Talking of Idol related awards news, Ryan Malcolm, the original winner of the Canadian Idol franchise, has responded to comments made by Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew back stage at last week's Juno Awards. As previously reported, having won Best Alternative Album at the main Canadian music awards bash, Drew lashed out at his country's music business for relying on quick win artists, and criticised the whole Canadian Idol phenomenon for unrealistically raising the hopes of young singers.
Drew told reporters: "I feel really sorry for those kids in Canadian Idol because they're going absolutely nowhere. It's a trick ... it's a Canadian music industry downfall because in three years no one is going to remember them. I think things should have gotten a lot smaller years ago. It has to change ... people are still going for the 'instant."'
Asked about those comments by The Canadian Press, Malcolm said: "I don't blame him for the comments. That's their thing. They're the anti-mainstream band. [And he] made a good point as far as the industry as a whole".
On Drew's predictions for the future careers of Canadian Idol winners, Malcolm continued: "I can see why someone would think that because you get so much hype and such a fast-paced start that there's only one place to go. That comment might be a little premature. If you look at artists like Kelly Clarkson - obviously she's done really well for herself. Only time will tell. I know that I, personally, saw Canadian Idol as a stepping stone. It wasn't a guarantee for anything. I knew that I was going to have to work for my career if I wanted to have a lasting career."
Since achieving success with his debut album after winning the show in 2003, Malcolm has actually been working on some heavier material with his band: "It's a huge step forward. It's heavier music. Hopefully people like that will eventually see me for the artist that I am - that's the challenge that I have, to prove to other musicians that I can actually write a good song. I'm not just the 'instant'".
Malcolm says he hopes to initially release his new material outside of Canada where he isn't known for his Idol victory, and where he might have more credibility as a new artist. Apparently it's not that uncommon a strategy in Canada, and one even Broken Social Scene pursued: "They were huge outside of Canada before they were anything here. Unfortunately that's usually what happens. You have to make it big somewhere else and then you come back to Canada and there's a big hype."
In the end, perhaps Drew's anti-Idol comments will actually help the former winners he was sympathising with - after all, I doubt we'd have given over so much of the Daily to a Canadian Idol winner I'd never even heard of had it not been for the Broken Social Scene frontman's rant.