One of two Canadian competitors on this season of American Idol was eliminated on Sunday night’s episode and the other sang an original in hopes of being in the Top 12.
Emma Busse, a Top 26 finalist, didn’t get enough viewer votes following her performance of Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” on the episode that aired last week.
The 20-year-old from Burnaby B.C., auditioned for the Idol judges in Las Vegas last September with Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
Making it to the Top 20 was Tyson Venegas, who earned raves on Sunday’s episode with his performance of an original, “180.”
Judge Katy Perry gushed: “I know who you are now. It was so cool. It’s so great when you perform your own songs. I know what you stand for, I know what your values are, I know what your perspective is, I know where your heart is – and therefore I can fall deeper in love with you.”
Luke Bryan called the 17-year-old from Port Moody, B.C. “far-beyond-your-years talented” and Lionel Richie opined: “That was a damn good song.”
American Idol is not Venegas' first time in a singing competition. Venegas won the PNE Star Showdown in 2013 when he was only seven years old. A year earlier, he won 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.
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.