Category Archives: Reality TV

7:29pm: We’re starting early according to my computer, but not according to my watch. Ben arrives on stage wearing his usual attire, and it appears the girls are up first. Please note: Ben’s shirt is unbuttoned, and it seems like he has a sunburn as opposed to a tan under there. It does not look pretty. Not that he ever does.

7:30pm: We’re saying hello to the judges, who were harsh this week. It was really all their fault, so they can’t complain too much. And now we recap: The Guys and The Girls.

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After last week saw the departure of two girls, one of whom was more than out of place without her instrument of choice, this week we’ll divide the pageant girls and the musicians even more distinctly due to the instrument rule being in effect. Of course, like the guys, very few will likely end up using them. Will it separate the best from the rest, or just result in more muddled performances? Let’s watch and see.

Martha Joy – “To Where You Are” (Josh Groban)

Two nights, two Josh Groban songs. If Zack was talking about pageant stuff last night, this is yet another example of it. These young singers are talented, but they need to pick songs and perform them instead of just singing them as if that’s all they need to do. Josh Groban needs to be put on permanent hiatus for this series, without a doubt.

Instrument: Nope, she’s focusing on the singing.

What the Judges Think: Jake felt no emotion and thinks it might be a lack of experience, Farley felt she made a decent effort but felt some stylistic choices were off, Sass felt it was shaky in the beginning, and Zack thinks that she needs to live up to her last name and thinks she is at the highest level of any singer in the competition technically.

Growth from Last Week: I’d say it was better than last week, but it was still Josh Groban so it can only be so much growth.

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[Sorry for the lateness on this particular recap: I was away for the day and had to watch Idol in two parts thanks to travel time]

And we’re back for another week. After the debacle that was last week’s episode, the producers are allowing performers to bring their guitars (Or other instruments) on stage with them to give them a boost of confidence and showmanship. Will it make all the difference in the world, or just drag them down? Let’s find out.

Liam Styles Chang – “She’s So High” (Tal Bachman)

This song basically all comes down to whether or not he can hit the high notes in the chorus, and the answer is that he can. He can also nail the lower register stuff, which makes for an engaging and quality performance.

Instrument? Nope, Liam has gone guitar-less. And I think it’s a good choice, as he is able to focus on hitting the notes in the song as opposed to performing with the guitar as well.

What do the judges think? Everyone loves the ability to go from high to low, but Zack felt that there wasn’t enough dynamism in the high notes to make it a record worth buying…but then completely back tracks and claims that he’s a rock star. Oh Zack.

Growth from Last Week: A less inventive performance might knock him down a few pegs, but staying vocally consistent is important at this stage in the competition.

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Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to your Canadian Idol results Liveblog. Who will be headed home, and who will be safe another week? Let’s see.

7:30pm: Ben Mulroney opens with your typical preview of the night’s action along with the usual rapid fire introduction of the judges. It is apparently Zack’s birthday.

7:31pm: Here’s…well, everything we already saw from the guys. All of the details are here: Week One – The Guys.

7:32pm: Impressively, they smash them all into one minute per night and the girls were next: Week One – The Girls.

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EDIT: The results are in. For the full details from the results show, click for Cultural Learnings’ Full Recap!

There is little question that Canadian Idol’s first week was fantastic, divine, stunning…according to CTV’s press releases. According to viewers, and really the show’s judges as well, the nights were fairly mediocre bordering on terrible at certain points. There were some standouts, but the real story is who will be going home tonight. At the end of each show I labeled four individuals as being at risk of being eliminated, and here’s how I think things might go down tonight.

The Guys

Derek Hoffman

Why He Could Go Home: Singing the All America Rejects’ “Move Along”, Hoffman showed little of the “rock star” potential Zack sees in him. It was grating, it was off-key, it was spastic, and to be honest there wasn’t a single good note in the whole song. He didn’t have the power for it, and came across as just another garage band singer.

Why He Might Not Go Home: He’s young, he could be classified as cute in teen girl land, and he at least sang something current to stick with the show’s demographics.

Andrew Austin

Why He Could Go: He performed an older song (“Freedom 90”, which I quite enjoy personally), he failed to ignite the stage, and he’s too old to draw from the show’s main fan bases while lacking charisma to draw in older viewers.

Why He Might Not Go: He received a half decent amount of coverage as part of Greg Neufeld’s well reviewed Group during Top 100, and alliterative names are always each to remember.

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Last night, the guys led off with a series of performances that ranged from technically sound to strangely awkward, and pretty well everywhere in between. There was one thing that united them: absolutely none of them could dance. Can the girls find more even ground on the singing, and perhaps bring a little bit of rhythm to the proceedings? Well, let’s take a look and see how the Top 11 Girls fare.

Tara Oram – “Rose Garden” (Martina McBride via Lynn Anderson)

Okay, fun story: the only reason I know this song is due to my addiction to Time Life infomercials. And I kind of like it, in its charming little way; I, unfortunately, only know the song’s chorus since that’s all that was on the infomercial. But this is a completely charmless performance of the song, and the band is far too strong on what is really quite a quiet song. She never felt comfortable on stage, as far as I could tell, and it reeked of bar performance all the way. Not bad singing wise, but just…uninteresting.

What the judges think: Jake felt it was a bit breathy at points, almost rushed…but the singing was to her strength. Farley felt it was nerves, but it made sense to reaffirm her identity, while Sass felt that it showed her sweetness that she loves. Jake has been a Tara-skeptic, and she stands for something which he has to respect even with some opening night jitters.

What will Canada think: She’s incredibly engaging and charming in the non-singing parts of things, and being from Newfoundland basically guarantees her into the Top 10 at this stage. I am slightly worried about her rapidly shrinking figure, however.

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Ben Mulroney mugging for the camera, the band guy from Mike Bullard, and 11 too short performances: Canadian Idol has officially returned. The episode started with a dud of a joke from Ben Mulroney, so it is clear that things aren’t changing much. Will the contestants be similarly stuck in that rut? We’ve never really seen these people performing in a setting like this one, so how will they fare? Cultural Learnings is along for the ride, and has the full recap of all of the Top 11 performances. Stick with Cultural Learnings throughout the summer for even more coverage of Canada’s biggest reality show.

Jaydee Bixby – “Johnny B. Goode” (Chuck Berry)

This was right in Bixby’s wheelwell, if you will; performing in bars since 11, it is clear that Bixby is a confident performer. The only problem that I had personally was that his voice never felt overly strong within the song: it was distinctive, it was different, but it didn’t feel like a star performance. I also felt that his backing band kind of overpowered him, and he felt almost a little bit out of place without his guitar…actually, a lot out of place.

What did the Judges think: Zack felt he needs to learn how to dance, Sass (And Zack) felt he was retro as opposed to old-fashioned, Farley was fairly positive, and Jake felt it was a bit too familiar and old.

What will Canada think: He’s had so much airtime, and is so different from most of the other contestants, that he’s coasting into the Top 10 on being different alone.

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