The 2011 edition of Estevan Idol and Estevan Junior Idol was once again a success.
Because of wet conditions, the competitions were moved into the Civic Auditorium. However, this did nothing to dampen the mood of competition, which wrapped up Wednesday, June 22.
The first day of competition began Monday, June 20 with the adult participants. Eight competitors took to the stage over the course of the evening, though only four were admitted into Wednesday's finale.
Malou Badao opened the competition performing Christina Aguilera's Reflection. She was followed by Blair Wrubleski, singing Valerie by Amy Winehouse. Up next was Taylor Almond, who sang Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. Kristofer Duran was next, performing It's My Life by Bon Jovi. Jeremy Ward was on stage next, singing Bruno Mars' hit Just the Way You Are. Tala Blondeau followed, hitting the stage to singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Next, Stephanie Henderson sang Can't Fight the Moonlight by LeAnn Rimes. Tiffany Poage ended the evening's performances, singing Who I Am by Jessica Andrews.
Following deliberation, the judges Ryan MacKenzie, Launa Coine and Brad Bengert sent home Almond, Tala, Henderson and Poage. Malou, Wrubleski, Duran and Ward continued on to Wednesday night's finale.
Tuesday evening featured the Estevan Junior Idol competition. Junior Idol judge Marissa Martin was added to the judges' panel to help choose for finalists from the field of 10 competitors.
Brooklyn Willerth was first up, singing If I Die Young by The Band Perry. Next up was Carter McFarlane, who sang Anyway by Martina McBride. McKenzie Ganje followed, singing Bubbly by Colbie Callait. Keysha Grulick was next, performing Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie. Emily Thompson followed, performing F-ing Perfect by Pink. Lexie Tytlandsvik hit the stage next, singing Kellie Pickler's Red High Heels. She was followed by Karissa Hoffart, who sang He Could Be the One by Hannah Montana. Next Molly Fogarty performed Journey's Don't Stop Believing. Kianna Konopaki followed, singing Our Song by Taylor Swift. Leah Wock finished off the night, singing I Told You So by Carrie Underwood.
The judges made the difficult decision to eliminate Brooklyn, McKenzie, Keysha, Karissa, Kianna, and Leah. Emily, Carter, Molly and Lexie moved on to Wednesday's finale.
Wednesday's finale opened up with the junior competition.
Emily was first on the stage, singing Who Knew by Pink. Lexie was next, performing Carrie Underwood's Flat on the Floor. Molly performed third, singing Speak Now by Taylor Swift. Carter was the final performer, singing Shout to the Lord.
In the senior idol category, Wrubleski performed God Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts. Ward was up next, singing Drops of Jupiter by Train. He was followed by Duran, who performed Next to Line. Badao closed up the senior competition, singing Through the Eyes of Love by Melissa Manchester.
When the judges returned from their deliberating, it was announced that Emily would be leaving the junior competition, and Duran would not be continuing in the senior competition.
The next round of performances began with Lexie singing her original song That One. Molly was up next, singing a mash up of popular songs including Price Tag by Jessie J and Forget You by Cee Lo Green. Carter was the final junior idol competitor of the evening, singing Hallelujah.
Badao started off the senior idols, singing This I Promise You by N*Sync. Wrubleski was next, performing the classic Stand By Me. Ward was the final performer of the evening, singing a mash up of popular songs including Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King and Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.
Following the contestants' performances, the winners of each group were announced. Molly took home third place in the junior event, while Carter was second and Lexie was named the 2011 Estevan Junior Idol winner. Lexie was awarded a Riders jersey from SaskTel, a gift basket from Mack's Reflections, a gold chain from Classic Jewelers, and Nail Candy by Toni at Mack's Reflections.
In the senior division, Wrubleski received third place, Badao was second, and Ward was announced to be this year's Estevan Idol. Ward received a cheque for $1,000 from Power Dodge, as well as a $100 gift certificate for Frank's on Fourth, a gift basket from Mack's Reflections, and a $50 Boston Pizza gift certificate.
Ward said he was thrilled with the evening's results.
"It feels pretty awesome, not going to lie," he said of his first place finish.
Ward said he has been playing acoustic guitar for five years, and singing for about three. Estevan, he said, has been a great place to play music.
"Estevan's awesome. There are some good places to play, good venues. It's just a matter of finding the time," he said.
Lisa Beaulieu was new to the producer position this year, but as she had been involved in Idol in the past, was familiar with the program. She was assistant producer of the first Estevan Idol and acted as a judge. She also performed in the Idol competition the second year.
"I love how it brings community together. I love how it gives small town people like us, you know how we don't get huge chances to shine, it gives everybody a chance for their 15 minutes of fame. I just love all the happiness and camaraderie," she said of the Idol competition.
Beaulieau described the competition as a success, even without its usual outdoor location. The only thing really affected was the quality of the sound, she said, as the Civic Auditorium did not prove to be as acoustically friendly as the outdoor venue.
She said that businesses, despite having lower sales thanks to the flooding, were still happy to donate.
"They still came through and we have some great sponsors this year," she said.
Looking to the future, Beaulieau said she hope to make next year's Idol competition "bigger and better."
Kyle Whitehead replaced Trevor Gowen as this year's host. Whitehead, who is the band teacher at ECS, has also been singing and playing music since Grade 2, and has a music degree from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. He said his favourite part of Idol was getting to hear all of the great Estevan musicians.
"It's amazing to hear all of the talent we have here," he said.
Whitehead also pointed out that the number of people who auditioned this year was lower than in past years, something he hoped would turn around.
This year's judges were pleased, although not surprised with the results in either category. Marissa Martin, the Junior Idol judge, said that this year's contestants were all really good.
"Carter, the only boy, was amazing," she said. "He's a little Bieber."
Martin also said that she knew when she heard Lexie's voice during the audition that she was a shoe-in to win.
Brad Bengert said that he also had expected Lexie to win right from the start.
"She's fantastic," he said. "She's an amazing, amazing, talented star."
MacKenzie and Coine said they found the final decision a difficult one to make.
"It was hard 'cause there was a lot of amazing talent," said MacKenzie. "We just had to stick to our numbers and from the notes that we made in the performances, and just go with out guts."
Coine explained that contestants are marked out of five in six different categories. Each judge marked each contestant and the scores were added together following all of the performances. Usually, said Coine, the contestants with the highest numbers were the winners.
"There's room for negotiation," pointed out MacKenzie. "We were able to come to an agreement."
"The numbers don't lie," said Coine. "They add up and that way nobody can come back and say 'That was favouritism!'"
Both Coine and MacKenzie said neither of them had a winner picked out from the auditions.
"The amount of talent that they showed the last three days, compared to their auditions, I mean everybody was good, but the last three days they were great," said Coine.
Both Beaulieu and Whitehead, as well as the judges, said that they hoped next season would bring more people to the auditions.
Regardless of the slightly lower audition levels and a bit too much water, the Estevan Idol and Estevan Junior Idol 2011 competitions were a success.
