Maybe if Zack Werner had stopped by Clark Hall Pub to catch Paranoid Ackroyd in March, we wouldn’t be having this whole Canadian Idol competition at all.
Maybe if those celebrity judges had seen 19-year-old Elena Juatco, ArtSci ’07, shake the rafters of the pub as she belted out Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter,” the whole Idol voting process could have been skipped altogether.
Regardless, the stunning, silver-voiced second year student who has been wowing Canadian Idol audiences all summer, is now one step closer to Ryan Malcolm levels of fandom. Kingston Idol II could soon become a reality.
Last Thursday, the raven-haired Juatco moved onto the second week of the Top 10 competition after staving off elimination one more time. Canadians voted to keep the biology-drama student, along with eight other Idol hopefuls in the competitions.
Last Wednesday, Canadian Idol entered its first week of Top 10 competition, with one contestant set to be eliminated each week until the next Idol is crowned.
Standing confidently on the John Bassett Theatre stage inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Wednesday night, Juatco showed the celebrity judges why she stole the show at last winter’s Queen’s Players and why students named her Campus Idol last year.
Juatco’s signature quirky and bold style was on full display as she tore about the stage. Until Wednesday, the judges had always joked that Elena had a lot to offer, sometimes teasing her about her outgoing nature. That all changed on Wednesday.
“This game is definitely on,” the normally barbed-tongued Zack Werner told Elena last Wednesday. “We’re going to find out who wants to play.”
After some difficult song choices in the opening rounds, Juatco looked much more in her element singing Mary Jane, a song written by her own idol, Alanis Morissette.
With Canadian Hits as the theme of the show, Juatco’s selection captivated the audience.
“You found the star search moments and you used them well,” an impressed Sass Jordan told Juatco after her performance.
Juatco missed qualifying for the Top 10 the first time around. She was edged out in the second week of the Top 32 competition.
She received the third highest number of votes behind the baby-faced Kalan Porter of Medicine Hat, Alta. and the stoic Kaleb Simmonds from Dartmouth, NS.
Juatco regrouped and came back strong for the wild card round on July 15.
After singing “What I Did for Love,” Juatco ed Jason Greeley from Newfoundland as the two wild card winners to complete the Top 10.
In a Kingston coincidence, Juatco was the last performer picked to make the Top 10, edging out Calgary’s Ted Senecal for the final spot much in the same way Ryan Malcolm was last year’s final addition to the Top 10 before going on to win it all.
Tomorrow, Juatco will be performing in the second week of the Top 10 elimination competition.
A Caribbean gambling company, BetWWTs.com, has picked Juatco to finish second in the competition. Kalan Porter is the favourite to win at 9-to-5 odds, with Juatco second at 7-to-2. She is followed by 23-year-old Theresa Sokyrka of Saskatoon at 4-to-1 odds.
—With files from Canadian Press
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