Canadian Idol

OK, more TV stuff. I know I watch too much TV, too bad.

Recently I downloaded, and watched, the entire second season of Canadian Idol. Yup, all 34 episodes. And I loved it.

Here's the thing:

Even though the Idol franchise represents much of what I hate about the music industry, it also represents much of what I love about life.

You see, while the whole point of the show is to deliver some big name pop album and superstar, the stars of the show themselves are just some kids with dreams, and that's what makes it great. Seeing these kids go from no-name nobodies with stars in their eyes during tryouts, to bona fide celebs is an exciting experience to watch. And, unlike some other reality type shows, at least these kids are getting famous off of at least some modicum of talent; in some cases a lot of modicums!

Case in point -- the top 3 singers on this seasons Canadian Idol's were all quite talented. And quite varied -- one, a teen crooner kid, one, a goofy pop-punk rock kid, and one, a jazzy folk singer. Actually, the top 6 all had more musical talent than is typically seen on these shows, as was evident in one episode where the top 6 all performed a Gordon Lightfoot medley (Canadian Idol, dig) for which the Idols not only contributed the singing, but also the music! Yes, the Idols themselves played the instruments for the performance. Quite amazing, really.

But most of all, watching Canadian Idol brought back al of my memories of growing up in Canada, and seeing all of the wonderful people there made me jealous of what a wonderful nation it really is.

In comparison to American Idol -- production wise the US version is slicker, but the Canadian version has way more heart, and better judges to boot. On the Canadian version there are 4 judges, one a Simon type (who does not come off as a clone), one a female pop/rock singer (who actually has an opinion and who actually criticizes), and two music producer types, both opinionated (and neither of which say "dawg" every two seconds). The host is better, too, and the son of a former Prime Minister even. The Canadian version also has a comic relief guy, for variety. Very nice.

Eh.

And in terms of watching a copy off the internet, all I can say is if they released it on DVD I'd buy it, but until then I'll takes what I can get. Personally I'd rather watch it live (more anticipation), but video does have the advantage of being able to fast forward past all of the stinky singers (and there were a few... actually most besides the top 3 were pretty lousy). Plus, I'll definitely buy 2 of the top 3's CD's if they ever come out... and I'll give the winner's a listen too -- especially if there's a Gordon Lightfoot song on it.