Canadian Idol: Pigott Sent Packing

07/30/08 5:11pm

by Trevor Morelli (CHARTattack)

Tuesday's Canadian Idol episode played out almost exactly as I had imagined. After a third week in the bottom three, rock 'n' roll poseur Sebastian Pigott was finally sent home. His squeaky version of Little Richard's "Lucille" the night before earned him the pink slip, thank God. If Mark Day is the next one to get the boot, we might be able to sleep easy yet.

The show began with a typical ensemble piece featuring the remaining eight contestants. I almost punched a hole in the wall when host Ben Mulroney told us they'd perform an "unplugged" version of The Who's "My Generation." The song is all about non-conformity and rebellion, and somehow these wannabes melted it into a weepy power ballad. Pete Townshend would be pissed.

At this point, it was only 8:05 p.m., so I knew a good 20 minutes of filler was coming. A pointless recap followed the intro. Why did we need to see the previous night's performances again, anyway? It was too late to vote and Canadians already had a chance to waste their time and money.

Gavin Rossdale was up after the break, singing "Love Remains The Same," a fairly weak tune from his new Wanderlust CD. The difference between Rossdale's voice from when he was in Bush and now is obvious. He used to have a decent set of pipes, but now he's rusty. I suppose I'd drop music to look after a kid if I had a billionaire wife, too.

Rossdale also seemed more interested in a paycheque than an interview. When Mulroney asked him to explain the difference between recording with a band and recording solo, the guy practically brushed it off.

"Way less democracy on a solo record," Rossdale said with a shrug.

No Canadian Idol episode would be complete without an annoying appearance from Jully Black. This time, she headed to the Idol "mansion" to spy on the contestants. Among other things, she caught Day stepping out of the sauna (a sight nobody needs to see), Mitch MacDonald and Drew Wright playing guitar on the roof, and Pigott wandering around aimlessly (just like he does on stage). This was clearly nothing more than a chance for viewers to take a washroom break before the announcement of who would be going back home to wait tables for minimum wage.

Not surprisingly, Day joined Pigott in the bottom three. What was surprising, though, was that Mookie Morris was also one of the competitors with the least votes. I'm going to attribute it to the fact that Torontonians have much better music to check out and therefore probably don't give a shit about this show. In the end, Pigott was shown the exit.

Jake Gold spoke for the rest of Canada and told the remaining singers to buck up.

"I want somebody to step up and show us and Canada that they want to be the next Canadian Idol and make this into a competition, because everyone's playing it a little safe."

The show ended with Pigott performing "Lucille" again. Some cougar in the audience stood up and clapped, indicating to me that people who actually liked this performance truly have no sense of taste or self-respect.

Next week's performance episode will revolve around hits from the U.K. Welsh superstar Tom Jones will coach the Idols and, if they're well-behaved, maybe show them part of the bra and panty collection he's amassed from female fans over the past 43 years. It should be fine, just as long as we don't see Day in a bathrobe again. Catch it on Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.