BMG Canada has signed a second finalist from Canadian Idol, but it isn't who you might think. BMG announced this month that fourth-place finisher Audrey de Montigny from Ste.-Julienne, Quebec will record for BMG's ViK. label.
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Audrey, a native Francophone who at 18 was the youngest of the Idol finalists, is being pointed toward a dual English-French recording career, similar to reigning Quebecois songstress Celine Dion, by BMG. Current plans call for her to release a French-language single, "Meme les Anges," on November 11, 2003 and a full length French/English CD in early 2004. A download of the single is available on Audrey's ViK. site.
If we had any lingering doubts about why BMG chose to sign Audrey instead of one of the other finalists, the acompanying publicity photo (see bottom right) ended them.
So what of the second and third place finishers from Canadian Idol, Gary Beals and Billy Klippert? According to the Regina Leader Post (story no longer online), Billy is simply waiting until December, when BMG's option on him expires; he has little doubt
that BMG will not exercise the option on someone who would rather have been "Canadian Rock-and-Roll Idol" instead of "Canadian Pop Idol," and Gary's chances of being signed seem little better. To keep themselves visible until then, Gary and Billy -- along with Audrey and several of the other Canadian Idol finalists -- will be appearing on such regional fare as CTV's Canada AM. We wish them luck.