3.4 Million Cheer on Eva Avila as Tri-Lingual Quebecer Wins Canadian Idol

From a CTV media release:

— 2.35 Million Viewers Makes Canadian Idol Finale #1 in Canada —

Toronto, ON (September 18, 2006) – She represents a new face and a whole new generation of Canadians. Nineteen-year-old Canadian Idol champion Eva Avila is already being described as the perfect Canadian, a trilingual sensation from Gatineau, Quebec whose family emigrated from South America to make a new home in Canada. At a post-show press conference last night, it was confirmed that pop icon Cyndi Lauper has offered to produce an upcoming song for Avila, while country music superstar Martina McBride has offered a place on the Canadian leg of her upcoming Spring concert tour. Host Ben Mulroney commented that for Eva and her family, “Canadian Idol is indicative of how you can come to this country, work hard and see your dream come true.”

With last night’s finale now in the books, Canadian Idol has finished its fourth consecutive year as Canada’s most-watched Summer program. When Eva Avila’s name was revealed in the show’s final minutes, a staggering 3.4 million Canadians were watching. In all, the 90-minute Canadian Idol finale finished with an average audience of 2.35 million viewers, making it the single biggest audience of its season and the #1 program of the night in Canada. In addition, Canadian Idol:

– beat the simulcast debut of The Amazing Race (2.14 million on CTV),
– Drew 67% more viewers nationally than the Rock Star finale (CBS/Global – 1.41 million),
– Drew 353,000 viewers in Toronto becoming the #2 ranked program of the night, second only to The Amazing Race (547,000) and 15% more viewers than watched the Rock Star finale (307,000 on CBS/Global).
– More than 5 million Canadians tuned into some or all of Canadian Idol

In Quebec, nearly half a million Quebec Francophones (476,000), the most ever for a Canadian Idol episode, tuned in to watch Avila capture the crown and become the first ever Idol to hail from their province. Today, her win is front-page news in Le Journal de Montréal, La Presse and The Montreal Gazette.

“Her singing talent, beauty and poise in front of a camera make Eva a legitimate triple threat in the entertainment world,” said Susanne Boyce, CTV’s President of Programming and Chair of the CTV Media Group. “She is perfectly positioned to take her well-earned Canadian Idol crown onto an international stage and we’re behind her all the way.”

John Brunton, Executive Producer for Canadian Idol commented on Canadian Idol‘s grasp on viewers across Canada: “It’s clear that Canadians of all ages from all backgrounds and all regions have embraced Canadian Idol. Obviously the highest support comes from the markets who have representation in the final. But it’s remarkable for this show to have performed so well considering we did not have a finalist from either Toronto or Vancouver. This is truly a national program.”

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