Canadian Idol: A Little Country Gets Thrown Into The Pop Mix

After spending the week in Nashville working with country superstar Martina McBride, Canadian Idol's five remaining competitors brought some of the dirty south to the show's Spic-And-Spanned stage.

For one night, Toronto's John Bassett Theatre felt like the Grand Ole Opry — that is, if the famed institution housed hundreds of shrieking 'tweens gripping bedazzled "Do Me, Tyler" posters.

Clearly swept up in the country spirit, host Ben Mulroney took the stage prior to the show with a big "Yeeehaw" before warning fans not to raise their posters in front of the monitors. Like a modern Ron Burgundy, Mulroney stressed his dependence on the magic word machine, joking, "Not so smart, TV hosts."

First performer Eva Avila, on the other hand, proved to be quite smart. After a playful and truly phenomenal breakthrough performance the previous week, the Quebec native packed Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again" with more teasingly cute gazes and smiles. As judge Farley Flex noted, the singer has mastered the balance between grace and confidence and become a truly commanding contender in the process.

Still, Avila would have held the audience's attention even more if she didn't spend half the song strutting through the crowd Chad Doucette-style. Hopefully next time (and there almost definitely will be a next time for Avila) she'll get her cardio done before the show.

Next, Tyler Lewis delivered an enjoyable version of "Suspicious Minds." Malevolent Chart writers who share my name have consistently skewered Lewis' voice for being a sweaty, sloppy kiss between despicable nu-grunge and new Nashville.

But placed in an appropriate country context, his big, rolling wail sounds pretty darn good. Judge Jake Gold said that he had known that the singer would have no trouble tackling a country classic, and Flex noted how nicely Lewis' characteristic galloping stage movements complemented the song, saying, "You finally got a chance to ride that invisible horse."

In contrast, Craig Sharpe — who judge Zack Werner has consistently compared to flaming frontmen like Boy George and George Michael — is far from your typical country singer. But a ballad's a ballad, and Sharpe's pretty voice slid into Willie Nelson's "Always On My Mind" like Michael Jackson into... never mind.

Werner commended Sharpe for bringing his own polished pop style to the song when he joked, "That was some down-home Michael Jackson-style country."

Still, Werner also urged the singer, once again, to emphasize his outlandish qualities.

"I want you to be as big and obnoxious as me," the judge said.

Like Sharpe, Steffi D consistently chooses the right song. This time it was the Nancy Sinatra hit, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," which was a perfect showcase for her fun, theatrical side.

Unfortunately, it wasn't D's best performance vocally. Plus, like Avila before her, the singer spent too much time walking around the stage, proving that an unfocused performer can lead to an unfocused audience. While D carried an appealingly playful bounce in her step, she could have thrown in a few more moves to match the upbeat music.

Hopefully, next time (please let there be a next time), D's boots will be made for dancing, too.

Unlike D, Doucette has seemed to be a furrow-browed whine away from elimination for weeks. But surprisingly, also unlike D, Doucette has usually avoided the bottom three. This week, the singer showed why he's held on so long with an earnest, engaging take on Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind," which inspired Werner to comment, "To be honest, I didn't even remember I was here. I was just watching that, remembering how much I care for you from the beginning."

Like Werner, most of us viewers care for all of the performers at this point. Hell, they're like brothers and sisters — brothers and sisters who never call and pretend they aren't home when we stand outside the Idol mansion with a boom box over our heads playing Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." But family or not, someone has to go. Remember to tune in Tuesday night to see who that someone will be.