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On to the results and Drew Wright is sent home. He gets to sing "Cuts Like A Knife" one more time and does a really nice job of it.

Next week Theo Tams and Mitch MacDonald fight it out for the Canadian Idol crown.


]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=56 Wed, 3 Sep 2008 18:00:21 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=55
Drew Wright - Cuts Like A Knife

This is my second favourite Bryan Adams song so I was happy to hear Drew was going to be doing it. I thought he did an excellent job on it and this turned out to be my favourite performance of the night. Bryan thought it was a bit more rocked up than his original and I guess it was. Well done. (7.5/10)

Theo Tams - Heaven

Well sung as always and as always, equally bland. In typical CI fashion, the judges, especially Zack overpraised it to the hilt. All I can say to Zack's proclamation of it being among one or two of the best performances ever on the show is that he has a really short memory and he says something silly like this at least once every year. It was good but not that good by a long shot. (7.0/10)

Mitch MacDonald - Heat Of The Night

As is typical with Mitch, he sounded strained and off key during the verses and didn't start out too well. He was much better as the song moved along and not bad at all on the chorus. (6.0/10)
Drew Wright - I'm Ready

This was sung well by Drew but I found it a little repetitive and boring. Perhaps not the best choice of songs to leave an impression with. (6.0/10)

Theo Tams - When You're Gone

This was a little more lively than his first song but Theo looks really awkward when he steps out from behind the piano. I still wonder why Jake doesn't call him out for the ripped jeans and sloppy look. He did with Drew a couple weeks back. I guess Theo is exempt from that type of critique. (6.0/10)

Mitch Macdonald - When You Love Someone

His voice still sounds just a bit strained at times but this was far better than his first song. I actually liked this performance and it's been a while since I liked one from Mitch. (7.0/10)
]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=55 Wed, 3 Sep 2008 17:57:20 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=54
Next up was American Idol winner Jordin Sparks who sang her current single "One Step At A Time". Nice to see Jordin singing on the Canadian Idol stage. Jordin seemed happy to be performimg for the Toronto crowd and got good response from them. She was in Toronto as a stop on her current tour with Jesse McCartney.

Then of course it was time for results. No bottom group declared this week. Earl Stevenson is announced as the idol leaving. He sang "The Joker" as his final performance. He tried to start a 'fan train' but no one seemed interested in joining him so he gave up the idea. So long Earl. Your time had come.

Next week's special guest and mentor is Bryan Adams.

]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=54 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:55:40 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=53
Mitch MacDonald - Cotton Jenny

This is a Gordon Lightfoot song that Anne covered and had a hit with early in her career. After listening to the first few lines I decided that Mitch's voice is really annoying. He didn't sing well and didn't look all that enthused about the song he was singing or even the fact that he was there. It translated into me not caring either. (5.0/10)

Earl Stevenson - Killing Me Softly

This to me was a bit of a shocking song choice. It's been overdone in recent years on idol and really bears no association with Anne. I know she covered it but the song is most remembered as a Roberta Flack classic more recently covered by the Fugees. Earl looked really disoriented, uninterested and uncomfortable singing it. On top of that he sounded awful. (3.5/10)
Drew Wright - Hey Daddy

"There's a hippo in the bathtub". Never thought I'd ever hear those words sung on idol. This was a song Anne recorded for a children's album. Funny that a kiddie song would turn out to be the best of the night. Mostly due to the fact that we finally got someone that looked and sounded like they wanted to win this thing. Drew is improving in leaps and bounds and definitely deserves to be around when the confetti drops. (8.5/10)

Theo Tams - You Don't Know Me

Theo sang as well as he always does (despite the rumoured throat infection). However on this one he seemed to have caught the Mitch and Earl who cares malady. He looked bored and so was I. (6.0/10)

Mitch MacDonald – Between The Bars (Elliot Smith)

A little better than the first but really gloomy. A bit of a contrast to his usual happy likeable demeanor. Would have worked if there was some passion to it and if he could sing better. (5.5/10)

Earl Stevenson - The Joker (Steve Miller)

This is my favourite Steve Miller song so I briefly had high hopes when I heard it was coming. Then the reality of Earl singing it dispelled any hopes. Only slightly better than his first effort mostly because the song suits him better. Just awful singing though. (4.0/10)

