As the cross-country auditions for Canada’s next singing superstar head into the final stretch, CTV announced today that Canadian Idol, this year’s most-anticipated television event, will premiere Wednesday, June 11 at 8 p.m. ET (check local listings) on CTV.
The one-hour premiere episode takes viewers inside the audition room for a first-ever look at how thousands of aspiring Idols sang their hearts out during regional try-outs across Canada. Producers spent countless hours auditioning almost 6,000 hopefuls in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Ottawa. The tour continues today in Halifax, moves to St. John’s May 21 and wraps up May 26 in Toronto, where producers are bracing for more than 5,000 competitors alone.
“It’s no surprise that the quality of musical talent we’ve seen across Canada is amazing,” said Susanne Boyce, CTV President of Programming. “Canada’s contribution to the international music scene is phenomenal. In fact, our expectation is that Canadian Idol’s ‘Top 10’ finalists will be outstanding and would challenge any other country’s ‘Top 10’ hands down, including America’s.”
Indeed, Canadian Idol has visited more cities than the current American Idol (eight versus seven) and, on a per capita basis, will audition approximately three times as many competitors.
Hosted by Ben Mulroney, Canadian Idol features a four-member judging panel of Canadian music industry insiders: Singer / Songwriter Sass Jordan, Urban Music Impresario Farley Flex, Artist Manager Jake Gold and Manager / Record Executive Zack Werner. Comedian Jon Dore and Music Reporter Tanya Kim are Special Correspondents.
As the series unfolds, viewers will see the thousands of competitors who auditioned across the country whittled down to a “Top 100” by Canadian Idol’s four-member judging panel. The “Top 100” group will travel to Toronto in early June to compete for a spot in the elite “Top 30,” as determined by the judging panel. From this point, the Canadian television audience becomes the decision-makers, voting weekly for their favourite performers and determining who advances to the next round (voting details to be announced later).
Over the summer, the field will be narrowed by the home viewing audience to a “Top 10.” Competitors will then be voted off until there are eight (8), six (6), five (5), four (4), three (3) and finally two (2) remaining (format subject to change).
In the two-part grand finale this September, the two semi-finalists will perform in an intense, nail-biting duel. The next night, the results will be revealed in the grand finale on CTV and, for one former unknown, it’s a dream realized, instant stardom, the coveted Canadian Idol title and the promise of a lucrative recording contract.
Caiadian Idol Judges (Left to Right): Jack Gold, Farley Flex, Sass Jordan, Zack Werner
Copyright CTV
For the full announcement, visit www.idol.ctv.ca.