Auditions: Ottawa/Winnipeg/Halifax - June 12

There's still 3 cities left for the judges to see auditions at, and tonight, we'll see who will be joining the 137 that have already gotten their gold tickets. 

Ottawa, ON 

We start today in the capital of Canada, Ottawa.  And first up here is Chris Labelle (24), who is asked to take his hat off.  He does so, and shows that he lost a bunch of his hair while it was being bleached.  Oh my...  He says he's 24, but he looks like he's 80.  Maybe he should leave the hat on, then.  Anyway, he sings alright, doing an interesting dancing routine during this.  Zack didn't like it at first, but Chris responds by singing some more, sounding a bit better than before.  The other judges say yes, and Chris has the first gold ticket of the day! 

Julien Latreille (28; Hull, QC), while singing, dances like he needs to go to the bathroom.  Kyle Davis (16; Pembrooke) goes for a disco song, minus energy and rhythm.  Lylian Nuckle (24; Gatineau, QC) tries to sing "Believe", but it sounds really bad.  Well, at least she admitted she can't sing it afterwards.  Katie Beetham (25) starts off well, but at one point, she makes a weird sound that causes Farley to mimic the barking of a dog!  Apparently, he has a problem with that sound.  But at least the rest of the song was good enough to send a ticket her way! 

D.J. Eyamie (27) was a bit loud, but he did sing well.  Sass asks him if he'll make great song choices, and after he says yes, he gets his ticket!  And that starts a montage of a lot of guys auditioning.  Some make it, some don't.  And then, in comes Al McKinnon (18; Petawawa).  He sings "Black Betty" while the judges provide a rhythm section.  He manages to impress Sass, Zack, and Farley, and though Jake isn't a fan, he concedes, and Al is moving on!  Al then yells that he's going to Hollywood!  Um, wrong version of Idol, man. 

Vanessa & Tiffany Williams (21 & 16) are sisters, and they enter the audition room together.  They sing together, and they sound really good.  Farley then says that though they hadn't put any duets through to the next round before, they're gonna put these two through, with 2 gold tickets!  Marc Perron (25; Chelmsford) is the kind of guy that everybody likes.  And the judges like his singing, so he's off to the next round! 

Steffi DiDomenicantonio (16) has an interesting last name, and interesting attire.  She does have a good voice, and though Zack says some of her singing is a bit over-the-top, she gets a gold ticket!  Jenn Kee (24; London) goes with "Kiss From a Rose", and she gets approval from the judges, sending her to the next round!  In the end, 29 gold tickets are awarded in Ottawa, sending the total so far to 166! 

Winnipeg, MB 

On to the cold, cold city of Winnipeg, where acts such as Neil Young and the Guess Who are from.  But no Top 10 singer has been from this city yet.  Will that trend end?  We'll see, as the judges greet the hopefuls with some helpful advice.  Unfortunately, Erica Jacobson (24) starts things off with the ol' screaming approach.  David MacLean (17) uses an upbeat tone for "American Pie", a song about a plane crash.  You can probably tell how that went.  Jennifer Walker (17) tries to "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", but she sounds like she's crushing them.  And Despina Rougalas (29) squeaks her way through her audition. 

Jessica Parsons (18; Thompson) rolls into the room on roller skates, and sings "Barbie Girl".  (And I was hoping I'd never hear that song again...)  And during her singing, she removes the purple dress, revealing a blue bikini with red striped pants underneath!  Nonetheless, Zack waves bye to her, and on the way out, she falls.  How fitting.  Shawn Newman (19) thinks he's better than most of the people in the competition.  But by butchering "Kryptonite", he's not exactly backing up his words.  Jeremy Koz (25) says he's gonna do what he does, and though there is some apprehension from Farley, he rocks his way to a gold ticket!  Afterwards, he says he'll listen to the criticism, and he'll do what he can to improve.  Good idea. 

Lucy Beardy (22) has 2 kids, and her mother was involved in a bad car accident 2 years ago.  So, she's had a lot to deal with.  And naturally, she puts a lot into her singing, and it shows, as she'll be moving on to the next round!  Rob James (28) was part of the pair McMaster & James, who had a modest Canadian hit or two 6 years ago, and now, he's looking for solo success.  And it seems he hasn't lost a step, as he has very little trouble securing a ticket! 

Dylan Acorn (21) shows how loud of a yell he can make.  Elsaida Alerta (19) shows a lot of power in her singing.  Cory Bosecke (25) was grooving, while Natalie Desautels (17) sings quite well.  And all 4 of them are moving on!  They will be among 24 of Winnipeg's best heading to the next round, bringing the overall total to 190! 

Now, for a feature from Elena Juatco; this time, ways to kill the time while waiting to audition.  Some of the ways seen include playing cards, playing a video game, a Rubik's Cube, and even juggling.  And there's even some dancing.  And some are even doing homework for school!

Halifax, NS 

One more stop to go before the next round begins.  Halifax has had a good Idol track record so far, but can they keep it up?  Deresa Johnson (17; Dartmouth) hopes so, but she can't seem to stay in tune, as far as I can tell.  Chris Townsend (24; Whitney Pier) doesn't do much better, giving me another reason as to make me wish I had earplugs.  Sasha & Kyle Blaikie (23 & 19; Dartmouth) were both squeaky, and it causes Zack to fake throwing up.  Jennifer Hallihan (23; Miramichi, NB) gets the message sung to her by the judges; she's "no good".  Chad Hatcher (27; Dartmouth) screws up, then has trouble finding his way out of there.  Needless to say, this is not a good sign. 

Drew Spears (28; Antigonish) says he sings to just about anything he sees.  But as he sings in his audition, he's not doing too well, but also, he's not even looking at the judges.  This causes them to pull a few antics that he doesn't see; Farley fakes handing over a gold ticket, before putting it back, Zack walks off, Jake also walks off, and Sass ducks under the desk.  When Drew finally pays attention, he only sees Farley.  Drew walks up to get a ticket, but is told to back off.  I guess that means no ticket, then.  And he also has trouble finding the exit. 

Maybe Jesse Cox (28; Cape Breton) will shine some light in the audition room, so to speak.  He likes to sing, and he plays guitar.  No guitar in the room, though, but he does come through with a good audition, and he gets a ticket!  Shane Colley (21) can sing, but he seems to have some trouble holding a long note consistently enough.  The judges try to help him through it, though, and in the end, he is moving on to the next round, with a warning from Zack to fix the problem, or else.

Philip King (27; Antigonish) is doing this for his daughter.  He's not as tall as other hopefuls, but he shows that he has plenty of talent.  The judges like it, with Jake adding that he's the best rock singer so far this year, and he's moving on!  Overall, 22 of the Halifax hopefuls have secured gold tickets, meaning that in the next round, we'll see a grand total of 212 competitors battling it out!

That will do it for the auditions.  Next week (Monday and Tuesday), the 212 gold ticket winners will be in Toronto, ready to continue their journey.  It's gonna be stressful for them, but we'll see who will endure the stress and impress the judges enough to go further into the competition.