Canadian Idol down to 8

From a media release:

Canadian Idol Guest Stars Revealed as Katherine St-Laurent is Eliminated

  • Bryan Adams, Tom Jones, Simple Plan and Gavin Rossdale Announced as Canadian Idol’s First Wave of Guests and Mentors as Katherine St-Laurent is Eliminated from the Competition
  • MuchMoreMusic now airing encore episodes of Canada’s favourite summertime series Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET

As Canada said goodbye to the latest competitor to be eliminated, Quebec’s Katherine St-Laurent, Canadian Idol host Ben Mulroney revealed the first group of music stars who will be appearing and performing on the series throughout the rest of the season. The remaining Top 8 finalists will work with some of the world’s most accomplished artists, including Canadian icon Bryan Adams, rockers Simple Plan, the legendary Tom Jones and – in next week’s “Unplugged” episode – former Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale. Additional guest stars will be announced as the season progresses.

St-Laurent, the youngest Idol competitor at 17 and a student from Otterburn Park, PQ, was eliminated tonight after receiving the fewest of more than 2.1 million votes cast following last night’s live performance episode, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven.” St-Laurent, who had performed Janis Joplin’s “Move Over,” was joined in the Bottom Three with Canadian Idol’s only remaining female finalist, Amberly Thiessen. Also in the Bottom Three was Sebastian Pigott, who escaped elimination for the second week in a row.

Tonight’s episode also featured the first of a long list of special guests who will perform on Canadian Idol this season. Season 5 runner-up Jaydee Bixby performed his hit single “Old Fashioned Girl” from his first CD, Cowboys and Cadillacs. Bixby’s CD just debuted at No.1 this week on Nielsen SoundScan’s Country Chart and at No.8 on the Top 100 chart.

While highlights from each week’s episodes continue to be available on demand on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca, CTV also announced today that encore presentations of each week’s Canadian Idol Performance and Results Episodes will now air back-to-back Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MuchMoreMusic.

Next week, Brit rocker and former Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale will coach the Top 8 finalists on acoustic performances in preparation for the series’ annual “Unplugged” episode, airing Monday, July 28 at 9 p.m. ET. On Tuesday, July 29 at 8 p.m. ET, Rossdale will perform live on the Idol stage during the Top 8 Results Episode (visit idol.ctv.ca to confirm local broadcast times).

Going “Unplugged” next week are the Canadian Idol Top 8:

  1. Mark Day, 20, Portugal Cove-St. Philips, NL, Student, Respite Care Worker
  2. Mitch MacDonald, 22, Port Hood, NS, Carpenter, Musician
  3. Mookie Morris, 18, Toronto, Musician
  4. Sebastian Pigott, 25, Toronto, Actor, Writer
  5. Earl Stevenson, 23, Lloydminster, AB, Swamper for a Backhoe Operator
  6. Theo Tams, 23, Lethbridge, AB, Student
  7. Amberly Thiessen, 19, Seven Persons, AB, Student
  8. Drew Wright, 28, Collingwood, ON, Musician, House Painter

Confirmed Canadian Idol guest stars:

Bryan Adams

One of the most successful Canadian singer-songwriters of all time, Bryan
Adams has spent the last three decades making music history. Selling over 65 million records while touring six continents, Adams has achieved No.1 status in over 40 countries around the world. With memorable hits such as “Summer of 69”, “18 Til I Die” and “Heaven”, Bryan Adams has solidified his status among the great songwriters of our time.

Adams has been awarded the Order of Canada for both his contribution to popular music and his philanthropic work, and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 1998. More recently, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2006 JUNO Awards. Additionally, he has been nominated for three Academy Awards and five Golden Globes for his songwriting.

Tom Jones is easily one of the most notable performers to come out of the British Invasion. With a style all his own and leaving no genre untouched, Jones has rocked the charts since the early 1960s when his song, “It’s Not Unusual” became a No.1 hit in the UK and a Top 10 hit in the U.S. From pop to rock, show tunes to country and dance to techno, Jones has the ability to sing everything. From having his own television show, to performing on the Las Vegas Strip for 40 years, Jones has done it all. With a dominating stage presence, he continues to be an influential and vibrant force in the music industry to this day as he tours around the world. Some of his greatest hits include: “What’s New Pussycat” (1965), “She’s a Lady” (1971), “Kiss,” a collaboration with Prince (1988) and, most recently, “Stoned in Love” (2006). His newest album is scheduled for release later this year.

Simple Plan

Montreal-based pop punk band Simple Plan is known for having an extremely fierce live show. Selling seven million copies of their CDs worldwide, the quintet’s catalogue includes 2002’s double-platinum No Pads…No Helmets…Just Balls and 2004’s four-time platinum Still Not Getting Any. They re-entered the studio in June of 2007 to record their latest release, simply titled Simple Plan, which incorporates an eclectic mix of new collaborators such as Nate “Danja” Hills (Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Duran Duran, Nelly Furtado), Max Martin (James Blunt, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne) and Dave Portman (Evanescence, Mudvayne).

Simple Plan is now ready to take their latest album where the band feels best – on the road. The group, comprised of Pierre Bouvier (vocals), Chuck Comeau (drums, backing vocals), David Desrosiers (bass, backing vocals), Sebastien Lefebvre (guitar, backing vocals) and Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), has rehearsed extensively to work the new material into live performance shape and is confident it will rock its fans just as hard as its two predecessors. The band will embark on a national tour beginning in August.

Gavin Rossdale

From the mid-’90s into the early 21st century, Gavin Rossdale was seeing much of the world from the stage of an ever-changing procession of theatres, arenas and stadiums as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Bush, a band that first came together in the Shepherd’s Bush area of London in the early 1990s. Right from their 1994 debut Sixteen Stone, Bush connected powerfully with post-grunge America through a series of jagged yet infectious hit songs including “Everything’s Zen,” “Little Things,” “Comedown,” “Glycerine,” “Machine Head,” “Swallowed” and “The Chemicals Between Us.” With his solo debut, WANDERlust, Rossdale has brought it all back home on a vivid, widescreen rock album that found him working closely with famed Canadian producer Bob Rock.

Additional guest stars will be announced in the coming weeks.

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