Drew Wright - Gravity (John Mayer)

I thought this was excellent. I don't usually comment on instrumentation as I'm not really in favour of it on Idol shows but Drew's guitar playing was really cool. He's every bit as talented a musician as Theo is always sited to be. His singing was excellent as well. A really strong effort. (8.0/10)

Theo Tams - Chariot (Gavin DeGraw)

Theo at least looked a little more interested this time. He started out singing at the piano then climbed up on it part way through and finished off by leaping off as the song ended. He sang okay. A little too over the top on the theatrics. (7.0/10)
]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=53 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:13:38 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=52
Drew and Mookie are announced as the bottom two and the rest are declared safe. After commercial break Drew gives us one of the funniest moments of the season with his double-take when he’s announced safe. He seemed certain that it was him getting eliminated but no, it’s Mookie.

Mookie sings Come Together once more and then smashes his guitar when he’s done.

Ben announces that next week will be Anne Murray week. Well for one song each only. The four will be selecting another song of their choice to sing as well.

]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=52 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:37:12 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=51
Earl Stevenson - With A Little Help From My Friends

I think this is one of Earl's best efforts on the show so far. There's no awkward dancing and he sings pretty well when he does sing. He does the Joe Cocker version which is well liked by many. The background singers take a prominent role, perhaps too much so. (6.5/10)

Mookie Morris - Come Together

I quite enjoyed Mookie's take on this song, well mostly. His voice was sounding as good as it ever has. He changed it up a bit with some starts and stops which I think broke the flow a bit. The lyrics on the third verse were barely discernable and he got the last line wrong. Casual listeners might not notice but Beatles fans certainly would. (6.5/10)
Theo Tams - The Long And Winding Road

Where I thought the first two up got excellent song picks from the judges I was dreading having to listen to this one as soon as I heard what it was. TLAWR has always been one of my least favourite of Beatle songs. It is a beautiful song but it can be really boring depending on the arrangement. Theo fell into the boring side with his rendition. He sang well enough but he made some subtle changes to the melody at times that really didn't do anything for the song other than mess it up. It came across as plodding and sleep inducing. Far more interesting choices could have been made for Theo I think. (5.5/10)

Mitch MacDonald - In My Life

I think this was a decent choice for Mitch. I just wish the judges could have been a bit more original. Three of their choices so far had been done on this past season of American Idol on their Beatles nights. Comparisons will obviously be drawn and I'd have to say that in all three cases the American Idols faired better. I did like Mitch's version. He sang within his comfort range. It just didn't excite me much. (6.5/10)

Drew Wright - While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Excellent song choice and Drew really ran with it. This was to me his best performance of the season. He was able to show off his vocals, slipping in some subtle falsetto at appropriate moments as well as instilling some emotion. It was by far the performance of the night. (8.0/10)
]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=51 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:00:05 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=50
Ben sends Theo, Mookie and Mitch to centre stage leaving Amberly, Earl and Drew on the couch relieved that they are safe. Then Ben announces that the three on stage are safe and those remaining on the couch are actually the bottom three. A distastful switcheroo that many viewers seem to be upset over and I agree. It was mean spirited and unneccessary.

Amberly is announced as the contestant with the least votes and sings her exit song. So another of the better talents in this years version of Canadian Idol goes home leaving some questionable talents still in the running for the crown. Amberly will be missed as she was up with Theo as the most talented in show.



Next weeks theme is announced as songs of The Beatles with the judges picking the songs for the singers. Anne Murray will be mentoring and guesting the following week.
]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=50 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:18:34 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=49
Amberly Thiessen - 1,2,3,4 (Feist)

I was a little disappointed in the song choice as I didn't really think it fit the theme of 'rock'. Amberly sang it pretty well though with no real flaws. Her voice sounded lovely in the theatre as always. It didn’t strike me as a show-stopper moment though. (7.0/10)

Theo Tams – Sweet Ones (Sarah Slean)

Another strong performance from Theo. He looks most confident when playing piano and singing. I wonder how he’d do under the old format where instruments were not allowed. Perhaps not as well. No matter, under this format he’s definitely one of the front runners. (7.5/10)
Mitch MacDonald – I Love This Town (Joel Plaskett)

