Canadian band, Hedley, is releasing an album for U.S. fans.  The group, which is fronted by former Canadian Idol finalist, Jacob Hoggard, has chosen to put their seven #1 hits from their two double-platinum Canadian releases  (Hedley and and Famous Last Words) along with other songs on the American album which will be released on May 19, 2009 (pre-order now).

There are 12 songs in all.  Here’s the tracklisting:

1. She’s So Sorry
2. 2 1
3. Trip
4. For the Nights I Can’t Remember
5. Never Too Late
6. Gunnin
7. On My Own
8. Bone Shatter
9. Old School
10. Narcissist
11. Hand Grenade
12. Dying to Live Again

image: Amazon

Canadian Idol was cancelled and will not be broadcast this summer but former host, Ben Mulroney, has found another job.

Like his American Idol counterpart, Ryan Seacrest, Ben will be hosting a new nationally syndicated radio show called “ETalk20” which will go along with his work as a co-host on the ETalk television program.

The show will start this weekend and will be broadcast in 11 cities across Canada.  Mulroney will talk about entertainment news, do celebrity interviews and do a weekly countdown of Canada’s hit music.  I think this is a great idea!

Here’s a list of the cities/channels:

• KOOL FM 107.3 FM in Victoria, BC on Sundays at 10pm
• CFBT FM 94.5 FM in Vancouver, BC on Sundays at 10pm
• CKCE FM 101.5 FM in Calgary, AB on Sundays at 10pm
• CHBN FM 91.7 FM in Edmonton, AB on Sundays at 6pm
• CHTM 610 AM in Thompson, MB on Sundays at 6pm
• CFJR FM 104.9 FM in Brockville, ON on Saturdays at 6pm and Sundays at 3pm 
• CFLY FM 98.3 FM in Kingston, ON on Sundays at 10pm
• CKPT FM 99.7 FM in Peterborough, ON on Sundays at 6pm
• CHUM FM 104.5 FM in Toronto, ON on Sundays at 10pm
• C100 FM 100 FM in Halifax, NS on Saturdays at 10pm and Sundays at 6pm 
• CHOZ FM 94.7 FM in St. Johns, NFLD on Sundays at 8pm

image: Newscom

La Nouvelle Star 2009, ça commence ce soir!  France’s version of American Idol kicks off its seventh season today and I don’t know what it is but I always find the French version extremely interesting.  I’ll do my best to find the best videos and share them here.  Of course, there’s never been a winner like Julien Doré for me but that’s what happens when you find a real artist versus someone who just wants to be famous. 

Voici la teasing de la septième saison de Nouvelle Star/watch a teaser for the seventh season of Nouvelle Star:

You can find the official website now at http://nouvellestar.m6.fr/.

Julien Doré, the 2007 winner of Nouvelle Star (France’s equivalent of American Idol) continues to push the envelope with every performance.

At last month’s NRJ Awards, Julien came out to perform his song “Les Limites” (see the original video here) and clearly mimicked Britney Spears’ 2001 Video Music Awards performance of “I’m a Slave 4 U.”

Watch the performance here.  I adore him for being so unusual.

image: Newscom

Canadian Idol judge, Zack Werner, feels that cancelling the show sends the “worst possible message” and I kind of have to agree with him.  I was always under the impression that the show did incredibly well in ratings and sponsorship. 

Metro News reported that Zack said that he was always aware that the show was “prohibitively expensive” to produce and that it had always been a “hard sell” with Canadian advertisers.  He also talked about the fact that CTV paid $100 million for the Olympics and would have to sell the advertising for that (read more on that in the whole article).

More importantly, Zack said that, times are bleak (understatement of the year) and cancelling the show show sends the “worst possible message” because it makes it seem like kids shouldn’t dare to dream anymore.  He felt the show demonstrated that people can work hard and have options which, of course, is something we all need to see.  I’ve felt discouraged this year and, while I’m not sure Canadian Idol would exactly make me feel better or inspired, I do get Zack’s point. 

What do you think?  Is it bad to take a show like Canadian Idol off the air?

image: CTV

Recently, Canadian Idol winners, Brian Melo, Eva Avila and Kalan Porter performed at Toronto’s Eaton centre as part of WarChild’s Busking for Change event.   The charity is dedicated to “providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to war-affected children around the world” by raising “awareness, support and advocacy for children’s rights everywhere.” 

It’s an entirely worthy cause.  Watch their performances here:

Brian Melo Sings “Emily”

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WOW!  It’s official - there will be no Canadian Idol for 2009.  The National Post is reporting that CTV released the following statement: “as a result of the current economic climate, production of Canadian Idol will rest for the 2009 year.”

From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t look like the show is totally cancelled but it is being put on hold.  I’m really surprised but I’m not out of hope.  The article also pointed out that other Idol shows have taken year-long breaks and come back which was the case in Germany, Russia and the Netherlands.

image: CTV

Former Canadian Idol contestants are featured prominently on the list of nominees for the upcoming 2009 Canadian Radio Awards. 

I wasn’t surprised to see Hedley on the list which is fronted by former Idol finalist, Jacob Hoggard, but I wasn’t expecting to see Carly Rae Jepsen, Jaydee Bixby and Tara Oram.  Good for them!

Here are the categories featuring former Idol contestants as nominees:

MAINSTREAM Adult Contemporary:  
Carly Rae Jepsen – "Sunshine on my Shoulders"
Julie Crochetiere – "Precious Love"
Kreesha Turner – "Don’t Call Me Baby"
Lights – "Drive my Soul"
Simon Collins - "Unconditional"

Country:
Crystal Shawanda – "You Can Let Go"
Jaydee Bixby – "Old Fashioned Girl"
Ridley Bent – "Heartland Heartbreak"
Tara Oram – "Fly Girl"
The Higgins – "Flower Child"

Fan’s Choice:
Hedley
Finger Eleven
Kreesha Turner
State Of Shock
Theory of a Deadman

S.A.C. Song of the Year
Hedley – "For the Nights I Can’t Remember"
Finger Eleven – "I’ll Keep your Memory Vague"
Avril Lavigne - "Hot"
Kreesha Turner – "Don’t Call me Baby"
Kardinal Offishall - "Dangerous"

image: CTV

It was an Idol-filled morning on Toronto’s CHUM FM yesterday for their annual Christmas Wish Breakfast.  They welcomed American Idol season 7 runner-up, David Archuleta, along with Canadian Idol winners, Eva Avila (season 4) and Theo Tams (season 6).  The event helped raise money by collecting toys for families in need in the Greater Toronto Area. 

David was really adorable in his interviews (one girl even asked him to marry her) and he performed "Crush" with just himself playing the piano as an accompaniment.  It was really nice.

Theo performed his new holiday track "Christmas Dream" and I really liked it.  I like the recorded version better but it was still a great performance. 

I haven’t found a video for Eva yet.  If you find one, send it to me!

David Archuleta - "Crush"

More after the jump!

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Canadian Idol winner, Theo Tams, hasn’t been wearing the crown for very long but it’s been super busy, it would seem!  Today’s Idol Christmas music comes from Tams who has released two new tracks just in time of the holiday season! 

One song, "Christmas Dream" was co-written by Tams and I think it’s really pretty.  I don’t always like original Christmas music (I like the oldies) but this will be doing in to my collection.  List to it on the CHUM FM website. 

On iTunes, you can download either "Christmas Dream" or "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)."  The best part is that Sony Music Canada will be donating 100 per cent of the net receipts from sales of "Christmas Dream" made between November 25 and December 31, 2008 to Free The Children, Theo’s charity of choice.

image: iTunes