Calgary’s Melissa O’Neil has become Canada’s first female Canadian Idol. After the closest vote ever in a Canadian Idol finale, the 17-year-old high school student triumphed over runner-up Rex Goudie with the majority of a record 3.65 million votes cast following their final performance showdown last night. The daycare worker, rugby player, Les Miserables fanatic and newly-minted music star bested almost 9,000 competitors to take the third Canadian Idol crown. Immediately after tonight’s broadcast, O’Neil signed a recording contract with Lisa Zbitnew, President, Sony BMG Music (Canada) Inc.
O’Neil’s first single, "Alive," will begin airplay on radio stations across the country tomorrow morning. Last year’s single, the eight-times platinum "Awake in a Dream," was the biggest-selling single debut ever for a Canadian artist. O’Neil begins preparation next week on an album to be released this fall.
The teenager’s win comes after a season in which youth reigned triumphant. Forty-four per cent of people who originally auditioned were aged 18 or younger. After three 16-year-olds made it to the "Top 32," the Top 10 was comprised of six teenaged singers.
After last night’s audience peaked at 2.7 million viewers (AMA, 2+), Canadians took to the phones for the largest mass telephone event in Canadian history. Over 3.65 million votes were received, the most ever in the history of the series. The final vote tally is now 38 million, an increase of 19 per cent compared to last year. Canadian Idol will finish the season as the most-watched show of the summer in all demos, outperforming its nearest competitor by an amazing 37 per cent.*
O’Neil’s win is the culmination of a process that began February 11 in Vancouver and took producers across the country this winter and spring on the most ambitious Canadian Idol audition tour ever. The 13-week, 13-city tour took producers from sea to sea to sea in search of Canada’s best and brightest young singers. In May, 187 "Gold Ticket" winners from across the country journeyed to Toronto with the hope of making it to the coveted "Top 32." In June, the Top 32
took to the stage and viewers took to the phones, reducing the 32 semi-finalists to a diverse group of 10 competitors. As the show progressed through the summer, Canadian Idol once again became Canada’s most-watched show — and 10, formerly unknown, amateur singers became household names.
The Top 10 returned to the stage for the live two-hour broadcast for several group numbers. Also appearing in the episode were Barenaked Ladies, Canadian Idol judge Sass Jordan, Canadian Idol vocal coach Debra Byrd and last year’s winner, Kalan Porter.
After performing the latest hit from his debut CD 219 Days, Porter was presented with a Certified Double Platinum plaque (sales of 200,000 units) from host Ben Mulroney. Following the presentation, Porter joined O’Neil and Goudie for a rousing edition of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."
