It’s Tuesday, and it’s time for the special super-duper spectacular 90-minute final performance show of Canadian Idol 3. We’ve gone from, well, a lot of hopefuls to 100-odd boot campers to 32 semi-finalists to the Top 10 and now, we’re left with just two singers – Rex Goudie from Burlington, Newfoundland and Melissa O’Neil from Calgary (pause) Alberta, Canada. And we’ve been promised a treat in that Canadian Idol 2 finalist Theresa Sokyrka is scheduled to perform.
This will be an interesting battle, as Melissa has developed into the strongest singer of the Top Ten (although not performer – that would be Aaron), while Rex… well, Rex is mighty popular. Which interestingly makes the better singer the underdog – even though she hasn’t been in danger of elimination since Week 2 of the Top Ten. I think that Rex simply needs to sing well and not screw up to win this, while Melissa needs to knock every song out of the park to take the title. Stranger things have happened though, like Carrie Underwhelm-er, Underwood winning the American Idol crown this year.
So the format here is that each singer will sing three songs – their choice, the judges’ choice, and the new single, “Alive”. Which if you’re counting, means we’re getting 7 songs (including Theresa’s) spread out over 90 minutes. Which means plenty of filler. Which is great, because I can ignore that stuff.
And with that, let’s get to the recap!!
We go through the whole season in about 30 seconds, and it’s time to
Roll Credits
Ben Mulroney is LIVE in Toronto’s Elgin Theatre, and gives us the rundown for tonight’s program, and promises even more for tomorrow’s finale. And here are finalists 10 through 3 – Emily, Ashley, Amber, Darryl, Josh, Casey, Suzi and Aaron.
Now, here are the judges:
Zack “Elvis” Werner is embarrassed to be wearing a jumpsuit.
Sass Jordan says that the finalists have to keep their eye on the horse.
Farley Flex thinks tonight will be a phenomenal show.
Jake Gold makes fun of “Schmelvis”, and says that Melissa and Rex “played the game” better than everyone else. Which is an absolutely idiotic comment since all they’re doing is SINGING. There’s no “Idol Mansion” reality segment on this show.
Now, here’s a look back at the audition process, with reflective comments from the judges.
Theresa Sokyrka will be singing after the
Ad Break
We’re back, and Ben throws us to a look back at former Idol Top Ten finalists. The upshot of the segment is – you need to keep plugging away if you want to be a singer.
And now, singing “Turned My Back”, it’s Canadian Idol 2 runner-up Theresa Sokyrka. It’s my first time hearing this song, and I kinda like it – it’s reminiscent of Sarah Harmer or Beth Orton. Not so much a fan of the scat at the end, but it’s all good. Big ovation, and a heartfelt “thank you” from Theresa. Ben comes out, and after some quick conversation, Ben presents her with a certified gold CD (60,000 copies in Canada). Theresa gives some advice to future recording artists.
The Final Two will (maybe) be singing – after the
Ad Break
We’re back, and here are the finalists – Melissa and Rex! Neither can believe that they’d make it this far. Melissa apparently auditioned right after playing basketball. Rex is impressed that fans are looking up to people are real, like them.
And now, a flashback, set to Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”. Because heaven forbid we have these two sing or something. And now, because I suppose that was a 30 minute pregame, we again
Roll Credits
Ben is back, and explain how the three songs would work – judges’ choice, the new single, and contestant’s choice.
Melissa O’Neil is going first, and the judges’ have chosen Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” for her to sing. I detect some flat notes here and there, and I think she’s throwing some Chrissie Hynde in there as well. One thing that’s obvious though is that she’s fairly nervous to start, but she gets into things about halfway through and pulls it out.
Jake – I thought you were shaky at the start but by the end of it, I’ll never forget your name again.
Farley – You emote properly. That was really well done.
Sass – It’s just the right touch of vulnerability and maturity. That was really beautiful.
Zack – (sobs) That was really nice.
Ben – Well done. Way to kick off the show for us.
