| Portrait of an Idol finalist as a young man By Sarah Crosbie Saturday, August 02, 2003 - 07:00 Local News - Ryan Malcolm is sitting on a Kingston pier talking to a film crew about why he wants to be the Canadian Idol just as the Island Star glides into port a few metres from him. As a producer from CTV fires questions at Malcolm, all eyes are on Kingston�s budding reality TV star as he confidently chats about his life. At that very moment, though, the video camera probably should have been recording Malcolm�s father, John. Reality TV with heart, anyone? As the ship docks and people begin to exit the vessel, John Malcolm points to the Island Star and whispers, �Ryan sang on that boat, you know.� And then he smiles a proud that�s-my-boy kind of smile and goes back to watching his son finish the interview. Yesterday, CTV was in town trying to capture the real Ryan Malcolm on film � it�s too bad they couldn�t record all the thoughts and memories running through John Malcolm�s head while he stood on the pier and looked at his boy. CTV has just one minute and 15 seconds to try to capture the kid who grew up in Napanee, Amherstview and Kingston, a kid who has been performing with his father and brother Reagan in A Bit of Nostalgia for more than a decade, and a kid who has seen his dreams come true this summer. This spring, Ryan Malcolm, 23, auditioned with 15,000 other singers for Canadian Idol � a spinoff of the monster hit American Idol that produced platinum recording artists Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. During a series of auditions, 15,000 competitors were cut to 143, then 30, and now there are just 11 contestants left vying for the title of Canadian Idol. Originally, Canadian Idol was supposed to have a Top 10 � not a Top 11 � but Malcolm garnered such a percentage of the 1.3 million votes this week that CTV changed the rules for him. Starting on Monday night, the 11 contestants will each sing a song in front of a live audience at the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto. During each competitor�s performance, a phone number will flash on the screen. After the broadcast, viewers have two hours to call in and vote for their favourite Idol. The following night, two competitors, maybe even three, will be kicked off the show. After performances throughout the summer, a winner will be crowned in mid-September. Malcolm has been doing the Idol shows in Toronto for the past few weeks and got to return home to Kingston for just a few hours yesterday. Starting Monday, he will be banned from speaking with the media until he�s voted off the show. Yesterday, while Malcolm�s friends and family gathered at the Lone Star to have lunch with him � it could be weeks or even months before he�s back home again � he had his last interview. Malcolm said he�s having a blast working 20-hour days and singing all day and all night long � and it�s only going to get better and better. This weekend, Malcolm will be moving into a mansion in a top-secret location with the 10 other contestants. All Malcolm would reveal about his new digs is that he�s looking forward to spending some time in the indoor pool. What he is jumping to talk about, is just how jazzed he is to sing in front of a live audience on Monday night. �This is what I do. I sing in front of people. I don�t sing in front of cameras,� he said. �Singing live in front of an audience? That�s my thing.� When Malcolm first spoke to The Whig-Standard a few weeks ago, he had made the Top 30 and was dreaming about a spot in the Top 10. At the time, he said he�d be happy if he made the Top 10 and satisfied if he made Top 5. What about the Top 11? �I�m happy that I made Top 10, or I�m happy I made Top 11, because you know what? I�m No. 11,� he said. �It�s 11 because of me and that�s the story right now so it�s kind of cool being the 11th,� he said. After his interview, Malcolm spent some time dining with his loved ones and the film crew in the Lone Star. He worked at the Ontario Street restaurant for two years using the nickname Armadillo and his sister, Jordan, works there now � just call her Salsa. Every Monday night, the Lone Star holds private staff parties. Everyone watches Canadian Idol there and bring their cellphones to vote. Manager Glenn Rea, aka Rider, said his staff has voted hundreds and hundreds of times for Armadillo. Rea told Malcolm that he has the full support of Lone Star � actually make that all seven Lone Stars in Ontario. �Lone Star is behind you 150 per cent,� Rea said, as he put a giant red cowboy hat on Malcolm�s head. �A giant-size cowboy hat to match your giant-size talent � and in a couple of minutes we�ll bring out the 72-ounce steak to beef you up a little.� After picking at his medium rare steak and fries and signing autographs for some young fans, Malcolm noticed that the Lone Star is printing a reminder on all their receipts to vote for him on Canadian Idol. He just shook his head in disbelief and smiled. �This is just all nuts. It�s totally nuts,� he said with a laugh. After lunch and the interview with CTV on the pier near Confederation Park, the film crew followed Malcolm to his parents� Amherstview restaurant, Nostalgia Station. After a few hours in Kingston, he was on the train last night headed to the mansion in Toronto. Just before he left, he predicted good things will happen on Monday night. �My forecast?� he asked. �I think my performance will be one of my better performances � hopefully my best performance yet, and I�m going to have fun with the audience.� Malcolm won�t disclose what song he�s singing on Monday but the theme of the night is Canadian Hits. Blue Rodeo? Barenaked Ladies? Celine Dion? Alanis Morrisette? Maybe a little Avril Lavigne or Tragically Hip? A special two-hour Canadian Idol airs Monday at 7 p.m. It will feature the clip of Malcolm visiting the pier, the Lone Star and Nostalgia Station. The results show airs Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ID- 39492 |