Last week, Steffi and her boots walked out of the competition. The judges are choosing songs for the Final Four this week. This… is Canadian Idol/
Opening Credits
We are in the Bassett Theatre in Toronto, ON. Ben Mulroney lets us know that the judges have picked TWO songs for each performer to sing. Speaking of the performers, here are your Top Four! And here are the judges who choose Jake Gold, Sass Jordan, Farley Flex and Zack Werner.
Question/mic check time
Jake – The judges made selections to make (the singers) look good and challenge them.
Sass – At the end of the day, the judges ended up with songs that she thinks are gonna be really fun.
Flex – Canada’s recognized four distinct talents, four distinct styles, and four really cool names that Canada will hear about next year.
Zack – No songs by Abdullah the Butcher. It’s all fantastic material.
Let’s get right to it, as Tyler Lewis is singing Tom Cochrane’s “Big League”.
Jake – Emnotionally, you delivered the right sentiments, but it was not your best performance.
Sass – Once of these days you’ll play in the big leagues.
Flex – The way you emote and sell (the song) is really cool.
Zack – I was set to say “he shoots, he scores”. Unfortunately you came out flat in the third round.
Flat is right. Tyler had the case of the mumbles during the verses, which were also pretty off key. The chorus was killer though, and that’s what’s saving me from having to adjust my sliding scale for him. This was probably somewhere between Idol and Rock Star, and not suitable for either one. 6.5/10
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Our second performer is Chad Doucette, and he’s singing “Hanging By a Moment” by Lifehouse.
Sass – Chad rocked!
Flex – Good job, I really enjoyed it.
Zack – Come out for the next song, show some big time rock and roll stuff. Or… don’t.
Jake – Interesting song for you. You did exactly what we’d thought you’d do with that song.
Once again, someone outrocks Tyler the alleged rocker. Without Steffi around the Chad-isms become more pronounced (and it sounds like Scott Stapp is singing Lifehouse) but unlike Tyler, Chad brought some intensity to his song and that goes a long way towards making a rock song work. Not mumbling helps too. 8.5/10
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Figure skating champion Brian Orser in in the house! Why do they always show figure skaters during Craig’s segments?
Craig Sharpe is up now, and the judges have chosen Wham’s “Careless Whisper” for him.
Flex – You understood why we chose that song for you.
Zack – That song fits your vibe, fits your pipes. That would be a hit.
Jake – No misses, all hits.
Sass – Um, I think she liked it.
It’s pretty much what we expect out of Craig at this point. A little pitchy, but we know he can nail those ballads that require the male voice to go high. 7.5/10
No break, as Eva Avila sings next. She’s doing “Would I Lie to You?” by Eurythmics.
Zack – You filled that suit honey, so I’m good with it.
Jake – I think you need to connect with the lyrics a little more.
Sass – You just kill me, plain and simple.
Flex – Best physical performance. You gave people a vision of who you’ll be.
It may have been a vision, but of what? Eva definitely had the physical energy with this performance, but if the judges were expecting an X-(t)ina-like performance, she wasn’t quite there. 7/10
Tyler Lewis now sings his second song, and it’s “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton.
Jake – I think there won’t be many dry eyes in Canada after that.
Sass – You know how to deliver a song.
Flex – I’m sure the ladies loved seeing you ride the horse slowly.
Zack – The vibe you convey makes me believe you’re one of the two people who deserve to win this thing.
I wouldn’t go as far as Zack did. Nowhere near as far, actually. Tyler hasn’t shown much versatility. He can sing not-hard commercial rock, and he can do ballads, but can he pull off something like the (now bollock-less) Bo Bice? No. Should he still be here over, say, Steffi, Nancy, Alisha, Rob. Keith or Ashley Coulter? No. Good performance though. 8/10
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Theresa Sokyrka is here, and everyone in the audience gets a copy of her new CD!
Trying to follow Theresa is Chad Doucette. His second song is R.E.M’s “Everybody Hurts”.
Sass – I gotta say I was hurting at the beginning, but you totally redeemed yourself at the end with that note. I loved it.
Flex – When there’s a flaw, that unique voice of yours kicks it. Good job.
Zack – I give Jake props for choosing that for you. Flaws or no flaws, I believed it. Good on you.
Jake – Thanks for making me look good, buddy.
The unfortunate thing for Tyler tonight was that Chad followed him with a similar song choice, but songs that were actually more complex and difficult to sing. Tyler gets the simple songs, Chad gets something more challenging. And that was a helluva glory note from Chad at the end. 8.5/10
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Craig Sharpe is back, and he gets to tackle “Tears of a Clow” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
Flex – I’ve got five words – Farley Flex School of Choreography. Good job.
Zack – You’ve got the pipes to do it. I’m still waiting for you to bloom into this megastar that may happen on next year’s show.
Jake – That was so entertaining.
Sass – Talks about Craig’s dancing. She calls it “Yellow Brick Road” dancing, but C’MON! This is Canada, call it what it is – the “Ed Grimley”.
Craig is Craig, and he’s nothing if not consistent in his performances. However, he shouldn’t dance. 7.5/10
Ad Break
Eva Avila gets the final performance of the night, and we end the show as we started – with some CanCon in the form of Divine Brown’s “Old School Love”.
Zack – For me, right this minute, I say “Canadian Idol, Eva Avila”.
Jake – Without a doubt, by far the best performance of the night.
Sass – Your phrasing was fantastic. And Eva, that was unbelievably good.
Flex – Last week, you were in the bottom two, and lots of people were terrified for you. If that doesn’t bring you back, then a double platinum album will.
Eva definitely sold this song better than her first performance. Notice the difference in power and control, especially in the glory note. No runs, just a couple of trills. And like Tyler, ballads are Eva’s strength, but unlike Tyler, she’s shown versatility in the past. Damn skippy it’s the best performance of the night. 9/10
Now it’s time for the Name Brand Cereal recap and the voting window is open. Roll credits! Hit it Rockapella!
