Canadian Idol is a reality television show on the Canadian television network CTV, based on the popular British show Pop Idol and its US offshoot American Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in Canada. It is hosted by Ben Mulroney. In the show, people first audition but eventually the performers are narrowed down to 10 finalists (11 in season 1 due to a near-tie), with each contestant performing live. There are four judges (Jake Gold, Sass Jordan, Zack Werner, Farley Flex) who provide critiques of each competitor's performance. Viewers have several hours following the broadcast of the show to phone in their votes for their favourite contestant. On the following night's episode (live again), the contestant with the fewest votes is sent home. Season one In the first season, which debuted in July 2003, Ryan Malcolm of Kingston, Ontario won, with Gary Beals of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia coming in second. Season two The second season of Canadian Idol debuted on June 1, 2004, and became the most watched show in Canada, drawing in over 3 million viewers each week. Kalan Porter of Medicine Hat, Alberta won the series, and Theresa Sokyrka of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was the runner-up. Season three In December 2004, CTV announced that they will be producing a third season of Canadian Idol in 2005. Auditions are expected to begin in February or March 2005 and the show is expected to debut in late May or early June, just after the conclusion of the fourth season of American Idol. External links | |