Marie-Pierre Bellerose Katelyn Dawn Martin Kerr Omar Lunan Gary Morissette Oliver Pigott

Six more competitors eliminated from Canadian Idol

Updated Mon. Jul. 14 2008 11:01 AM ET

Sheri Block, CTV.ca

Marie-Pierre Bellerose, Katelyn Dawn, Martin Kerr, Omar Lunan, Gary Morissette and Oliver Pigott found out on the Top 16 Results Show they will not be moving on to Canadian Idol's Top 10.

Idol.ctv.ca had a chance to catch up with each of them shortly after their elimination.

Marie-Pierre Bellerose, 25, Quebec City, Que. - Bartender

Q: How did it feel to go up on stage tonight and find out you will not be going on?

A: It's never nice but it's ok. It's all good.

Q: What are some of the positive things you're going to take from this experience?

A: I've met some amazing people. I've learned a lot of things. The vocal coach, the band, all this TV crew, like learning the camera action, it's all stuff you don't really know how it's going on, so I really learned a lot about that and I'm going to take all the comments and try and do the best I can do with that. And the Idols, I'm going to bring back a lot from them.

Q: The judges said some really amazing things about your voice and your performance. Is that going to help you build on your music career?

A: I think that it never hurts for some people to say that it's great. I'm definitely going to keep on going.

Q: Any plans for what you're going to do next?

A: I'm going to go back home, work on my originals. It's been a long time I've wanted to do that and I have a couple of things I'm going to try and tackle it and go for it.

Q: Do you think the exposure you got on the show is going to help you as well?

A: It's definitely great. It's a great platform to go somewhere else. I think you have to use it wisely and yeah I think it can help me.

Katelyn Dawn, 19, Winnipeg, Man. - Singer/Songwriter

Q: What has been the best part of this for you?

A: Just meeting everybody I think. It's going to be the hardest thing because I've made some really good friends here, friends with similar interests. They're just really great people.

Q: You have said Canadian Idol wasn't something you considered doing in the past but now that you took a chance and made it this far, are you happy with your decision?

A: Yeah, definitely. I might do it again next year. We'll see.

Q: What do you think you're going to take from the experience?

A: Just more passion for music. I'm not going to go back to waitressing so I have to force myself to get income from music.

Q: Do you think any of the advice you got from the judges is going to be valuable for your music career?

A: Definitely. I don't have any regrets. I followed my instincts and stuff. The judges have their own opinions but I know that I stayed true to who I was and just performed songs I really liked and I thought were important.

Q: You've had some success as a singer/songwriter before Idol. Is this just one more accomplishment you put on your resume?

A: For sure. I have no plans of stopping. I want to go to L.A. for a couple weeks and maybe New York. There's a painter who's painting my portrait who wants me to perform at an opening of another painting for Ralph Stanley, he's a well-known bluegrass musician, so I've got some gigs, modeling gigs, stuff like that.

Martin Kerr, 25, Edmonton, Alta. - Independent Singer/Songwriter

Q: How did you feel when you found out you won't be moving on?

A: I felt fine when Ben announced the results. I thought I had a pretty good chance of making it through tonight but I was also resigned to the possibility of not making it and feel relieved. Really, it's been so much tension, ever since this process started back in January; it's been a big weight on my shoulders.

Q: For someone who had never seen Canadian Idol before this, are you glad you decided to take part in it?

A: I had never watched it because I don't like television so it's been strange to be making television this summer and maybe my lack of understanding of how TV works has not helped me but it's been cool to meet all these people. It was when I started saying good-bye to the other competitors that I started tearing up so there was a lot of sadness, too, but I know we'll keep in touch.

I'm sure it happened for a reason, right? I do feel I've learned a lot and met some incredible people that I will have some very productive partnerships with in the future. There's some musicians I truly admire that I can't wait to buy their album and do shows together, people like Oliver. I can't believe I'm going out the same week as Oliver Pigott and Omar (Lunan), gee, these two guys gave some of the most incredible performances any Idol show has ever seen so I just feel lucky to have gotten this far ... So it's a funny game and it is a game, so I'm not going to take it personally or not let it diminish my artistic vigor but I think it will assist me a great deal in being more confident and also in people being more excited to hear from me. So often when you try to put yourself as an independent musician people are like, 'Well, who are you?' but if millions of people across the country already know who you are, then that's a good start.

Q: You got some great feedback from the judges about your voice - is that something you're going to try and build on?

A: I think that's what I've always done well and I think what I didn't do well is be a TV star, you know? ... A lot of the stuff that gets praised by the judges is very much entertainment and stage performance and that's something I've never really worked on ... I'm also into quite mellow music where people sit on the stool and pour their heart out and to me lyrics are kind of fulcrum in which the whole evening revolves. I aspire to be like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and that's cool and it doesn't make great TV necessarily, but it makes great concerts and great albums so it's been cool for me to see the other side of it.

Q: What are you going to do next?

A: I'll take a week to just chill out and enjoy being at home with my friends and family and start writing a new album. I put out an album last summer called "I Know You're Out There," which has been selling pretty well ... and I'm ready to write some new songs. I'll definitely be performing and now, as I say, I have this network across the whole country of not only people that have seen me on TV, but musicians I can perform with.

