Canadian Idol Gets Weird

08/26/08 5:16pm

by Michelle Singerman (CHARTattack)

With only four competitors left striving to be the next Canadian Idol, you'd expect things to heat up. But Monday night's episode had too many awkward moments — and not all were during performances.

For starters, Anne Murray was the big name on stage. While she's credited with prying open the music industry doors for Canadian female artists, and host Ben Mulroney dubbed her a "giant of Canadian music," I certainly can do without her — or at least do without watching her for an hour. Her mere presence put the night off, and the contestants didn't bring it like they should be at this stage.
The first out-of-the-box moment came when Mulroney turned to judge Sass Jordan and asked her about "four dudes doin' Anne Murray."

Of course he was referring to the four remaining male contestants performing covers of Murray's songs. I can't even remember what Jordan's response was, but I can tell you that whatever it was, I definitely would have had a different answer.

The first contestant was Mitch MacDonald, or as Murray called him, "boy next door." She finds this quality "endearing," but I find it nauseating. He performed "Cotton Jenny," and it was OK. Judge Farley Flex said MacDonald still needs to find an edge, while cohort Zack Werner said the performance reminded him of a '60s television show. I'm thinking Leave It To Beaver.

Earl Stevenson sang a soulful version of "Killing Me Softly." Pre-performance, Murray said Stevenson has an "unusual, unique-sounding voice," but that he has to remember he's performing for an audience. I feel quite the same. Stevenson often fails to look at the audience during the performance and, when he does, the gaze is rarely held for more than a few seconds. The judges all enjoyed the performance. Jake Gold gave his seal of approval by saying Stevenson's the type of artist who draws people in and focuses their attention on him. I back that. I thought he killed it.

Drew Wright sang "Hey Daddy" from Murray's 1977 children's album, There's A Hippo In My Tub. I can definitely see Wright performing at a kid's birthday party or a library reading session. Murray told the contestant he needs to focus on vocals before anything else, because he gets too wrapped up in trying to the play guitar. He didn't really take her advice, but Gold thought it was Wright's best performance yet.

Theo Tams was the last to perform a Murray song. He chose "You Don't Know Me," one of Murray's favourite songs — and mine. However, the version that Tams performed doesn't fall into that category for me. I was thinking of the version off The Band's Crossing The Great Divide. Werner was on my side and said Tams' performance was "radically flavourless." Gold topped it off by calling it a "matinee" performance.

The boys then performed songs of their choice. MacDonald went soft again with Elliott Smith's "Between The Bars." Gold told him he doesn't have enough dynamics. I completely agree. Werner raised the critique bar by saying the performance "proved you have no idea how to win Canadian Idol."

Stevenson's second performance was the Steve Miller Band's "The Joker." I kind of liked it, and the ending was cool, but the judges were less impressed. Gold even said that at one point during the performance, it seemed almost as though the contestant no longer wanted to be there. Stevenson responded by saying, "I don't know." He then tried to redeem himself by saying, "No, that's not it," but the cameras had already panned out by then. The lack of emotion caught me completely off guard, and I'm still trying to piece it together. If Stevenson wants to be here, why is he so forlorn?

Wright turned the show in a new direction when he performed John Mayer's "Gravity." It was actually pretty good. His tone was right, there was emotion, and it worked. Flex said the performance was the "lighter shade of the blues." In this case, that was a compliment.

Tams closed the night with Gavin DeGraw's "Chariot." It was obvious he enjoyed himself. He even jumped on top of the piano to finish the last verse. Werner got excited and called it the "performance of the night." I don't know if I'd go that far, but it was a bit of a relief to see Tams leave the piano bench, even if for only a bit.

See which remaining wannabe is sent packing when Idol returns with performances by Murray and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT.