Tara Merrin of Sun Media talks Canadian Idol and the rest of the summer reality fare:

• ‘Canadian Idol’ kicks off
  “Tuesday night’s Idol premiere was jam-packed with these delusional offspring. There was the guy who smashed his guitar after being rejected and the one who threw a loonie in anger. That’ll show those judges.”

From ChartAttack:

• Canadian Idol Premiere Raises The Bar For Public Humiliation… Again
  “What’s that sickly sweet fragrance floating in the air? Is it honeysuckle? Sunscreen? Slurpees? Or is it the collective scent of desperation emanating from thousands of Canadian Idol hopefuls who aspire to everlasting fame by joining the ranks of industry A-listers Ryan Malcolm, what’s-her-face and that guy with the hair? Why, it’s a heady combination of all of the above. Summertime has officially arrived.”

From CTV.ca:

• Singers, dancers & screamers step in front of Idol’s judges
  “Not only did the hoards of competitors with guitars prove Canada is truly a nation of singer-songwriters, they also proved its diversity – bringing flutes, violins, keyboards, ukulele, stand up bass’, harps and even an erhu (a Chinese ancestor to the violin).”

Ann Marie McQueen of Sun Media wasn’t impressed by her city’s Idol hopefuls:

• Ottawa hits sour note on ‘Idol’
  “Only one local singer was shown getting the coveted gold ticket required to get to Toronto, where the massive group will be whittled down to 22 semi-finalists. But 16 from the Ottawa tryout made it, nine of whom were locals.”

Tara Merrin of Sun Media reports on the new Idol rule, that contestants can play instruments:

• ‘Canadian Idol’ raising the bar
  “Judge Farley Flex says Canadian Idol is the first of the world’s countless Idol shows to encourage musical accompaniment. ‘We are absolutely the first, but I think others will follow. I personally think it is going to have an impact on the perspective people have on the winner, if the winner happens to be someone who does play (an instrument).'”

Vinay Menon of the Toronto Star interviews the judges:

• I asked. Idol’s judges answered
  “Viewer Alert: a new season of Canadian Idol is just hours away. How do I know this? Media advisories. Billboards. On-air promotion. Email from jaded spies. Recent nightmares. And the fact my cats are now barricaded in the basement, wearing earplugs while manically painting a wall mural that depicts Ben Mulroney as a whiskered Antichrist.”

Alex Strachan of CanWest Media interviews Judge Jake Gold:

• Canadian Idol dips into talent pool for another season
  “Jake Gold, Idol judge, music producer and artist manager — his clients include Gord Downie, Brian Byrne and Sass Jordan — insists that the untapped talent pool is not drying out, unlike in some countries.