August 15, 2006

Canadian Idol Heads to Nashville for First-Ever Country Classics Week, August 21 and 22 on CTV

- Superstar Martina McBride takes reigns as Canadian Idol hits Music City for first time -

Toronto, ON (August 15, 2006) – Canadian Idol is going country for the first time in its history - and music superstar Martina McBride is along for the ride. Tomorrow, the remaining five competitors head south to Nashville, Tennessee where they will work with McBride as they immerse themselves in the country music capital of the world. Next week, the country star flies to Toronto to be the featured guest as Canadian Idol returns to its home studio on Monday, August 21 and Tuesday, August 22 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV (check local listings).


** Media Note ** - Photography and audio clips from Canadian Idol are available online at the Canadian Idol Media Centre at www.idolpix.ca.

When Canadian Idol flies to Nashville tomorrow, it will be the first time an Idol franchise has visited "Music City, USA". There, the Canadian Idol Top 5 will workshop with Sony BMG Music (Canada) Inc. recording artist Martina McBride. McBride will guide the competitors as they prepare for their country music challenge on Monday’s performance show. Among the country classics expected to be performed are songs from Gordon Lightfoot, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Nancy Sinatra, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton. Then on Tuesday, McBride will join an impressive list of guest artists to perform on the Canadian Idol stage, performing alongside the Top 5 as well as alone.

"I am looking forward to working with the competitors on Canadian Idol," said McBride. "It is always interesting and fun to interact with talented young people who are totally focused on their goals."

In addition to studio rehearsals with McBride, no trip to Nashville would be complete without experiencing the music phenomenon that has showcased the biggest and best in country, folk, bluegrass and more – the Grand Ole Opry. The Top 5 competitors will shoot segments and learn the history of the storied country music landmark.

"Many of Canada’s biggest country music stars have made the trek to Nashville to pursue their dream of making it in the country music capital of the world," said Susanne Boyce, CTV President of Programming and Chair of the CTV Media Group. "Now they follow in the footsteps of Shania Twain, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Terri Clark and so many more before them."

"We’ve been giving this year’s competitors the best to work with and we are continuing to do that with Martina McBride," said Executive Producer John Brunton. "They have a great opportunity to learn from someone who started out in a niche market but has been able to break through into mainstream popularity."

McBride has been a steady presence in the Country Top 10 since 1993. Her fiery, passionate vocals have created such memorable hits as "Independence Day," "Wild Angels," "Broken Wing," "Blessed" and "This One’s for the Girls." She has placed nearly 20 singles in the Top 10, has sold 15 million records and has been named CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004. McBride is also a three-time Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year winner and a Grammy Award winner.

McBride signed with RCA Records and released her debut album The Time Has Come in 1992. Her first big hit was the single "My Baby Loves Me" from her second album, The Way That I Am. She became even more visible in 1994 with the crossover success of her anti-domestic violence anthem "Independence Day," also from The Way That I Am. In 1995, McBride released the album Wild Angels: "Safe in the Arms of Love" and the title track were country hits, later being her first Number 1 hit on the Billboard charts. Her most recent album, Timeless has hit Number 1 in the Country music charts.

Martina McBride joins Nelly Furtado, Cyndi Lauper, Dennis DeYoung, Roger Hodgson and Chantal Kreviazuk as special guests on the fourth season of Canadian Idol.


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 17 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.

On the web:

www.idol.ctv.ca.

www.martinamcbride.com



- CTV -

For more information, contact:

Renée Dupuis, CTV Inc., 416.332.4596, reneedupuis@ctv.ca

Scott Henderson, CTV Inc., 416.332.5305, shenderson@ctv.ca

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