The Canadian Idol audition tour wraps up this weekend, hitting Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square for its final stop in the search for the next crop of unique and talented singers.
The show has toured the country from east to west, and now it’s time for Toronto to show off what we’ve got! Perhaps this will be the year someone from Toronto takes the Canadian Idol crown.
Brian Melo, last year’s winner who hails from Hamilton, says the best thing any aspiring singer can do is to stay focused when heading into an audition.
“Don’t psyche yourself out — walk in there with a positive attitude, believe in yourself and visualize yourself passing to the next round. If you can do that and pass to the next round, that’s half the battle,” Melo tells Metro.
The more you think you can’t do something, Melo adds, you’ll end up not being able to do it. And by the time you get in there, your knees are shaking, your voice is cracking and they can just see it in your eyes.
“And don’t try to be anybody else,” Melo says. “They want something new, something fresh.”
Being on the show changed the former construction worker’s life, especially since he made it to the end of the competition. But winning isn’t everything. It’s what you do with the exposure you’re given that will help you in the competitive music business.
“There’s a little window of opportunity in something like this because when the next show comes, there’s going to be another crop of Idols and its kind of tough to maintain that momentum,” says Melo. “The opportunities are out there if you’re willing to go out and get them.”
Canadian Idol judge Sass Jordan echoes Melo’s advice.
“That is the precise point and no matter what happens it’s a great experience. It’s kind of like going to summer camp,” says Jordan. “And there’s been a whole bunch of people who came out for Idol auditions and ended up married. If you don’t get your huge dream of being the Canadian Idol you might find your true love on Canadian Idol, what more could you ask for?”
• Canadian Idol auditions take place Saturday and Sunday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
