Toronto, Ontario (July 20, 2005) - Seventeen-year-old high school student Emily Vinette is the first Top 10 competitor to be eliminated from Canadian Idol, it was revealed live on CTV tonight.

Vinette received the least amount of votes following Tuesday's patriotic Canadian Idol performance episode, broadcast live in front of a raucous, sold-out audience at Toronto's John Bassett Theatre. In all, 2.4 million votes were tallied following the show, the most so far this season. Vinette leaves behind nine finalists to compete for the Canadian Idol crown.

Last night's special 90-minute episode, dedicated to "Canadian Hits," was once again watched by over 2.1 million viewers (2+) -- not including the over 1,000 screaming fans packed inside the theatre. The show peaked at 2.2 million viewers during the second half-hour. *

In tonight's live episode, the Canadian Idol Top 10 continued with the "Canadian Hits" theme with a group performance of the Bruce Cockburn classic "Lovers in a Dangerous Time." Then, current American Idol winner Carrie Underwood performed her hit single "Inside Your Heaven." Following her performance, host Ben Mulroney announced that "Inside Your Heaven" was certified Double Platinum in Canada and presented Underwood with twin platinum CDs from Canadian Idol and Sony BMG Canada.

Following Underwood's performance, Mulroney revealed the three competitors who had received the least amount of votes after last night's nation-wide poll: Vinette; Sudbury, Ontario's Daryl Brunt, 16; and Calgary, Alberta's Melissa O'Neil, 17. But ultimately it was Vinette who failed to connect with voters on Wednesday night following her performance of k.d. lang's "Crying."

Brunt and O'Neil return next week to perform in Canadian Idol's "Stevie Wonder" themed show. In addition to Brunt and O'Neil, the remaining finalists are: Amber Fleury, 26, Calgary, AB; Rex Goudie, 19, Burlington, NL; Casey LeBlanc, 17, Nackawic, NB; Ashley Leitao, 18, Burnaby, BC; Josh Palmer, 22, Saskatoon, SK; Suzi Rawn, 22, Kamloops, BC; and Aaron Walpole, 26, St. Thomas, ON.

Tickets to Canadian Idol's live performance and results shows are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or by telephone (check local listings). Tickets go on sale at 12 noon on the Tuesday prior to the next week's shows and sell out quickly. Rush tickets are also available to the most enthusiastic fans showing up at the John Bassett Theatre two hours before show time. Visit idol.ctv.ca for more information.