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Hell Week: From 212 to 22 - June 20
11 cities. Thousands of auditions. 212 hopefuls
have made it past that round, but now, they're gonna have to step up, as they
compete through 4 grueling days to get into the Top 22.
[The episode planned for Monday was moved to Tuesday, so both of this week's
episodes ran back-to-back. Therefore, this recap will cover both episodes.]
We start by seeing various hopefuls, such as Jesse Cox (28; Cape Breton, NS),
Kati Durst (26; Goderich, ON), Tiffany & Vanessa Williams (16 & 21; Ottawa, ON),
Noel Taylor (19; Yellowknife, NT), Greg Neufeld (22; Abbotsford, BC), Jesse
Lipscombe (26; Edmonton, AB), and others as they pack their things and get ready
to head off to Toronto for the next round of the competition. And it is Elena
Juatco who greets a number of them at the airport in Toronto. Needless to say,
everyone is excited to be there, all confident that they'll be the next Canadian
Idol. But others arrive by train, and they're just as confident. Those board a
bus, ready to take them to their next stop; the hotel. There, competitors get a
chance to meet each other, and size up their competition first-hand.
Day 1
Now, it's time to begin. The crowd arrives at the stage where they'll be singing
for the next few days, and the judges give them important advice that they'll
likely need. Now, it's time to get the first day of this grueling process under
way. A group of singers line up on the stage, and one at a time, they'll step
forward, introduce themselves, say why they want to be the next Canadian Idol,
and sing. For 89 of them, this will be the last thing they do in the
competition.
Al McKinnon (18; Petawawa, ON) does the same song he did in his audition. We
then see performances from Dameion Moores (20; Middle Arm, NL), Danyka Bonaduce
(22; Brossard, QC), and Julia Maxwell (17; Calgary, AB), before we get to Tyler
Lewis (19; Rockglen, SK), who does his rendition of "Kryptonite". That one gets
a nice applause from everyone. Deirdre Murphy (26; Lethbridge, AB) is next, but
just as she finishes, the judges decide to make an early cut, saying that her
singing was bad, and they eliminate her from the competition earlier than
expected. After this group is done, the judges deliberate, then they ask 4 to
step forward, including Dameion and Danyka. Those 4 go home, while the others
stick around. Then, Zack sends a message to Al, saying he only squeaked through,
and to stop screwing around. I guess that means to try a different song next
time.
In the next group, Brandon Jones (16; Quispamsis, NB) shows some confidence,
Greg Neufeld and Jesse Cox each put their best foot forward, Jeremy Koz (26;
Winnipeg, MB) rocks his way through his performance, and Alissa White-Gluz (20;
Montréal, QC) does her best to impress. Chris Labelle (24; Ottawa, ON)
introduces himself, then dances all over the stage while singing. It gets a nice
applause from the crowd, and the judges wonder how to follow that up. Philip
King (27; Antigonish, NS) attempts to do so, and he's followed by Vanessa
Williams, who is fighting a cold at this point. Her sister, Tiffany, then gives
it her best shot, followed by Noel Taylor, who tries "Can You Feel The Love
Tonight", which is outside of his comfort zone. Zack says that that might have
been a mistake this early on. Nathan Brown (26; Dewberry, AB) goes with a bit of
soul, and the ladies love it. Now, for the cuts. Tiffany, Brandon, Greg, Noel,
Jeremy, and Nathan, among others, step forward, and they are moving on; back
row, which includes Vanessa, goes home.
After we see some more introductions, it's time for some more hopefuls to go for
it. Alisha Nauth (19; Kitchener, ON) gets things going, then we move on to D.J.