Rex will sing his first song after the
Ad Break
We’re back, and performing his version of “Alive”, it’s Rex Goudie. He does a rock/pop-type version, and in that sense I suppose the fact that he’s singing quite badly doesn’t really matter, because he conveys the emotion pretty well. And I appreciate that unlike some other singers (cough**MartyCasey**cough), he stays true to himself and isn’t trying to imitate someone else. Also, I can’t help but think that this song would’ve been better for Bo Bice than “Inside Your Heaven”.
I’ll give round one to Melissa.
Farley – Best Idol single ever. You sung that song like you wrote it yourself.
Sass – You just kicked Canada’s collective butt.
Zack – I think back to that profound inability to sing. But if someone’s not smart enough to give you a record deal, give me a call.
Jake – Agrees with Farley, says it’s Rex’s best performance better.
Ben – Channels Ron Maclean with a “Rex-in-effect” pun.
And now a plug for Fashion Magazine and the L’Oreal people. And every member of the studio audience gets a copy. So expect a magazine review from Murtz.
Round two is up after the
Ad Break
Time for the second round, and Melissa is singing her choice, “Broken Wing” by Martina McBride. She seems much more comfortable than the first song, but I’m thinking that stylistically it’s not that much different from her first song (because it’s a ballad), and that could hurt her. A strong performance, but I think a poor song selection.
Sass – Just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
Zack – I thought it was really good, but it’s not what you’re gonna be five years from now when you go multi-platinum.
Jake – Technically it was good, but I think it was a bit boring.
Farley – I hope there’s some strategy with the song selection. You managed to tell the story.
Ben – Don’t you love that song.
More to come after the
Ad Break
We’re back, and Jon Dore is here in the form of a voiceover and a letter. And here’s a montage of Jon and/or Ben set to “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”. Sadly not the cover by The Housemartins. I love that version.
And now it’s time for Rex, singing Blue Rodeo’s “Bulletproof”. He does the “sing on the stool” thing, which I think might be the first time this year we’ve seen that gimmick. Regardless, I think Rex nails the song – like Melissa and Martina McBride, Blue Rodeo is right in Rex’s comfort zone. Much better than his first song.
Round two – Rex.
Zack – You know, you are exactly who you are, and you’ve made no bones about it.
Jake – You’re one of the only guys that can wear hathead really well, but you sang well.
Farley – There’s a sense of maturity in you tonight, keep it up.
Sass – You keep surprising me – I’m really impressed.
Ben – THAT was the best you’ve ever performed on the show.
The final songs are up after the
Ad Break
Melissa has one more song to sing, and that is the single, “Alive”. She starts off stiff, but she comes off better than Rex, because not only does she convey a lot of emotion, but she sings it well to boot. Basically it comes down to whether you like Hot AC or Rock-lite, I guess.
Jake – I think it was a really good version of the song. Well done.
Farley – Two different singers, two different genres, two good versions. Could’ve worked the stage more, but really good otherwise.
Sass – Really good song from a really good singer.
Zack – Thursday morning the headlines will say “The King is Dead. Long Live The Queen.”
Ben – You can breathe now, Melissa.
Rex sings the judges’ choice after the
Ad Break
We’re back, and here’s more hilarity from Jon Dore Graham Bell.
The judges are choosing Rex’s final song, and they’ve chosen “Superman” by Five For Fighting, which (bias alert) I really hate. But Rex is cool with it (hockey song), so good on him. A few flat notes, but Rex works around the high notes a lot better than I thought he would. The idea, I suppose, was to show that Rex could do the easy listening-type of music, and in that sense, he succeeded. It’s so not a Rex song though.
Round Three – Melissa.
Farley – You’ve really risen to the occasion.
Sass – It’s not just about talent. It’s about heart and soul and you’ve got it.
Zack – It’s not about silly moments of vocalism, it’s who you are.
Jake – Because of that performance, we (the judges) look really good tonight.
Ben – Good performance.
Here’s the Subway recap, Ben promises a giant two hour finale, and we’re outta here.
