Canadian Idol 6 - Episode 19

Top 8; 1 woman, 7 men, all acoustic. Judge Jake Gold admits his prejudice right off: to him, unplugged means they get to show their vulnerability. Screw you, Jake. “Dylan” and “unplugged” sleep together nightly. “Dylan” and “vulnerability” rarely even go to the same restaurants.

To make a bad start worse we get a clip of Sebastian being coached by Gavin Rossdale on how to be vulnerable. Sebastian does Lucille and he doesn’t sound vulnerable – he sounds pissed. His best performance in weeks. All the judges say as much, but Zack adds, “But with any luck, you’ll go home tomorrow night and we’ll be able to get on with finding the next Canadian Idol.”

Earl gets the word from Gavin: trust your instincts. Gavin gets the word from me: Haven’t you been watching this series? Snowboarder and Bob’s Backhoe groundman Earl has been running on instinct all his life. That’s where the souls comes from. Thank god he likes people. Guys who run on instinct and don’t naturally like their fellow man cause a lot of damage in this world. He does Ryan Adams It Takes Two and it just drips soul. Jake says it best: “It’s hard to judge you when I just want to sit back and listen.” I hear you, bro.

Gavin tells Mark to sing each line of the song as if it’s the only line in the song. Mark does Glen Hughes’ Why Don’t You Stay, a tune best known for Sugarland’s version. It’s sweet; nice aching feel to it. I’d forgotten he had this in him. After a series of mediocre performance, he seems to be finding his stride the past 2 weeks.

Mitch (with Alvin and the other Chipmunks nowhere in site) does Oh Atlanta, a song Alison Krauss did recently. Neither Alison nor Mitch can hold a candle to the Little Feat original. But hey, he gets points from me for picking it. Little Feat is one of the most overlooked bands in rock and roll history. The judges give him a hard time for staying in his safety zone and they’re right. Myself, I’m gonna get some weed, whites and wine and put on Dixie Chicken.

Amberly does The Way I Am. Another great turn. I think Farley’s got the hots for her. For the third time he uses his criticism time to talk about her hair. Zack calls her one of the top 2 or 3 they’ve ever had on the show. C’mon, Farley – you don’t ask her out, Zack going to.

Mookie picks The Band’s Ophelia. I’m ecstatic. Mookie and Mitch must have brought along their parent’s vinyl collection. Two of the greatest bands of the 70’s get some exposure to a new generation. The horn section adds a sound to the mix that we hear far too seldom. This 18 year old is so loose, so at ease. A freakin’ prodigy. One the signs in the audience says, “Superman wears Mookie underwear.” Zack makes the same point I made 2 weeks ago when Mookie wound up in the bottom three – Toronto the We’re-Too-Cool-For-School needs to get behind this native son.

Drew takes on Maroon 5’s All I Need. Liza Minnelli says the Maroon singer is great because he hits all the notes in the middle. Drew’s aim isn’t half bad. This is not an easy song for the singer and it is my favorite performance by Drew of any he’s done. For the first time, I want to hear him sing more. And what do the judges have to say? They don’t like his rugby shirt and ragged jeans. The only judge to stick up for him is Sass. Oh no – I agree with Sass. This can’t be good.

Theo, who has already done a few acoustic performances, wraps up the show from behind the piano, string section on the side, doing Weak In the Knees. It’s a weeper and he brings tears to everybody’s eyes. I gotta say – this guy could steal the title from Mookie or Earl.

My pick to go: sorry Sebastian. The others are just better singers.