I’m still not a fan of Mitch as a singer but this was a good song choice for him as it suited his vocal style far better than anything he’s done recently. It was certainly a big improvement over last week as it was simple and didn’t force him to extend himself vocally. Ditching the band and just singing alone on the stage with his guitar worked for him. (6.5/10)

Earl Stevenson – Little Bones (The Tragically Hip)

Points to Earl for doing a real rock song on ‘Canada Rocks’ night. Beyond that it was a real poor karaoke vocal. It doesn’t seem to matter what Earl does though or how bad he sings. The audience and the judges love him. (4.5/10)

Drew Wright – That Song (Big Wreck)

This was one of Drew’s weaker efforts. His singing early on seemed distracted by his guitar playing. He was looking down at his fingering and cutting notes off. The band seemed to over power his vocals as well. (5.0/10)

Mookie Morris – Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf)

He had a distracting turntable DJ on stage with him that took away from the performance early on. It was disjointed for the first few lines. He rocked it later in the song though and I enjoyed it. Again his singing isn’t great and this was a bit gimmicky. (6.0/10)
]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=49 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:52:24 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=48
The bottom three are revealed as Earl Stevenson, Theo Tams and Mark Day. Mark Day gets the ticket home and performs ‘Bleeding Love’ one more time.



Next week’s theme is Canadian Rock and the guest mentors are Montreal Based rock band Simple Plan.
]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=48 Wed, 6 Aug 2008 16:35:11 -0400 http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=47
Mark Day - Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis)

I thought this was a bit of a daring song choice since it's so recent and was a hit for another idol personality (Leona was the winner of Britain's Xfactor) and might draw comparisons. Well Mark isn't anywhere close to Leona's league vocally but he did an okay job on it. Ultimately it wouldn't stand up to some of the better performances of the night and would become a bit forgettable. (6.0/10)
Mitch MacDonald - Jealous Guy (John Lennon)

Vocally this was a disaster. There were some runs there that were painful to listen to. Jake hit the nail on the head when he questioned the arrangement as losing the feeling of the song. The original is on Lennon's classic 'Imagine' album. Lennon's version was a heartfelt account of the insecurities of a love affair. Mitch couldn't convey that emotion. (4.0/10)

Drew Wright - Creep (Radiohead)

In his intro Drew told us he wanted to get back to being himself again. The last couple of weeks he seemed to be playing a part, working the stage, trying to please the judges, etc. So we have Drew back with his guitar and just singing. Well Drew certainly can sing. He sounded fantastic live and really did a good job on this one. Easily in the top three of the night. (7.5/10)

Theo Tams - You Had Me (Joss Stone)

We see another side of Theo on this one. He shed the piano in favour of attempting to work the stage. Something he felt uncomfortable with according to his mentoring session with Tom. Well if he was he certainly didn't show it. He looked confident and in control and as always his vocal was right on the money. Another solid effort. (7.5/10)

Mookie Morris - Lola (The Kinks)

I was hoping Mookie would do a kinks song tonight. It just seemed to be a good fit for him. He just happened to pick my favourite Kinks song so that was really cool. He was a bit shaky to start out but he totally rocked it from about the thirty second mark on. If this guy could sing a little better he'd be awesome. (7.0/10)

Amberly Thiessen - Put Your Records On (Corinne Bailey Rae)

First off this was an excellent song choice for Amberly. It suited her vocal style perfectly. Secondly this was easily the premiere vocal of the night. Her voice just soared through the place. Beautiful tone and spot on key. She shed the guitar in favour of working the stage a bit. She still seems a bit awkward with this but that's a minor thing when you sing as well as she does. (8.5/10)

Earl Stevenson - Change The World (Eric Clapton)

In the last few weeks I'd been starting to appreciate Earl a bit. Then he did this. He's definitely competing for worst of the night on this. Vocally all over the place and just awful. He killed a good song and that ending was just painful to watch and hear. (4.0/10)

So my bottom three would be Mitch, Earl and Mark. I'd be equally happy to see Mitch or Earl go home. Given the track record of Canadian Idol voters though it'll be someone that shouldn't see the bottom three this week at all.
]]> Season 6 Discussion http://starsonidol.com/ciblog/index.php?itemid=47 Tue, 5 Aug 2008 14:39:09 -0400