Canadian Idol 6, September 1: The End Is Approaching

This week, let’s get right to the action.

Series host Ben Mulroney opens the show by welcoming us and announcing that the guest coach this week is Bryan Adams. Ben isn’t wearing a jacket tonight, which might be a first!

Ben next introduces the judges and poses BPRQs (Boring Predictable Response Questions) to each. He first asks judge Jake Gold what the Idols can learn from Bryan Adams. Jake reminds us that Bryan was first signed as a songwriter before he was known as a performer. Jake adds that Bryan has a lot of humility, “which can take you a long way in this business.”

Ben asks Sass Jordan if she has any Bryan Adams road stories. She’s not sharing. Farley Flex is asked what he’s learned about the Idols as the season unfolds. He says they are “pleasing their constituency,” because their support has been solid throughout the season. Zack Werner doesn’t get a serious question and makes a joke about his other job as a taxman. Let’s move along.

Ben tells us that the Idols will be singing two songs from Bryan Adams’ catalogue, and launches the playing of an informational video about Bryan’s career. Highlights include the over 65 million records sold, his 21 top ten hits, and too many major awards and nominations for me to list. His work organizing the “Tears Are Not Enough” video in support of Ethiopian famine relief is what I find most admirable, however

Drew Wright – Age 28 - Collingwood, ON

Drew impresses Bryan by the arrangement he came up with for “Cuts Like A Knife.” Bryan notes that he “funked it up a bit” and feels “it’s cool that you’re doing his own thing with it.”

And back live, Drew does a pretty solid job. I’m not positive the funky lick we saw him play for Bryan made the final cut, but I could be wrong. Good start, though.

Judge Jake says, “I think I finally figured out who you are,” but darn it, he doesn’t elaborate. Jake notes that doing Bryan Adams seems natural for Drew, and also that this choice of song was right for him. Sass likes the “metalized” arrangement and feels that Drew was “awesome.” Farley also thinks this theme is good for Drew, and that Drew lived up to his expectations. However, after grudgingly offering Drew kudos on his voice, Zack says he feels that if Drew was going to “go heavy, musically,” it should have been sung “tougher.”

Theo Tams – Age 22 - Lethbridge, AB

Theo tells us that working with Bryan is “unbelievably inspiring.” Bryan coaxes Theo into playing the piano as well, and lauds his skill. He’s also impressed how Theo has made the song his own. The clip ends with Bryan telling Theo, “Excellent! You got a beautiful voice.”

The song Theo’s chosen is “Heaven,” and he sings it fairly faithful to the original, though he elects to go in an original direction on the ending. He also sings it pretty darn good! There’s one bit of vocal riffing that sounds iffy, but I don’t think there’s one chance in a million we’ll be hearing Theo sing us out with this number tomorrow night.

Sass doesn’t think the performance can be faulted. Farley feels the arrangement was great, adding that this is one of Theo’s strengths, especially on love songs. Zack says he’s heard this song “eight billion times,” but “that was the most signature thing that you’ve done.” He adds, “Aside for a couple of emotional notes off the top, it was probably one of the best two or three performances in the history of this show!” Jake isn’t sure what he can add, but borrows from rock band triumph to refer to Theo’s performance as “vocal pyrotechnics.”

In a break from the action, we have Jully Black interviewing Theo, live in the hallway set. She asks him about the workshop with Bryan Adams. Theo says, “Working with Bryan Adams was the most excited I’ve been in the whole competition.” Jully says Theo looked comfortable on stage and asks him if he was nervous. Theo says he was a first, but Bryan is “just a regular guy,” and that put him at ease. I think Jully was talking about his first song, not meeting Bryan Adams, but, whatever, it’s all good.

Mitch MacDonald – Age 22 - Port Hope, Cape Breton, NS

After their workshop session, Bryan tells us, “If Mitch is going to hold that guitar, he has to hold it like he means it. And he needs to play it like he means it a bit more.” When they are together, he tells Mitch he needs to sing the words like he means them. The clip ends with Bryan telling us he likes the quirky tone of Mitch’s voice. Mitch says the two things he learned is “play your instrument,” and, “tell your story.” I guess that shows Mitch was listening to Bryan!

Mitch performs “Heat Of The Night,” which is more up-tempo and “dirtier” than what Mitch usually does. After my initial surprise, I think it’s nice he attempted the change. The lowest notes are a bit of a reach, and the couple of attempts to put on a tough face, cute as they were, really wouldn’t scare a puppy. See the photo at the top as a refresher; it was taken during this number.

Overall, I’m not sure if this was a success or not. If he makes it through, Mitch better hope next week’s theme isn’t “The Ballads of Rob Zombie.” After hearing this number, I do think he could do a nice take on Bob Dylan, though.

Farley says he enjoyed hearing Mitch sing “full voice,” but physically, he didn’t seem comfortable. Zack feels Mitch was “uncommitted” to manifesting “the rock star stuff.” Jake tells Mitch he doesn’t convey “angry” very well and suggests he not try that again. Sass says she was going to say the same thing, and agrees the song may have been a bit much for him. Mitch promises Ben that his next number is going to be more happy.