Canadian Idol Top 22 Announced  6/20/07

CTV Announces Canadian Idol Top 22 - Canadian Idol moves to three times per week beginning Monday, June 25 -

TORONTO, June 20 /CNW/ - Ten thousand auditioned, 22 are left. Last night, in a special 90-minute episode of Canadian Idol on CTV, the Top 22 phase of the competition began when judges Farley Flex, Jake Gold, Sass Jordan and Zack Werner revealed their final choices for the elite group of finalists. Now it's up to Canada to decide the rest as CTV announces the names of the 22 competitors who will put it all on the line for viewer votes beginning next Monday (voting details to be announced soon).

Ranging in age from 16 to 28, the Top 22 were selected after an exhaustive, three-month, 8,100 km search that took Canadian Idol judges to 11 cities in six time zones across the country. The Top 22 are construction workers, singer/songwriters, lobster fishermen, actors, receptionists, students, day care workers, waitresses and house framers - all hoping to realize the same dream as past successful Idol competitors by making music a full-time career. More than half - 68% - have already played instruments on the show. Representing seven provinces, they come from 17 communities from sea to sea, from Port McNeill on Vancouver Island to Hare Bay, Newfoundland. The provincial breakdown of the Top 22 is: BC (4), AL (2), SK (1), ON (8), QC (3), NS (3) and NL (1).

"This is a serious group of musicians," said Executive Producer John Brunton. "We suspected the addition of instruments to the show would shake things up this season, and we weren't disappointed. Established artists and raw talent alike came out - many for the first time with their instruments in hand - drawn to take a shot at this career-making opportunity. What's left is an awesome group of 22 talented people that will surely rock viewers this season."

"Let the magic begin," said Susanne Boyce, CTV President of Programming and Chair of the CTV Media Group. "The next three weeks will determine who Canada will cheer for the rest of the summer, so I encourage everyone to exercise their dialing fingers in advance of next week's first vote."

The Top 22 is the most important stage in the competition, as the number of competitors is chopped by more than half in just three short weeks. As in Season 4, the Top 22 has been divided into two groups of 11 - The Girls and The Guys. Each male competitor will perform live on Mondays beginning June 25 and female competitors will perform live on Tuesdays beginning June 26 on CTV (go to CTV.ca for local broadcast times). The first two live performance shows are 90 minutes in length with subsequent performance episodes one-hour long.

After each live, performance show, Canadians will vote for their favourite competitors and results will be revealed during a half-hour show on Wednesdays, beginning June 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET on CTV (go to CTV.ca for local broadcast times).

On Wednesday's show, the two competitors with the least votes from both groups will be eliminated, leaving 18 to compete the following week. The process will continue with four competitors eliminated each week until the Top 10 is finally determined on Wednesday, July 11.

Beginning tonight through the rest of the week, each member of the Top 22 will be profiled on Canadian Idol's companion series eTalk at 7 p.m. ET on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). Until then, meet the 2007 Canadian Idol Top 22:

• Andrew Austin, 27, Sarnia, ON, Musician/Singer/Songwriter
• Jaydee Bixby, 16, Drumheller, AB, High School Student/Performer
• Liam Styles Chang, 17, Victoria, BC, High School Student
• Dwight d’Eon, 28, West Pubnico, NS, Lobster Fisherman
• Derek Hoffman, 17, Aurora, ON, High School Student
• Brian Melo, 24, Hamilton, ON, Construction Worker
• Tyler Mullendore, 19, Lake Ainslie, NS, Musician/Construction Labourer
• Clifton Murray, 27, Port McNeill, BC, Singer/Actor
• Greg Neufeld, 23, Abbotsford, BC, Singer/Songwriter/House Framer
• Matt Rapley, 18, Regina, SK, High School Student
• Justyn Wesley, 22, Toronto, ON, Singer/Songwriter/Producer

• Naomi-Joy Blackhall, 25, Halifax, NS, Account Manager
• Maud Coussa-Jandl, 25, Sherbrooke, QC, Promotions Coordinator
• Khalila G, 23, Dorval, QC, Day Care Worker
• Christine Hanlon, 21, Toronto, ON, Singer/Songwriter
• Ritchea Hodge, 16, Brampton, ON, High School Student
• Montana Martin Iles, 16, Sainte-Julienne, QC, High School Student
• Carly Rae Jepsen, 21, Mission, BC, Student/Waitress
• Martha Joy, 16, Toronto, ON, High School Student
• Kamila Miller, 17, Toronto, ON, High School Student
• Annika Odegard, 16, Calgary, AB, High School Student/Performer
• Tara Oram, 23, Hare Bay, NL, Singer

Source: CTV Press Release