Canadian Idol: First Group Flops

The first group of the remaining 16 Canadian Idol hopefuls took the stage on Monday night. Judges prefaced the performances by again highlighting the importance of proper song selection. Farley Flex even described the intricate art as a "science." Well, most of them failed this chemistry class. Overall, the episode was a flop.

Martin Kerr was first in line. It's not that his version of Coldplay's "Fix You" was terrible. It's more the cheesy expression he makes while trying to seduce the camera that turns me off. And when judge Zack Werner told Kerr, "I'll tell you one thing for sure, you are not the next Canadian Idol," he became my favourite partner in crime.

Something that annoyed me from Monday night's show, and that I anticipate will continue with Tuesday's performances, is the way each song was introduced. I noticed it most before Theo Tams' performance. Host Ben Mulroney was elaborating on Colbie Caillat's independent rise to fame through MySpace and then continued to gush about her song "Bubbly." How could I not expect Caillat to be the one performing it? But when the lights rose, Tams was singing the song. Songs and artists should only be made a big deal of if it's the original artist who's performing the work on the show. Otherwise, it's just lame — which it was.

Tams' interpretation was good, but it reminded me a little bit of a children's performance — like when there are musical guests on Sesame Street and all the muppets gather around to hear the artist sing. But this was probably the most impressive performance of the night.

There's not much to say about Amberly Thiessen other than she kind of sucks. While there are times she delivers a strong performance, her song choices and execution aren't always strong enough. Monday's performance of Jason Mraz's "You And I Both" proved she should be one of the next to leave.

Then there's Adam Castelli, who keeps swaying my opinion. While he may have redeemed himself last week, the same can't be said for his top 16 performance. His version of "If I Were A Carpenter" just didn't do it for me. Castelli came on to this show exuding rock appeal, but now all I see in him is stress and anxiety. He needs to relax. He's ruining his chances by applying too much pressure on himself.

Marie-Pierre Bellerose butchered "Piece Of My Heart." Even though Janis Joplin didn't write or record the song first, she made it her own and it should have been taken to the grave with her, since no-one has been able to approach her version.

While usually a standout, Omar Lunan was a bit of a disappointment. His performance of Garth Brooks' "If Tomorrow Never Comes" reminded me of background dinner music at a wedding.

Then there are those songs that are strong and hard-hitting by nature. Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" is one of those, but Mark Day's performance had neither of the aforementioned characteristics. Save for a few freak moments, his performance was too gentle for the song. I still say he belongs on Broadway.

Mookie Morris ended the night on a high note with his performance of Amy Winehouse's version of The Zutons' "Valerie." I love when this guy takes the stage. He and Sebastian Pigott usually manage to transform this competition into something cool when they perform — even if it lasts for only a minute or two. Morris was the only performer who got me to focus on the screen for more than 30 seconds at a time. Werner shared my enthusiasm, saying Morris is "dead set cool. I thought I was watching the Brit Awards."

The second half of the top 16 contestants hit television screens Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.