| Idol dreams: Kingston singer makes show finals By Sarah Hammond Wednesday, July 02, 2003 - 07:00 Local News - Ryan Malcolm�s fate now lies in the hands of Canadian Idol viewers. The 24-year-old Kingston native has made it into the top 30 finalists out of more than 13,000 contestants on the popular CTV show. Malcolm, who had to be talked into competing by his friends, said he�s surprised by how well he�s done. �I�m not into the whole boy-band kind of image,� he said. �I didn�t think I fit into the Canadian Idol image.� His family and friends believe in him though, and they were all out to show their support Monday night. About 40 were on hand at the Malcolm family restaurant, Nostalgia Station in Amherstview, to watch as one of their own survived the latest round of cuts. When Malcolm took the stage on screen, the crowd�s thundering applause made it pretty clear his fans have confidence in the budding star. Brian Mellon, a family friend, said he�s not surprised at Malcolm�s success. �My hopes are way up there for him, because he deserves it,� Mellon said. Now that he�s a finalist in the competition, Malcolm said he�s feeling pretty good. �It�s been the best time of my life. This is the biggest thing � it takes the cake.� The top 30 finalists will perform on the show over several weeks and viewers will vote for their favourites. The field will be narrowed to 10 and ultimately to the final two, who will battle it out for a recording contract with BMG. Kingston�s Sindy Bellemare, who also competed in Canadian Idol, was cut from the competition during Monday night�s show. She was at Nostalgia Station to watch the show. Malcolm says he and Bellemare rehearsed all night the day before the actual auditions. �I was really surprised by Sindy�s cut,� he said. �She�s amazing.� After the show Monday, Malcolm and Bellemare stood up to sing a duet. The pair sang When I Fall in Love to huge cheers from the crowd. Malcolm says he�s proud of how far he�s come, but isn�t used to all the attention. He says the toughest part of the competition was waiting around all day for his turn in front of the judges. �There are only four judges and you know they can make or break you,� he said. �You get up in front of them and they have no emotion on their faces. It freaked me out.� As far as his chances at making the top 10, Malcolm says he thinks he�s got as good a shot as anyone else. �It could go either way,� he said, adding that he doesn�t believe the judges were trying to �cookie-cut� an idol. �The top 30 is really diverse. It gives everyone a chance because it�s based on talent.� Malcolm, who hopes to have a successful career in the music industry, thinks Canadian Idol has been rewarding in terms of exposure and experience. �I�ve learned to deal with immense amounts of pressure.� Malcolm works at Nostalgia Station and sings in his family�s band with his brother Reagan and his father John, who said he�s very proud of his son. �He really worked hard for an opportunity like this,� John Malcolm said. Malcolm�s mother Deb was beaming Monday night. �I think it�s absolutely fantabulous,� she said. �We are so proud of him we�re bursting at the seams.� Malcolm completed one year of police college before taking time off to pursue his music career. Besides singing, he writes music and plays guitar. Bellemare, 17, who sang Birmingham by Amanda Marshall at the auditions, says she thinks her song choice may have cost her a place in top 30. �It was a bad song selection because I made it into my own style,� she said. �I wanted to do something different because I like music with challenging vocals.� Getting dropped was a tough experience, but worth it in the long run, Bellemare said. �From beginning to end it was the most extraordinary experience,� she said. �I made a lot of good friends from places I�ve never even been.� She wasn�t nervous about performing � it was the long waits between songs. �We had to get up so early in the morning and then spend the day waiting for our turn,� she said. No one was allowed to leave the theatre until everyone had auditioned, and with 143 competitors, it made for long days. Fatigue, anxiety and long waits didn�t change Bellemare�s feelings about the whole experience, however. �There is no word to describe how cool it was,� she said. �Just to be flashed on the [television] � not even showcased � was so cool.� Although Bellemare didn�t cry when she first learned she�d been cut, as soon as she saw her mother, she couldn�t hold it in. �[My mom] really wanted to see me succeed. It hurt so bad.� Her mother Sylvie has always been her biggest fan. �All my life I�ve thrived on music because my mom�s an awesome singer,� Bellemare said. Bellemare auditioned first in Montreal, and when she didn�t make it, tried again in Ottawa, where she was successful. Never giving up is what it�s all about, she said. �I�m going to keep working on my songs,� she said. �You can�t wait for your dream to come to you. Bellemare just graduated from Ecole Secondaire Mille Iles. She plans to take a year off school to see how far she can go with her music. �I got accepted into the universities where I applied,� she said, �but now that the doors are opening [in the music world], I�m not going to let them close yet.� Bellemare said she knows she belongs in the spotlight. �I�m not me if I�m not on stage.� As for which Idol finalist she�s cheering on, Bellemare made it clear Malcolm gets her vote. �I just want to say good luck to my fellow Kingstonian,� she said. |