The Melanie Morgan Band and Whosarmy will face off in the finale to see who will win $100,000 and a recording contract for an original single to be released by Universal Music Canada.
I’m really hoping if it’s Melanie Morgan, whoever is in charge of the single tells them it should be rock and roll. Melanie and her band, over the course of the competition, have changed most of their covers and countryfied them. Some of them were good, but none were great. The last couple of weeks they have rocked it out and have been amazing. MELANIE: YOU SHOULD BE THE LEAD SINGER OF A ROCK BAND. (There, I’ve had my say)
Here’s the CBC’s news release after Sunday night’s performance show and elimination of Ali Milner (I’ve thrown some comments in for good measure.)
CBC’s new live musical competition series, Cover Me Canada, was ‘no holds barred’ this week as the three finalists – Vancouver’s Ali Milner, Toronto’s Whosarmy, and Cap Pele’s Melanie Morgan Band – battled each other for a spot in the series finale. The show started off with the finalists performing Higher, hit song of this week’s guest judge, Johnny Reid. It was followed by individual performances, with Ali Milner taking on the Barenaked Ladies’ anthem, One Week, The Melanie Morgan Band adding their own touches on The Tragically Hip’s Courage, and Whosarmy electrifying The Guess Who’s hit, These Eyes.
I did not like Ali’s take on One Week – it wasn’t very good at all and might have had a hand in her desmise. Melanie and bandmates rocked it out to Courage and did a great job. Whosarmy is very talented but didn’t do it for me this time – I like the Guess Who original too much and they shouldn’t have changed it that much.
An additionalchallenge this week included a good old-fashioned battle of the bands. Whosarmy and Ali Milner battled it out with the song Sugar, Sugar by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. Ali Milner and The Melanie Morgan Band put on their combat gear for Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, and Whosarmy and The Melanie Morgan Band squared off against each other to sing for their lives with Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.
Whosarmy and Ali were fairly equal for Sugar Sugar. It is one of my all-time favourite songs (I don’t know why, I’m a fan of AC/DC) and they did a great job. Ali kept Both Sides Now really stripped down and outshone Melanie on this one. As for Hallelujah – it might have been, no it was, the best performance of the season.
“It was an incredible night of pure Canadian talent and I’m honoured to have been a part of it,” commented Johnny Reid post show.
Canadians determine which artist is safe after the results of the online voting and social media engagement for each band is tallied. At the conclusion of the show, it was revealed that Canadian audiences voted to save The Melanie Morgan Band from being eliminated, therefore pushing them into next week’s finale.
With Ali Milner and Whosarmy left – judges Jordan Knight (New Kids On The Block), chart-topping R&B sensation Deborah Cox and star-maker manager and record exec Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls) and guest judge Johnny Reid announced that Ali Milner was eliminated from the competition.
The Melanie Morgan Band and Whosarmy will compete head-to-head in the on Sunday.
“Getting yourself to the top three in a ‘cream of the crop’ competition is a huge achievement and a reflection of the amazing talent this country has to offer. For these two remaining bands we’ll see which band has captured the heart of Canadian audiences and who has the drive and commitment it takes to make it in the music industry,” commented Jordan Knight on behalf of the judges.
