When “Canada’s Got Talent” launched its latest season on Citytv on Tuesday, you may have noticed familiar faces vying for the $1 million grand prize.
Toronto’s Choir! Choir! Choir!, which recently announced an Aug. 7 co-headlining gig with Dwayne Gretzky at Budweiser Stage, joined budding singer-songwriters Toronto’s Ezra Jordan, Manitoba’s Jon Stoesz and B.C.‘s Daniele Lequaglia among the dreamers looking to impress judges Howie Mandel, Kardinal Offishall, Shania Twain and Katherine Ryan.
But Choir! Choir! Choir! aren’t the only performers bringing celebrity cachet to the contest: Darby Mills, who sold two million albums with her West Coast rock band the Headpins back in the ‘80s, and Juno-winning Toronto gospel group Sharon Riley & Faith Chorale are also competing.
While it’s no surprise that some vintage acts would find the lure of “CGT” irresistible — incentives include the million-dollar prize provided by Rogers (an immediate deposit, unlike the annuity system bequeathed by foreign reality-show equivalents); $25,000, courtesy of CIBC, if they’re awarded a “Golden Buzzer”; as well as nationwide television exposure. (Playback magazine reported that last season’s two-hour finale drew 681,700 viewers, a respectable number in an era where cord-cutting and streaming have chewed into traditional broadcast audiences.)
But it raises the question: is it fair to pit the experienced against the fledgling?
“At the end of the day, talent wins,” “CGT” executive producer Claire Adams told the Star.
“The judges and the public decide who is going to win a million dollars. A fresh, undiscovered act can outdo someone who’s established, and it’s really a level playing field where anything can happen.”
Adams also contends that “CGT” offers a rare opportunity.
“There’s no question that the industry has changed,” Adams said. “And with the traditional path to success, whether (for) music or comedy, being shifted, established performers are looking for new ways to reach audiences.
“‘CGT’ is the biggest stage in the country — and the exposure it offers at home and abroad can be game changing for a lot of these acts.”
Although the show, which is filmed at OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ont., is hardly restricted to music — Trois-Rivières dance troupe Conversion won the 2023 edition, and this year’s mix of 105 hopefuls includes magicians, comedians, dancers and novelty acts from all over — it was a world-renown Canadian singer who first breached the barrier last season.
Eyebrows were raised when Grammy-nominated Daniel Powter, who enjoyed five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with 2005’s six-million-selling “Bad Day,” came onstage as an apparent unknown. After he sang his hit and the judges realized who he was, they jokingly pushed him through to the next round.
Post-performance, Powter told the audience his reason for the one-off appearance. “I’ve travelled the world and toured everywhere, and I just want to say thank you for bringing me home,” Powter said. “This is my first time on Canadian TV — so I appreciate it.”
Although this was the initial appearance of an established musical act on “CGT,” it’s happened a few times on “America’s Got Talent,” which featured comedic L.A. glam band Steel Panther, clown tenor Puddles Pity Party and Ontario country duo the Reklaws. In fact, the Reklaws got as far as the quarter finals before being ousted from the competition.
But it was Powter’s presence on “CGT” that spurred Mills to audition for the program.
Mills, who, with the Headpins, has opened for the likes of KISS and Aerosmith, has spent the past few years working on an autobiographical multimedia presentation called “True Story” that she hopes bring to theatres later this year, and her partner in the project suggested that a “CGT” appearance would be great promotion.
After her partner sent audition materials to “CGT” producers, the 66-year-old performer, still blessed with a voice of thunder, was shocked to find out they wanted to include her on the show.
While Mills initially resisted, thinking her previous prominence would set her at a disadvantage, the producers convinced her that she would be treated with respect.
“I didn’t want to embarrass myself or the show,” Mills said. “I know I have a long history in the industry, but I also realized that last year in the States, the oldest contestant (55-year-old singing janitor Richard Goodall) won the show.
“So, I thought, maybe there’s hope for us old guys, and that there’s support in Canada for the older generation and to keep my legacy going. When one door closes … another opens.”
Nobu Adilman, co-founder with Daveed Goldman of Choir! Choir! Choir!, said he was surprised to get a call out of the blue from “CGT” producers inviting his act to audition.
“We thought, Why not?” he told the Star. “We like fun and getting a chance to perform in front of people who had never heard of us.”
For Choir! Choir! Choir!, which encourages audiences to sing along, this presents a unique opportunity.
“In our DNA, it’s all about crowd participation — and we rely 100 per cent on our audiences,” said Adilman, whose duo has collaborated with Rick Astley, David Byrne and the Tragically Hip, to name a few, and are touring the U.S. and Europe before their summer Toronto concert.
“So, if we don’t have buy-in from them, we’re done, we’re cooked, everyone’s going to have a terrible time.”
“CGT” producer Adams defends reaching out to established artists to enhance what’s set up as a talent contest, saying the show is simply about discovery.
“It’s not just a talent show, it’s a storytelling show,” she said. “Audiences connect with people’s journeys, whether it’s someone new or someone who has been performing for years. We tap people whether they’re known or not because they bring something compelling to the stage. If they can vie for prizes and move an audience, they remind people why they fell in love with them in the first place.”
So, it seems as though this trend will probably continue for future seasons of “Canada’s Got Talent.”
And if either Choir! Choir! Choir! or Darby Mills makes it to the live two-hour finale on May 13 and wins — as Indigenous singer Rebecca Strong did last season — what will they do with the money?
“Probably pay off some of my debts and open up a home for old dogs that have been abandoned,” Mills said. “I have a soft heart for puppy dogs that don’t have love. I don’t think winning a million dollars is in my future, but if I did, I’d find something healthy to do with it.”
Adilman said he’d give it away to charity.
“A million dollars — that’s too much money.”
