August 1, 2006

Brandon Jones is First Male Eliminated from Canadian Idol

-- Seven remain as Dennis DeYoung and Roger Hodgson guest star on next week’s Classic Rock episodes --

Toronto, ON (August 1, 2006) – Seventeen-year-old high school student Brandon Jones is the first male competitor to be eliminated from the Canadian Idol Top 10, it was revealed tonight live on CTV. The Quispamsis, NB resident received the fewest votes after last night’s live Canadian Idol performance episode celebrating the music of the 1980s. In all, 2.6 million votes were tallied following last night’s show, the most so far this season. Four males and three females remain in the hunt to become the next Canadian Idol which picks up next week with a tribute to Classic Rock.

** Media Note ** - Photography from tonight’s show as well as an all-new photo of the remaining seven Canadian Idol finalists can be found online at the Canadian Idol Media Centre at www.idolpix.ca. Additionally, audio clips from tonight’s show can be downloaded at www.idolpix.ca.

Peaking at 2.1 million viewers, Monday’s Canadian Idol episode was watched by 1.9 million viewers and was once again the most-watched program on Canadian television last night (BBM, 2+). In Toronto, Canada’s largest television market, BBM reports that Canadian Idol topped all other programs on the dial last night among A2+, A18-34, A18-49 (up 32 per cent) and A25-54. Canadian Idol remains the most-watched summer series on Canadian television in most major demos.*

Following last night’s totally tubular salute to the 80s, Toronto’s John Bassett Theatre was filled to the max tonight with over 1,000 stoked fans. Special guest Cyndi Lauper kicked off the show with a moving rendition of her timeless hit “Time After Time,” backed by the Canadian Idol Top 8. Last night, Lauper had been visibly moved by performances by the Top 8 after coaching them for almost 10 hours this past weekend. Later, Lauper performed a rousing rendition of “Shine” from her latest release, The Body Acoustic.

The party atmosphere changed dramatically when host Ben Mulroney revealed the names of the competitors who received the fewest votes last night: Jones, as well as Eva Avila, 19, from Gatineau, QC, and Chad Doucette, 17, from East Chezzetcook, NS. None of the competitors had previously been in the Bottom Three, with Doucette and Jones becoming the first males to receive the fewest votes.

After Mulroney sent Avila back to the safety of the competitor couch, Doucette and Jones were left waiting for the final judgment. Ultimately, Doucette was invited to stay another week while Jones became the third competitor to be eliminated from the Top 10. Jones closed the show with a reprise of his Tuesday night performance of Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There For You.”

Avila and Doucette return next week to perform in Canadian Idol’s tribute to Classic Rock, featuring guest star appearances by Dennis DeYoung, former STYX singer, and Roger Hodgson, formerly of Supertramp. DeYoung and Hodgson will appear on Canadian Idol on Monday, August 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV when they workshop in taped segments with the remaining seven competitors. Then, on Tuesday, August 8 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV, both DeYoung and Hodgson will perform live on the Canadian Idol stage.

In addition to Avila and Doucette, the remaining finalists are: Ashley Coulter, 23, Emeryville, ON; Steffi DiDomenicantonio, 17, Orleans, ON; Rob James, 28, Winnipeg, MB; Tyler Lewis, 20, Rockglen, SK; and Craig Sharpe, 16, Upper Island Cover, NL.

Tickets to Canadian Idol’s live performance and results shows are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or by telephone (check local listings). Tickets go on sale at 12 noon on the Tuesday prior to the next week’s shows and sell out quickly. Rush tickets are also available to the most enthusiastic fans showing up at the John Bassett Theatre two hours before show time. Visit idol.ctv.ca for more information.

Canadian Idol was created by Simon Fuller and is produced in association with CTV by Insight Productions. John Brunton and Barbara Bowlby are Executive Producers. Mark Lysakowski is Supervising Producer. Senior Producer is Sue Brophey. Mary Sexton is Regional Producer. Jane Rimer is Executive Consultant for FremantleMedia. Rick Lewchuk is CTV’s Senior Vice-President, Program Planning and Promotion. Ed Robinson is CTV’s Senior Vice-President, Comedy, Variety and Talk. Susanne Boyce is CTV President of Programming and Chair of the CTV Media Group.

FremantleMedia is one of the largest international creators and producers of programme brands in the world, with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 territories. FremantleMedia has production offices in over 20 countries worldwide, providing local sales and production support for its international TV brands such as Idols and the world’s longest running game show, The Price is Right.

The company’s licensing operation, FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, exploits FremantleMedia’s many strong brands across multiple off-screen platforms including merchandising campaigns, interactive and wireless support, home entertainment and music publishing. Fremantle International Distribution, the company’s international distribution division licenses over 19,000 hours of programming to 150 countries worldwide. FremantleMedia is the content arm of the RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company. For further information please see FremantleMedia’s website www.fremantlemedia.com.

CTV, Canada's largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTV owns 21 conventional television stations across Canada and has interests in 16 specialty channels, including the number-one Canadian specialty channel, TSN. CTV is owned by CTVglobemedia, Canada's premier multi-media company. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

- CTV -

* Nielsen Media Research (A2+, A18-49 and A25-54; June 5-July 23, 2006).

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