20 Years after Idol

Hard to fathom, but it’s been 20 years this month since I auditioned for the 3rd season of #CanadianIdol and performed on television in front of millions of people.

I’ve never considered posting this on LinkedIn, but the cat has been let out of the bag enough times over the years that I thought I’d share the full story for any of my colleagues and friends who may be curious about my experience.

How it all began - Season 1

After a less than stellar time on Season 1 (2003), where after 2 weeks of isolation in a hotel (and almost losing my job at the time I might add), I made it to the TOP 48 singers in Canada before being cut. It was a devastating end to the Toronto audition process (14,000 people showed up) and the subsequent “Hell Week” where they cut people daily until whittling it down to the televised rounds.

I was done with reality TV after that, and thankfully I was too old to audition the following year so at least I had an excuse when people would ask (and frankly I didn’t want to go through that horrible experience again). But in 2005 they decided to increase the top end of the age range to 28, allowing me to audition one last time. After some consideration and debate, I decided to take one last shot.

The audition rounds

I drove to Sudbury for my audition in February 2005, hoping to avoid the crowds this time around, and embraced my northern roots, identifying myself by my hometown of Timmins on my audition form. This proved to be somewhat advantageous, but ultimately it didn’t matter much. The entire program is scripted—it’s more reality show than talent contest, and although most of the people who made it through could sing, the producers were very focused on making it an entertaining show. They wanted interesting back stories: family struggles, personal hardships, people from really small remote towns, etc. so they could make it interesting.

But I digress - I got through the audition rounds in Sudbury without issue, and they handed me my #GoldenTicket yet again, welcoming me to “Hell Week” in Toronto a few months later.

Hell Week round 2

This time around I tried not to take things too seriously, had a lot of fun with the other contestants, showed people around my city, went shopping, spent my daily per diem at the SkyDome Hotel bar with other idols, and tried to relax a bit. Ultimately after a pretty intense week of daily performances they trimmed the numbers down to the TOP 32 singers in Canada…

AND I MADE IT.

That’s when things really kicked into high gear.

Photoshoots, media training, lawyers, contracts, wardrobe, press interviews, and a whirlwind of additional prep to get all of the contestants ready for primetime TV.

The Elimination Rounds

We were split into 4 groups of 8, and every week 1 of the 4 groups would perform live on stage in front of about 5 million Canadians, followed by live voting. The next day was the live ‘reveal’ show where they announced the TOP 2 from the group of 8 that would move on. Everybody else was cut from the competition.

I didn’t perform on Week 1, so I had a few weeks to catch my breath, but watching the weekly process was brutal. Every week 6 singers would go home, some who I knew pretty well, and some not. I was happy for those who made it through of course, but constantly worried about my upcoming performances.

Choosing the right song

Song selection was pretty limited because of CTV’s ability to secure the performing rights, but I found my voice in a fairly new singer/songwriter called Gavin Degraw whose song Chariot was charting in the Top 10 on Canadian radio at that exact time. I connected with the song and the artist, and believed that a new song would showcase my talent and resonate with viewers at home.

JUNE 14th, 2005

On June 14th I performed a 90 second version of Chariot by Gavin DeGraw on national TV. The judges had mixed reviews about my song choice and performance (all scripted I might add - the comments that you heard live on TV had been workshopped in rehearsals), but ultimately it came down to the people at home who were voting.

The next day with us all standing on the stage together, Ben Mulroney announced the 2 singers from our group of 8 who would move on to the top 10…and I wasn’t one of them. The Canadian public voted for the 16 and 17 year old contestants who sang songs from Disney movies.

My Idol journey was over right then and there.

The judges were asked for commentary after the results were revealed, and Jake Gold said that he thought I should have been in the top spot. That gave me a little comfort amidst the blow of being cut, and I appreciated it at the time.

After Idol

For months after the show ended I was still under contract and wasn’t allowed to gig anywhere. They owned my IP and didn’t want a live show or a public appearance to take away from the PR of the show for 6 months after it ended. I snuck in a gig or two but kept my head down. Eventually I got back to gigging but focused on original music, releasing a record and touring to support…but that’s another story :)

As much as being on Idol was pretty taxing mentally and physically, I would still do it again.

It was a once in a lifetime experience and I would have regretted not trying. You don’t get ahead in life by sitting still.

I really learned a lot about myself—that I could be pushed to pretty extreme limits and still be OK. Idol taught me how important it is to be humble, gracious, patient and kind in any situation, while reinforcing how important it is to be resilient, determined, focused, and even stubborn at times.?

There aren’t many people who can say they’re among the best singers in Canada, and I’m grateful to be on that list.