TORONTO — A Juno nomination is a big deal for any budding artist, but for Canadian Idol runner-up Rex Goudie, it's a chance to prove he's more than just a made-for-TV pop star.

"You try to use Canadian Idol as a stepping stone to show people what you can actually do," he said earlier this week from Moncton, where he's currently on tour.

"To be nominated for artist of the year . . . shows most people that I'm real, that I want to be able to do this for awhile."

Finalists of the wildly popular televised singing contest may have won over the viewing public, but many of the newly anointed pop stars are keenly aware that there's a segment of music fans that regard them with a wary ear.

Four former Canadian Idol competitors earned Juno nominations this year for prosperous albums.

Aside from artist of the year, Goudie, of Burlington, N.L., is also up for album of the year for Under The Lights.

He'll be competing at this weekend's awards against 2004 Idol winner Kalan Porter in those two categories. Porter will also vie for pop album of the year, where he'll face off against Theresa Sokyrka - who finished just behind him on Idol.

Hedley, the pop-rock band fronted by third-place Idol finisher Jacob Hoggard, is nominated for best rock album and best new group.

No matter how you feel about Canadian Idol, the nominations are justified, said Aaron Brophy, managing editor at Chart Magazine.

"I know lots of people like to grumble about Canadian Idol artists being nominated for things but mathematically a lot of their nominations are justified," he said, referring to the sales eligibility rules in certain key Juno categories.

The categories where Sokyrka, Porter and Goudie's nominations fall are based on sales. Winners are selected by voting members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Hedley's best new group nomination is based on a combination of sales and panel voting.

But despite the high sales, Brophy admits to being among the naysayers.

"It still leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth," he said. "To me they're not fully formed artists yet. They're splashy pseudo artists that I can't 100 per cent get behind . . . it's fine if they get nominated but I don't really want them winning anything."

It's become a familiar challenge faced by singers who've come up through the Idol franchise: build credibility with cynical music fans.

It took Kelly Clarkson, winner of the first American Idol competition, three years to sway skeptics.

She finally did it with last year's Breakaway album, which included the hit Since U Been Gone. The album earned her massive sales, critical respect and two Grammy Awards.

Clarkson has said she doesn't mind being associated with the show so long as listeners look at her work beyond it.

"I don't want people to only focus on that," she said.

Hoggard has repeatedly admitted that redirecting his career from Idol has been a rough ride.

"It's taxing to just win people over and make it a band thing as opposed to an Idol thing," the Abbotsford, B.C.,-native has said.

While there are plenty of Idol nominations, they could conceivably cancel each other out at Sunday's Junos, and each could walk away empty handed.

Goudie says he's not expecting to win but is grateful to just be included this early in his career.

"Oh my lord! I'm with some of the best in Canadian music," he gushed.

"To just pop on the scene and be nominated for these awards is unreal."