Could the next winner of American Idol be Canadian?
Two B.C. singers made it into the Top 26 on this season of the competition series. Tyson Venegas, 17, and Emma Busse, 20, advanced to the next round of competition during episodes that aired Sunday and Monday.
The pair will perform in episodes taped in Hawaii before learning if they will move on to compete for viewer votes.
Venegas, who hails from Port Moody, earned a Platinum ticket at his audition last September (which aired in February). Following his “Hollywood Week” performance (taped in early December), judge Luke Bryan said Venegas "may be about the biggest star we’ve ever encountered.”
Venegas won the PNE Star Showdown in 2013 when he was only seven years old and, a year earlier, the BC Junior Talent Contest at the Cloverdale Rodeo.
In 2020, Venegas competed on the Filipino version of The Voice Teens but had to drop out before the “Knockout” rounds due to pandemic travel restrictions. As Ty Waters, he appeared on Little Big Shots.
Busse graduated last year from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Her mother Rina is a classically trained singer and stage performer who teaches musical theatre.
In 2020, Busse sang Labrinth’s “Jealous” and won a talent competition at Notre Dame Regional Secondary School. One of the judges gushed: “Your vibrato is gorgeous. I think you’re a master and you’re going to succeed. You’re obviously a star … I think you’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”
American Idol started allowing Canadians to compete in its 18th season. B.C. singer Lauren Spencer-Smith became the first Canadian to make it to the Top 20 of Idol but she was eliminated in the first viewers-voted round.
In 2021, Ontario’s Heather Russell and Lorand Kis earned golden tickets at their auditions but didn’t make it past Hollywood Week.
And last season, Cameron Whitcomb of Kamloops, B.C., Toronto university student Nicolina Bozzo and Toronto-born Leah Marlene made it into the Top 24. Marlene made it all the way to the Season 20 finale.
Early winners of American Idol found fame and fortune (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood) – as did several competitors who didn't win (Adam Lambert, Jennifer Hudson, Gabby Barrett) – but winners from recent seasons have struggled to breakout.