Round of 3: Judges/Viewer's Choice - September 3-4

We're getting closer to finding out who this year's Canadian Idol will be, and this week, the 3 singers that remain will be singing songs chosen by the judges and the people!

That's right; this time, the 3 don't get to pick what they sing; each gets a song chosen by an online poll, and a song chosen by either Jake, Farley, Sass, or Zack. After their opening comments, and a mention that one of them, Sass, helped the singers to prepare for the week this time, we get right down to it. And we begin with the judges' choices.

Starting things off this week is Jaydee Bixby. Sass wants to see him perform this one like he did during the workshop; just standing still, instead of moving all over the stage. As for the choice of song, Farley chose "Break It To Them Gently" by Burton Cummings because he wanted to see some vulnerability, and he wanted Jaydee to show off his voice. Jake thought it was the best thing he ever heard him do, and making it sound country made it sound like his own. Farley said that he did a fantastic job with it, and he did his thing. Zack felt it was the most honest, human performance he has done.

Brian Melo is up next. He was told by Sass earlier that performance is about experience; something that he has learned very well over the weeks. And he'll be singing "Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procal Harem, which was chosen by Jake because it's a challenging song, and since Brian has met every challenge so far, he might as well try something that he could really aspire to. Farley thought he understood the lyrics and meaning of the song, and captured its essence. Sass said that he's a born performer. Jake thought that he didn't disappoint, and added that that was the first time in a while that he got chills.

Let's see what Carly Rae Jepsen can do this week. The advice given to her by Sass for this one: Just stand in front of the microphone and concentrate on the feeling she gets when singing. The song that she got from Zack is Janis Ian's "At Seventeen", because it's all about storytelling, and he has been impressed by Carly Rae's ability to interpret lyrics and tell a story, so this one should "break everybody's hearts". Sass thought it was "pretty perfect". Zack, trying not to choke up while speaking, basically said that that performance was very moving. Farley felt that it was absolutely wonderful, and he felt his heart dropping with every note she sang.

Moving on to the peoples' choice; these are the results of an online poll conducted at the Canadian Idol website (idol.ctv.ca) during the past few weeks. First up again is Jaydee, who gets to perform "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. Zack thought he didn't sound like he was imitating anyone this week, and he is certainly unique. Jake thought that he sang it well, but for this one, he would've liked to see Jaydee wearing all black, with a guitar and a hat. Sass said she had a lot of fun while watching this performance.

Now on the stage for the second time tonight is Brian, who gets a chance to rock with "Lightning Crashes" by Live. Jake, after mentioning that this was originally going to be the judges' choice until they saw the online poll results, said that that was one of the most explosive things ever on the show. Farley felt that Brian deserves a prize for the best and most consistently accurate song selection this season (even though selection was out of his hands this week)! Zack said that he understood the emotion from that performance, but to him, Brian sounded tired there.

Last, but definitely not least, is Carly Rae, and thanks to the people, she closes the show with a performance of Dido's "White Flag". Farley thought that she understood what she was doing, and he really enjoyed it. Sass felt that it was a stellar performance from a budding star. Jake thought she sang it really well, especially in the first half, and he gets what she was trying to do.

Another great week for these singers; I think they all did very well! And they turned it up at a good time, since 2 spots in the finals are on the line this week. For my prediction, I think we're going to see a Brian/Carly Rae final, but it's nothing against Jaydee; I had previously underestimated his fanbase multiple times, and recently, he has come up with some really good performances. I just think that like last week, Brian and Carly Rae are just too strong, and that those two will have more voters on their sides this week because of it.

Tomorrow, we find out who is going to perform for the title of Canadian Idol next week, and we'll get performances from not only Kalan Porter (Season 2 winner), but Hedley (featuring Season 2 competitor Jacob Hoggard) and Low Level Flight (featuring Season 1 winner Ryan Malcolm) as well!

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3 singers are looking to perform for all the marbles next week, but only 2 will get that chance. Tonight, we find out which 2 it'll be.

[Until now, results shows have been 30 minutes long. This week, it's a full hour. So there's a lot more happening this time.]

We begin as we normally do with a group performance, this time of "I Want to Believe" by Sass Jordan. And Sass certainly seemed pleased with that one! Afterwards, we find out that about 4.1 million votes were cast this week! This is followed by the usual recap of the performances from last night, then after a break, we get a world premiere: Hedley (with frontman Jacob Hoggard, who finished in 3rd place in Season 2) debuts their new single, "She's So Sorry"! This gets a standing ovation from the audience! We are then reminded that they have a new album to be released on October 30th.

Following another break, we see a bit involving roving reporter Dave Kerr joining the singers in watching a movie. He then gets up and prepares a snack: a combination of parmesan and roasted garlic, which he "mixed" in a bowl himself. But it turns out that Brian already has a bag of chips that happens to have that flavour. And we get a close-up of the bag, which is apparently labelled "Pringles Select". Yep, more product placement. Next, Dave has "mixed" cinnamon and sweet potatoes in that bowl, but Jaydee has a bag of chips (same brand) with that flavour already. Yeah. Afterwards, Ben says that that's the last time Dave was invited anywhere. Heh.

Okay, on to something worth watching. Ever wondered what Ryan Malcolm has done since winning Season 1? Well, it turns out that he is now the frontman for a band called Low Level Flight, and they have just released their debut album, "Urgency". And wouldn't you know it; they're now on the stage performing "Say"! And I gotta say, they sound cool!

Next, we have a segment that mentions the kinds of songs that the Top 3 listens to. Then, we see that they each got to take a trip home for a bit. We start with Jaydee, who had returned to Drumheller, Alberta to be greeted by a horde of fans. Of course, he made appearances on local TV and radio shows while home, and he even put on a small outdoor concert. He certainly has quite the following there. This is followed by a performance by Jaydee, singing Conway Twitty's "It's Only Make Believe". He previously sang that one in the Round of 10.

Moving on now to Carly Rae's return home to Mission, B.C. We see bits of her appearances on local TV and radio shows, and she got to meet B.C. premier Gordon Campbell! Of course, she also provided an outdoor concert. Then comes a live performance from Carly Rae, singing "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, which she previously did in the Round of 8.

Finally, there's Brian, and he didn't have to go far to return to his home in Hamilton, Ontario. Yeah, I've seen plenty of posters asking to support him around the city, as well as in nearby Stoney Creek (this recapper's hometown). In addition to radio appearances, we see him in a photo shoot for the Hamilton Spectator, and he gets to do his outdoor concert at the Peach Festival. As for his live performance, Brian also goes back to the Round of 8, singing "She Talks to Angels" by the Black Crowes.

There's still time for another performance before we get to the results, so we get Season 2 winner Kalan Porter singing his new single, "Down In Heaven"! It's from his latest album, "Wake Up Living", which was released recently, and it sounds great! Afterwards, we find out that he's going on tour across Canada now, and after that, he'll plan a bigger one. Should be interesting.

Next is a bit of "Kraft Idol Confidential". This one involves Kraft Dinner. Enough said.

Now, it's finally time for results. We've waited long enough, so we get right to it...

Jaydee - SAFE
Carly Rae - OUT
Brian - SAFE

With that, Carly Rae Jepsen, the last woman left, finishes in 3rd place this year. I'm a bit surprised, because I did want to see her in the final, but hey, she still did an excellent job in getting this far. She closes the show with "White Flag".

Next week, it's do or die time. Brian and Jaydee will go head-to-head with 3 songs each, and one of them will become this year's Canadian Idol!