Georgina
August 13, 2008 10:51 AM
John Slykhuis, Staff Writer
Mookie Morris took a Magic Carpet Ride into the final five Tuesday night after finishing in the top three at Canadian Idol.
Mookie, whose family lives in Toronto and Roches Point, won accolades for his rendition of the Steppenwolf hit Monday night.
Mookie has shown “incredible growth” as a performer on the show and can now claim superstar status, judge Sass Jordan said.
“First of all, thank you for bringing turntables to the Canadian Idol stage,” judge Farley Flex said, “I feel gratification for that. Also, dude, you’re just unbelievably charismatic. Everything you touch, you’re a star, you’ve just got to choose which galaxy you want.”
Even though Mookie was the youngest in the competition, he picked the oldest song and put a contemporary twist on it, judge Jake Gold said.
“Probably the most exciting thing I’ve seen in a long time,” he added.
The Idols were mentored by the Canadian rock group Simple Plan last week.
“Mookie, I like him a lot,” lead guitarist Sebastien Lefebvre said, “He belongs on stage it feels, that’s his whole thing.”
“He’s got the look, he’s got the attitude, he looks like a star,” lead singer Pierre Bouvier said.
“You’ve got the style, the whole attitude side, the whole show thing, that’s all good, just make sure you maintain the technical aspect of it because you have it so just keep it in mind, You look like a star, you’re already there.”
Amberly Thiessen, the last remaining female contestant, was eliminated on Tuesday’s show.
Monday night’s performance was cheered on by the crowd at the Orchard Beach Lakefront Bar and Grill, the unofficial Mookie headquarters in Keswick.
“The momentum is building,” Mookie’s uncle Neil said. “(There was) a good turn out on Monday at the Orchard Beach. A lot of new faces.”
The fans will be back there this Monday night for the next Canadian Idol and Mookie’s next turn on stage. The show starts at 9 p.m. followed by voting.