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

Post from: Idol Stalker

Part 1 of the Canadian Idol auditions were last night and I wanted to live-blog but we had the most massive storm here in Calgary and we lost power. So… there really were not a huge number of really, really good contestants but there were certainly a few that made me sit up and pay attention. One guy, Tyler Mullendore was so awesome that I couldn’t believe he wasn’t already a star. He just had it all, for me.

Darn weather storm! It stopped my PVR from recording everything so I am so sorry that this post is terribly incomplete.

– What’s this? Your puzzle piece for June 6th. Contest details here!

Post from: Idol Stalker

There have been changes to this new season. The first change is the most interesting. This year, contestants will be allowed to audition and perform using instruments. The judges feel it will give them a better idea of what the contestants will sound like with music. Australian Idol has the same rules.

The other change is that the new “roving host” to accompany Ben Mulroney will be comedian, Dave Kerr.

Here’s the schedule:

• Tuesday, June 5 – 90 minutes of auditions! (Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Winnipeg, St. John’s and Halifax)
• Tuesday, June 12 with 90 minutes of auditions! (Saskatoon, Montreal, Vancouver and London)
• Top 200 episodes air Monday, June 18 and Tuesday, June 19
• Top 22 performances air Mondays/Tuesdays beginning June 25
• Top 22 results air Wednesdays beginning June 27
• Top 10 week one airs Tuesday, July 17 and Wednesday, July 18
• Shows move to regular Monday/Tuesday timeslot on July 23

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Canadian Idol host, Ben Mulroney, is letting everyone know how good this upcoming season is going to be.

“My producers are salivating when they think about this new season so that’s a good sign; it means they’ve got some really interesting plans for who’s coming in. And just having watched the auditions and seen our Top 100 – this is a polished group, it’s the most multicultural group we’ve ever had, it’s the most representative of the country from coast to coast. I really have high, high hopes that this is going to be a great season.”

The most striking change viewers will notice is that this year’s crop of contestants were allowed to audition with instruments, something previously tried by “Australian Idol.”

“Everyone’s got reasons to audition and they’ve got reasons not to audition, and we just eliminated one of the reasons not to audition,” Mulroney said on the line from Calgary, where he’s doing charity work as part of his UNICEF ambassador duties.

“It certainly adds an element of musicality. There’s a new angle now … the risk involved in playing an instrument live on television.”

Canadian Idol judge, Farley Flex, says seeing the contestants play instruments in addition to singing helps the judging panel better envision them as professional musicians.

“It brought another dimension of talent,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily make them better, but it gives them more dimensions. If someone’s playing an instrument and doing it well, along with singing well, it’s a way better sell.”

For his part, Mulroney promises to continue to be a kind and compassionate presence for the “Idol” contestants when they feel particularly brutalized by the judges, in particular the rough judge, Zach Werner.

“It’s enough that they have to deal with the pressure of going in front of millions of people and dealing with public scrutiny in the press – they should have at least one person on their side,” he says with a laugh.

But Flex says the tough criticism is part of what makes “Idol” – which has been a ratings juggernaut for CTV – so watchable.

“At the end of the day, if all four of us were mean, the show would have been cancelled by now; if all four of us were nice, the show would have been cancelled by now,” he said, defending his fellow judges and their no-holds-barred critiques.

“When we make our commentary, we’re not doing that to get somebody ousted or keep somebody on; we’re doing that so that if they do go on, or get kicked off, they have the proper information to get better in their next circumstance, whether that’s next week on the show or next week busking on Yonge Street.”

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Post from: Idol Stalker