Eyamie (27; Ottawa, ON), and Andrew Thomas (21; Akwesasne Six Nations, ON) gets
the crowd going. Rose Ekosso (25; Ottawa, ON) praises Canada, saying that this
is like a dream for her. She then sings her heart out, and she gets a standing
ovation from the crowd and the judges. Farley then tells her that she can go sit
down. That must mean she's automatically moving on. Dennis Fragela (25;
Montréal, QC) couldn't quite leave that same impression, and neither could
Daniel James (21; Collingwood, ON). Angela Nurse (29; Calgary, AB), Darwin Ceres
(29; Kitchener, ON), and Giovanni Zenone (17; New Westminster, BC) were each cut
off by the judges before they could finish. Aaron Elvy (27; Cambridge, ON) is
next, followed by Fraser McGregor (17; Toronto, ON), and Krisz Varga (26;
Montréal, QC), but those didn't seem too impressive. And as for the cuts; Jake
essentially asks everyone to step forward, and they're all going home. Now
that's a stunner. I bet Rose is thankful that she wasn't a part of THAT.
One more group to go. After what had just happened, Jesse Lipscombe does his
best to get something good going, and he's followed by Jenn Kee (24; London,
ON). Anna-Belle Oliva (20; Montréal, QC) gets some applause for her performance.
Nancy Silverman (19; Thornhill, ON) shows her energy, and also gets applause.
That could be good. And for the cuts, only one goes home; the rest stays.
Overall, 95 of the 212 hopefuls were eliminated, leaving 117 to move on to the
next day. And for those 117, it's time for group songs. They each have to decide
who they're singing with, and what song they'll be singing together. Then, they
have all night to practice. It'll be quite the process, but they seem to be up
to it.
Day 2
It's past midnight, but a lot of the remaining hopefuls are still awake,
practicing their group numbers. But things aren't all smooth; 2 guys are left
with a dilemma as the 3rd of their trio left to join a group that's more focused
on the task. Meanwhile, a trio of ladies think they're ready, but from what we
hear, they may need more practice. Everywhere in the hotel, even in a bathroom,
there are groups getting ready for their next performance. Some are sounding
good; some still need to improve.
But for one, an important decision needs to be made. Jessica Bettcher (22;
Camrose, AB) had just found out that her boyfriend's aunt was being taken off
life support the next day, and she wants to be there. But that would mean she
couldn't be here. She wants to go home. And she does, leaving the rest of her
group to fend for themselves. As for the first group, they had solved their
dilemma, but the trio is having problems coming together with their singing. Can
you see how tough this whole process is?
On to the morning. Just about everyone is awake and once again getting ready,
but one, Rochelle Naytowhow (19; Sturgeon Lake First Nations, SK) is having a
problem waking up. And it just so happens that her group is up first. She does
make it after a bit, though, and after warming up in the bathroom, they're on
the stage and performing, with piano accompaniment. They start out fine at
first, but when it comes to a point where Rochelle sings solo, she seems to
forget the words. They try to recover, but Zack stops them, asking if Rochelle
remembers any part of the song. She then has a chance to sing by herself for a
moment, and she does so, not forgetting the words this time. Then, Jake says
that she doesn't seem to be showing much enthusiasm like the others were, then
the judges send them outside. Outside, Irene Torres (23; Toronto, ON) mentions
how stressful it is to learn a song with a group and perform it in less than 24
hours.
The next group seemed more prepared, with Tony Caruso (21; Edmonton, AB),
Sheldon Elter (27; Edmonton, AB), Rob James (28; Winnipeg, MB), and Bernard
Quilala (24; Edmonton, AB) doing their thing on stage. And it really seemed to
impress the judges. We then saw a couple more groups; one consisting of Sarah
Loverock (25; Gibsons, BC), Cassidy Quinton (18; Portugal Cove, NL), and
Stephanie Champagne (24; Winnipeg, MB); the other consisting of Natasha Peach
(27; Halifax, NS), Heidi Joshua (29; Surrey, BC), Valérie Jalbert (21;
Saint-Jérôme, QC), and one other lady. Both did "Killing Me Softly", and both
seemed to do quite well. Next up are Ashley Coulter (23; Emeryville, ON), Jenn
Knight (21; Kingsville, ON), and Ashley Coles (16; Caledonia, ON). They gave it
a nice effort, and in the end, Jake called it "perfect". But it turns out that
Ashley Coulter's stepmom was undergoing heart surgery on that day, so there was
a lot more on her mind than how well she and her group just did.