Omar Lunan, 29, Scarborough, Ont. - Registered Massage Therapist

Q: How are you feeling right now?

A: First of all I'm relieved because it's one thing to perform but it's another thing when you're on stage looking forward to being scrutinized week to week. I'm an artist, and people are going to do that anyway, I just don't need to look forward to someone looking down on me or telling me what I'm not doing right, you know what I mean? There are people who have enjoyed it and will continue to enjoy what I do.

From the beginning of this it has been a crazy ride because I didn't even expect to audition. I wasn't going to audition. It was all on a whim and it's not bad I made it to Top 16 on a whim so I'm feeling accomplished.

Q: Are you going to take all the great feedback you got on your performances, in particular after your rendition of "Ain't No Sunshine," and move forward with that?

A: Hell, yeah. All four of the judges have been in the industry a lot longer than I have and they've seen different sides of the industry that I haven't so their feedback in some regards, even though some of them may be blowing off steam, and that's just an opinion of mine, they are trying to give you advice for you to further yourself as an artist so for you not to take that feedback is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. It doesn't make sense.

Q: Are you happy you were part of Canadian Idol?

A: I'm so happy. I made myself proud. I made my entire community proud. My son is definitely going to have something to look forward to, to look at. I just really want that to be an example to him. Just never hold yourself back from any dreams or anything you want to go for. I haven't lost out. I've accomplished a lot of things in my life and God willing, my life isn't over yet so all I can really do is look forward and see whatever opportunities are open for me.

Q: In terms of career, what's been the most valuable thing you're going to take with you?

A: The advice was awesome. The people, the band, Mark Lalama and Byrd. Pearls of wisdom. They really know what they're talking about and they really want you to shine so pulling away the knowledge of how to be able to captivate as an artist and make the song do what it's supposed to do.

Q: What are you going to do next?

A: Right now I just want to relax. I've been living week to week right now. I just want to chill out, unwind, hang out with my son and my family and gradually I'll figure out what will happen in the next little while.

Gary Morissette, 21, Fruitvale, B.C. -  Musician/Construction Worker

Q: How are you feeling right now?

A: I didn't expect to win. I was just here to show people who I am and get some fans and publicity. That's what my life's main goal was before, for millions of people to watch me so I accomplished that and now I can focus on some other little goals.

Q: You did a last minute audition online and made it to the Top 16. Are you proud of yourself for coming this far?

A: Yeah, you've got to be proud of yourself. If you have a negative feeling about anything you're doing in life then only negative things are going to happen to you so you've got to keep a positive attitude about whatever's going on and only good things will come, right?

Q: What's been the most positive thing for you in doing the show?

A: I was a pretty big party animal before the competition, before the Top 200, and I really haven't been partying. That's really the biggest thing for me. It changed my life in that sense. I was a lot wilder before. I got more focused on what I love to do, my passion.

Q: You've had some amazing comments from the judges, especially from Zack Werner, about your ability to be a rock star. Is Canadian Idol just a stepping stone for you?

A: Yeah I've always just looked at it as the start of my career. It's just a good starting point to get people who know you, right?

Q: What do you plan to do next?

A: I'm just going to write some songs and record them and play. I want to play with lots of people. I don't just want to stick to one band, I want to get out there and move around. It's been a good ride. I love all the people that I've met and I've made a lot of good friends I'll probably stay in touch with the rest of my life.

Oliver Pigott, 27, Toronto, Ont. - Singer/Songwriter

Q: How are you feeling about how things have turned out?

A: I feel really good about it. I'm just really impressed with the whole show. I had an amazing time, I worked with some of the best musicians in Canada and I'm hoping to continue to work with them and to be honest, regardless of how far I personally went in the competition, I was going to plan on doing that anyway.

Q: You've had a music career before the show, are you seeing this as one more thing to put on your resume?

A: Of course. It's a wonderful opportunity and I think it's important to realize that, that people are so focused on the prize of winning that they lose sight of that and I think people need to understand that it's important to appreciate it and use it as a tool to move forward. I've received a lot of messages from people, just saying how much they appreciate my performances and it resonated with them so that means a lot to me and that's what I wanted to do this for primarily anyway.

Q: So you're happy you left London, England, to come back home to Canada to do this?

A: Yeah, really happy. I had a great time. We got to stay at a fantastic hotel, so that's never bad and it's just been great.

Q: What's next for you?

A: I'm definitely going to be here for a while. I know that a lot of people want to see me live so I'm going to do that. I'll go back to the UK and play over there, it seems to go over well in the UK, but it just seems to have gone over really well in Canada so I definitely want to (do that) and I love being in Canada again.

Q: How do you feel about your brother Sebastian moving on without you?

A: I'm really happy for him. I think he's taking it a lot harder than I am, to be honest. I'm just so pleased he gets to do this. He's got so much going for him, he's also an actor as well as a singer and a performer and it's just going to open up a lot of doors ... It's been great because Sebastian and I haven't had a chance to hang out together in a long time. It's been invaluable. Idol has brought us together again for sure.

 

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