A new competitive singing show
comes to Canada
THIS SEPTEMBER, A whole new kind of singing challenge made its debut on Canadian airwaves. Taking inspiration from popular TV talent competitions like Canadian Idol and America’s Got Talent, CBC’s Cover Me Canada adds a new spin to the singing scene—unoriginality.
Each week contestants cover the most famous, chart-topping Canadian songs, battling it out for the coveted $100,000 prize and a recording contract with Universal Music Canada. Judged by Canadian music elites Jordan Knight, Deborah Cox, and Ron Fair, the show may sound like a dream come true for most, but contestant and New Brunswick native Melanie Morgan was a little nervous about applying for the show.
“I thought, ‘Well, is this going to help my career or is this going to make it look bad?’,” says the country singer. “You’re on the show … and you’re singing other people’s songs, but in the end I think just being exposed to Canada every week is the best way to get yourself out there.”
“It’s fun because you get to cover some classic Canadian [music] and plus it’s sort of a challenge. You have to arrange music to make it different and make it your own,” she says.
Like many other cover artists, Morgan does face some difficulties when singing popular hits.
“On other shows, you basically sing a song and they judge you on your vocal abilities. [On this show], they judge on your vocal abilities, how great you are at making it your own, and to change the musical arrangement. It’s a big challenge,” she says. “When you get a [song] that you really love, how do you make it even better?”
Some have criticized the contest, labelling it as “just another reality TV singing show.” But Cover Me Canada is different from American Idol, X-Factor, and The Voice because it uses a unique way to garner votes and keep competitors safe from elimination.
“Social media is the only way you can vote for the bands. That’s the difference [with] the show: There’s no calling [in to vote]. It’s the band that gets the most [attention on] social media, [that gets] immunity,” explains Morgan.
Viewers can like Facebook pages, watch clips on YouTube, and follow contestants on Twitter to help their favourite act go on to the next week. They can also go online to vote for contestants.
While some fans may enjoy the possibility for so much online interaction with their favourite artists on the show, Morgan explains that she found out first-hand how little positivity is out there. Not all tweets and YouTube comments are supportive.
“I learned very quickly that being in the spotlight that you’re [going to] get some criticism and not all of it is going to be positive,” she says.
“I started seeing some criticism [online and] it really got me down … [but] we’re going to go next week and we’re going to do a 100 times better and prove all those people wrong. So you just kind of have to let those negative criticisms go.”
What can Canadian audiences expect from Morgan in the upcoming competition?
“I’m looking forward to new challenges and pushing our limits and showing Canada we can do anything,” says Morgan.