There's still more groups to go, and we get to see a few of them rock out. A
good number of them do well, but not all are doing as well as they probably
should. And one duo is told by Zack that it wasn't a good song choice for them.
Then, we see Keith Macpherson (27; Winnipeg, MB), Ryan Hawes (24; Cole Harbour,
NS), and Andrew Austin (26; Sarnia, ON) try something a bit more classic. They
do alright; not the best, but not bad either. Moving on to a few other groups,
including the one with the dilemma from earlier about one of them wanting into
another group. And though some do alright, a number of them are having problems,
whether it be singing off-key, or forgetting the words. Turns out that "All Day
and All of the Night" was a tough song for these groups. Plenty of train wrecks
abound with that one, and they're left to wonder exactly what went wrong.
Now, the judges deliberate on who to keep, and who to send home. Afterwards, in
front of the hopefuls are their photos on a glass wall, and on the back of each
photo, their fate is stamped in the form of one of 2 words: SAFE or ELIMINATED.
Now, it's time for them to step forward and get their photos, to see if they're
still in it. Those who are safe show excitement and relief, and for those who
are eliminated, either they accept it, or they start crying. Among the safe:
Ashley Coles, Tyler Lewis, at least one of the guys from one of the train
wrecks, Anna-Belle Oliva, Ashley Coulter, and even Rochelle Naytowhow, despite
forgetting words earlier. Overall, 76 of the hopefuls have survived this stage
of the competition, and for them, it's on to the next day...
Day 3
For this stage of the competition, the hopefuls have been paired up for duets.
First up: Craig Sharpe (16; Upper Island Cove, NL) and Leanne Kean (16; Torbay,
NL). They do a nice rendition of "Take My Breath Away", and the judges praise
their performance. Then, Keith Macpherson and Sidra Martin (18; Waverley, NS)
get their shot, and they both do pretty good as well. Alyssa Klazek (17;
Calgary, AB) and Matt Hickson (19; Cambridge, ON) show a lot of emotion in their
duet, while Cassidy Quinton and Tyler Lewis, despite doing alright at first, hit
a bit of turbulence. Zack stops them, and compares their performance to a plane
crashing.
The duets roll on, and we get some great performances, one after another. Soon,
we come up to Rochelle Naytowhow and James Taylor (28; La Conception, QC), who
barely made it here, and they both need to improve. Unfortunately, they don't
seem to improve much. Zack lets them know that they still have their problems,
but they give them another chance. But this time, Rochelle doesn't even start
when the piano begins playing. Zack yells at her for this, then they try again.
It doesn't seem to get much better, though, and the judges cut them off. I don't
see these two advancing any further, to be honest.
Jesse Cox and Tiffany Williams are up, and they do okay, but the judges are
thinking they're holding back, and they let them know of it. That's when the
pair starts doing better, and now they're showing what they're made of. Getting
up that morning, Irene Torres was anxious, but as it got closer to her and Jesse
Lipscombe's turn, they became more confident. And when they get to singing, they
seem to do well. Nathan Brown and Alisha Nauth don't have much of a problem
showing what they're made of.
Isabelle Ouellet (22; Campbellton, NB) has a bit of her hair sticking up
(remember the movie "There's Something About Mary"?), while Chad Doucette (17;
East Chezzetcook, NS) seems to have a bit of his shirt sticking out of his fly,
which he's fumbling with during the first part of the singing. The judges are
laughing a bit, but they do see the maturity in their singing, which they
mention to the pair. Brandon Jones and Ashley Coles are next with "Take My
Breath Away", and though it seems Brandon does a bit of mumbling (possibly due
to forgetting some of the words), they seem to get through it just fine, and
they impressed the judges.
Now, the judges decide who is staying, and who is going home. Once their
decision is made, all 76 hopefuls make their way onto the stage to find out the
verdicts. Each pair steps up when called, and are told if one, both, or neither
continue on. Among the decisions; Rochelle and James are both out, Tyler stays
while Cassidy goes, Keith and Sidra are still in it, as are Craig and Leanne,
Jesse C. and Tiffany will also stick around, and while Irene will move on, Jesse
L. won't. In the end, 44 remain, but there's still one more step to go before
the Top 22.
