see.

See you on finale night…

Murtz Jaffer is the world's foremost reality television expert and was the host of Reality Obsessed which aired on the TVTropolis and Global Reality Channels in Canada. He has professional writing experience at the Toronto Sun, National Post, TV Guide Canada, TOROMagazine.com and was a former producer at Entertainment Tonight Canada. He was also the editor at Weekendtrips.com.