Season FIVE
On June 5, 2007 beloved TV show of the country, Canadian Idol, was back on the screens with its fifth season.
It was again hosted by Ben Mulroney and featured Farley Flex, Jake Gold, Sass Jordan and Zack Werner as judges.
There was a novation this year which even an ancestor of the show, American Idol, decided to use. Competitors were allowed to accompany themselves on an instrument of their choice as long as they can sing and play simultaneously.
The Top 10 finalists of the year 2007 are:
- Mila Miller, a 17 years old student from Woodbridge, Ont, have never really thought of showbiz.
She was concentrating on high school and playing clarinet. “Canadian Idol opened my doors to singing,” said Mila after becoming a Top 10. When she came back home Mila decided to continue her education. She says, there is enough time for her to develop as a musician. - Khalila Glanville is a daycare worker aged 24 from Durval, Qc.
She says, working with kids gave her the most important skill she needed as a Canadian Idol competitor — patience. “You need patience to work in the music industry,” she said on the night of her elimination at Top 9. After the show Khalila continued working at the daycare and wrote her songs and met people who could launch her musical career at free time. - Martha Joy from Toronto was the youngest contestant who made it to the Top 10 at the age of 16.
She began to sing as a little child and won a lot of trophies in singing competitions. Martha has a wide musical range and can sing operas as easy as pop songs. After the show she released an album called “Martha Joy” on a famous label Viva Records. Now she lives in Philippines, still makes great music and hosts a TV show. - Greg Neufeld is a house framer from Abbotsford, BC aged 23.
He already made it to the Top 22 on the fourth season of the show, but vas voted off in a second week. This year he was considered a favorite and his elimination caused many questions. Particularly show host Ben Mulroney said “Canada got it wrong” about his elimination. After the show Greg performed on a number of concerts and released his album of acoustic driven pop rock called “The Music” in 2009. - Tara Oram released her first single on an indie label when she was only 16.
Since 19 she played country, rock, R`n`B and retro all over the bars and clubs of Ontario with her band Big Catch. She was 23 when she auditioned in St. John’s, NL. After placing sixth on Canadian Idol she released her album called “Chasing the Sun”. In 2009 she received the award for Country Recording of the Year from the East Coast Music Awards. Tara also is a star of her own TV show on CMT called “The Tara Diaries”. - Matt Rapley, an 18 years old student from Regina, SK, always thought it would be great for him to be a musician, but he did nothing to make it happen until he auditioned for the Canadian Idol in Saskatoon.
When he came back home he discovered his mother already took 15 or 20 bookings for his performances for the next two weeks. Matt has a smooth-crooning gospel voice and he is thinking of attending Juilliard School in New York. “If I can make it in New York, I can make it anywhere,” Matt says. - Dwight d`Eon was 28 years old fisherman from West Pubnico, NS when he auditioned for the Canadian Idol in Halifax.
Dwight says the hardest in participating in the show was putting away his guitar. He appreciates the experience he has got during the show and is grateful to the judges for pointing on his mistakes. After the show Dwight returned to playing with his band. - Carly Rae Jepsen, a student and waitress aged 21 from Mission, BC was named by her fans “Rae of Sunshine”.
She was the last girl standing in Season 5 of the Canadian Idol. After the show she took part at the Canadian Idol Top 3 concert tour along with other this year winners and signed a contract for her solo album. On June 16, 2008, Carly released her debut single “Sunshine On My Shoulders” and soon the album “Tug of War” and a couple of singles more followed. - Jaydee Bixby, 17 years old high school student from Drumheller, AB impressed the judges during his first performances on the show, but after the Top 10 he went down and many questioned how can he still be on the show.
Despite it Jaydee successfully managed to become a 2007 Canadian Idol runner-up. In 2008 Bixby released his solo album named “Cowboys and Caddilacs”. He also still wants to keep his family band, in which he used to play before the audition for the show. - Brian Melo was 24 and worked as a construction worker when he auditioned for the show.
He had already tried to get to the Canadian Idol but had never made it past the judges. This time Brian amazed them with his emotional performances and his confidence on the stage. After Brian’s performance of “Karma police” by “Radiohead” audience gave him a standing ovation. In two years after becoming Canadian Idol, Brian has issued two solo albums and a number of singles. Several months after the show he uncovered his romantic relationships with that year Top 6 Tara Oram.