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Top 5 off to Nashville to meet country music starlet
Updated Wed. Aug. 16 2006 1:47 PM ET
Eye on Idol
The superstar parade is stopping at Canadian Idol again and this time it's dropping off country music favourite Martina McBride.
A day after being narrowed down from six to five, the show's remaining competitors are heading to Music City, USA to get ready for next Monday's performance of country classics. Considering McBride just released an album of the standards in 2005, they're clearly going to the right place, said the show's executive producer John Brunton.
"We've been giving this year's competitors the best to work with and we are continuing to do that with Martina McBride," he said. "They have a great opportunity to learn from someone who started out in a niche market but has been able to break through into mainstream popularity."
McBride has been a steady presence in the Country Top 10 since 1993. Her fiery, passionate vocals have created such memorable hits as "Independence Day," "Wild Angels," "Broken Wing," "Blessed" and "This One's for the Girls." She has placed nearly 20 singles in the Top 10, has sold 15 million records and has been named CMA's Female Vocalist of the Year in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
McBride is also a three-time Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year winner and a Grammy Award winner. Her country standards album, Timeless, has also hit number one on the country charts.
The stately star was also busy before making it big on the hits charts. She began her career playing weekend gigs with her family band in Kansas, then toured with Garth Brooks selling t-shirts and Tim McGraw as a backup singer before getting her first recording contract.
After devoting so much of her own youth to music, McBride says she can't wait to work with a group of young people who share the same passion.
"I am looking forward to working with the competitors on Canadian Idol," said McBride. "It is always interesting and fun to interact with talented young people who are totally focused on their goals."
The Top 5 week will mark the first time Canadian Idol goes country, and the first time an Idol franchise visits Nashville, the country music capital of the world. Next week McBride will fly to Toronto to perform two songs on the Idol stage, one with the Top 5 and one alone.
In addition to the studio rehearsals, no trip to Nashville would be complete without experiencing the music phenomenon that has showcased the biggest and best in country, folk, bluegrass and more: the Grand Ole Opry. The competitors will shoot segments at the Opry and learn the history of the storied country music landmark.
"Many of Canada's biggest country music stars have made the trek to Nashville to pursue their dream of making it in the country music capital of the world," said Susanne Boyce, CTV's president of programming. "Now they follow in the footsteps of Shania Twain, Terri Clark and so many more before them."
On Monday's performance show (8 p.m. EST, check local listings), the competitors will show their twang with songs by legendary artists Gordon Lightfoot, Willie Nelson, Nancy Sinatra, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton.
