As I’m writing this, I’m listening to Theresa Sokyrka (official site). I have Billy Klippert‘s CD in the player in the car. And, this year, I received a Kalan Porter (official site) CD as a gift.

I realized in the last couple weeks that it’s been 3 years since I’ve tuned into Canadian Idol. And I haven’t watched American Idol since the first CI. One of the things I realized in watching the first 2 seasons of CI is that successful artists in Canada are different than in the US. In Canada, if an artist is going to “make it” in the big time arena they have to be unique. They have to be real. The Canadian judges are all from the Canadian music industry and they know that.

The very qualities that make someone a good candidate for CI makes them a poor choice for AI. It’s the main reason I stopped watching American Idol. American Idol is looking for people who can be manufactured, produced, packaged and marketed. I’m not saying that to disrespect the judges of AI. They are choosing the sort of artist that make it in the industry there. I think it’s sad that many of the million selling artists in today’s industry are as much a result of a technician’s genius as their own talent.

This year I’ve caught peices and parts of a few episodes of CI. I’ve seen 2 whole episodes now. Last night’s results show left 14 remaining. I’ve seen all of the remaining competitors perform at least twice. I’d like to go way out on a limb and say who I think the final 5 will be. If you checked out the links in the first paragraph, you may have noted that only one of them won CI. While I think all the competitors want to get as far as they can, they know from previous years that winning isn’t essential. Pretty much anyone who makes it to the top 10 have the opportunity to have a career in music.

Jaydee
Liam (This is my favourite of the performances I’ve seen this year.)
Carly Rae
Montana
Tyler

All very original, I think. Check ‘em out. Let me know what you think.