Day 4
It's the last of the 4 grueling days, and they now have to go through solo
performances to impress the judges one more time. Jeremy Koz gets things going
with "Somebody to Love", and it sounded amazing. The judges seemed impressed.
Chris Labelle shows a more serious side of himself, and after leaving the stage,
he's actually more nervous than ever. Anna-Belle Oliva does what she can, as
does Kati Durst, who fights through fatigue to hit a big note. Philip King
continues to impress, while Sheldon Elter attempts to sing his heart out.
Valérie Jalbert is next, and she knows what it takes to get through this; she
was in the Top 32 2 years ago! Can she get to the Top 22 this year? I'd say it's
looking good. Nancy Silverman is also looking good to be a contender, and she
really seemed to impress the judges.
Will Randall (25; Fort McMurray, AB) and Nathan Brown each do their thing, and
so does Steffi DiDomenicantonio (17; Orleans, ON), Heidi Joshua, and Tyler
Lewis. They all did well, which could make things tough for the judges. D.J.
Eyamie is next, but when he's done, Zack expresses some concern to the other
judges, saying he doesn't have a "Star Search" moment in him. Nevada Von Bieker
(22; Edmonton, AB), a singer in a rock band, goes with "Paint It Black", but the
judges' reaction was mixed. Greg Neufeld is trying for his best performance yet,
while Eva Avila (19; Hull, QC) feels she did good, despite nerves. Rob James is
used to being on stage (as half of Canadian duo McMaster & James), but after his
performance here, he's not exactly sure of how he did.
Now, it's time for the final deliberations. The judges take their time to decide
which 22 (11 men and 11 women) will be moving on to sing for Canada's vote. Once
they're done, the hopefuls are split into 4 groups of 11, each in a different
room. 2 of them will form the Top 22; the other 2 consists of those who are
going home. The judges enter the first room, and Farley tells them that they're
going home. On to the second room, and Sass says they're on their way to the Top
22! In the third room, Zack uses a Stanley Cup analogy to tell that group that
they're done. That leaves the fourth room, and Jake lets them know that they are
still in the running! With that, the 2 groups that made it in all gather into
one room with the judges, and they all celebrate!
[Since the taping of this episode, Philip King, who was set to move on, had to
leave due to personal reasons and family commitments. Hence, someone has to take
his place, and that someone is Chris Labelle.]
Next week, it's the Top 22. The format this year is similar to what American
Idol has been doing at the Top 24 level since last year. The men will sing on
Monday, and the women will sing on Tuesday. Results on Wednesday, when 2 men and
2 women will say goodbye. This process will repeat until 10 remain. With that,
here are the Top 22...
Men
-Nathan Brown (26; Dewberry, AB)
-Chad Doucette (17; East Chezzetcook, NS)
-Sheldon Elter (27; Edmonton, AB)
-Rob James (28; Winnipeg, MB)
-Brandon Jones (16; Quispamsis, NB)
-Jeremy Koz (26; Winnipeg, MB)
-Chris Labelle (24; Ottawa, ON)
-Tyler Lewis (19; Rockglen, SK)
-Keith Macpherson (27; Winnipeg, MB)
-Greg Neufeld (22; Abbotsford, BC)
-Craig Sharpe (16; Upper Island Cove, NL)
Women
-Eva Avila (19; Hull, QC)
-Ashley Coles (16; Caledonia, ON)
-Ashley Coulter (23; Emeryville, ON)
-Steffi DiDomenicantonio (17; Orleans, ON)
-Kati Durst (26; Goderich, ON)
-Valérie Jalbert (21; Saint-Jérôme, QC)
-Alyssa Klazek (17; Calgary, AB)
-Sarah Loverock (24; Gibsons, BC)
-Alisha Nauth (19; Kitchener, ON)
-Anna-Belle Oliva (20; Montréal, QC)
-Nancy Silverman (19; Thornhill, ON)
One of them is the next Canadian Idol. Who will it be? Canada will decide,
starting next week.
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