September 18, 2006

Canadian Idol Winner Receives Extra “Prize Pack” from Martina McBride and Cyndi Lauper

-- Winner will tour with McBride and record with Lauper --

Toronto, ON (September 17, 2006) –Cyndi Lauper and Martina McBride are stepping up to the plate. After coaching Canadian Idol competitors earlier this season, the two Grammy winners and Sony BMG Recording artists will make a surprise announcement tonight, revealing an extra “prize pack” that will provide a boost to the career of the Canadian Idol champ. Lauper will produce a track on the winner’s new CD, due this fall, while McBride has invited the winner to join her on her Canadian tour next spring.

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

“I look forward to producing a track for whomever that wins,” said Lauper in a taped message to Top 2 finalists Eva Avila, 19 and Craig Sharpe, 16. “But you’re both winners to me.”

“I’ve been watching you every week,” said McBride. “I wish I could be there with you on this special night. I would be thrilled and honoured if you would join me on my Canadian tour this spring.”

Lauper coached and performed live on Canadian Idol’s tribute to the Music of the Eighties in July while McBride also coached and performed live on Canadian Idol’s salute to country classics in August.

The bonus prizes come on top of Canadian Idol’s ultimate award - a recording contract with Sony BMG. Immediately following tonight’s CTV broadcast, the winner will sign a contract with Lisa Zbitnew, President, Sony BMG Music (Canada) Inc. The winner will begin work next week on their debut CD, to be released this fall.

The winner’s first single, “Meant to Fly,” will begin airplay on radio stations across the country tomorrow morning. The song will be delivered for secure download to all registered media outlets across Canada via Musicrypt's patented DMDS (Digital Media Distribution System) beginning at 12:31 a.m. ET on Monday, September 18. Please contact Warren Copnick at Sony BMG for more information: 416.589.3058.

Last year’s single, Melissa O’Neil’s “Alive,” remained on the top of Canada’s Singles Chart for seven weeks. After performing her hit song “Speechless” on tonight’s CTV broadcast, the 2005 Canadian Idol champ will be presented with a Four Times Certified Platinum Record for “Alive.” O’Neil will also receive a Certified Gold Record for her self-titled debut release.

Tonight’s season finale is the culmination of a process that began February 18 in Edmonton and took producers across the country this winter and spring on the most ambitious Canadian Idol audition tour ever. The 11-week, 11-city tour saw the largest turn-out ever with over 12,000 competitors trying out from sea to sea to sea in search of the Canadian Idol dream. In May, 212 “Gold Ticket” winners from across the country journeyed to Toronto with the hope of making it to the coveted “Top 22.” In June, the Top 22 took to the stage and viewers took to the phones, logging an incredible 36,354,969 votes over the course of the season, more than one for every man, woman and child in the country. As the show progressed through the summer, Canadian Idol once again became Canada’s most-watched show -- and 10, formerly unknown, amateur singers became household names.

The Top 10 return to the stage for tonight’s live, 90-minute broadcast, including an emotionally resonant tribute to their hometowns when they perform Michael Bublé’s “Home.” In addition, the Top 10 performs with the African Children’s Choir, including Three Dog Night’s “Easy to be Hard” and Pat Benatar’s “We Belong.”

In addition to performing Sting’s “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You” as a duet, Top 2 finalists Eva Avila and Craig Sharpe will also perform individually. Sharpe performs “Danny Boy” while Furtado performs “Powerless” by Nelly Furtado. Furtado herself also appears in the performance-packed episode, performing her chart-topping hit “Maneater.”

Several special guests and dignitaries are expected to attend tonight’s sold-out broadcast from Toronto’s John Bassett Theatre, including the cast of the new John Water’s movie Hairspray: Amanda Bynes, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Brittany Snow and director Adam Shankman.

Also expected to attend is the Premiere of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Honourable Danny Williams, along with MPs Loyola Hearn and Fabian Manning. Additional guests include former Canadian Idol competitors Ryan Malcolm, Billy Klippert and Aaron Walpole; broadcaster Pamela Wallin; CTV personalities Seamus O’Regan and Tanya Kim; Degrassi’s Lauren Collins and Adamo Ruggiero and Whistler’s Holly Dignard.

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 -

> Print friendly version