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Idol crown goes to Surrey singer  | ||||||
Staff Reporter Singing since he was a child, Abdul Mansour has spent much of his young life in front of a microphone, performing on television and in front of live audiences both in Canada and overseas. Over the years, he's also entered countless talent contests and vocal competitions - and hasn't lost a single one. Mansour, 18, was one of 10 finalists at the Vancouver Idol competition at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby last Saturday afternoon who showed off their vocal prowess for a panel of celebrity judges in hopes of winning an audition for the upcoming Canadian Idol contest, a follow-up to last year's hugely popular televised singing competition. "I've never lost before and I said to myself 'I'm not going to start now,' " the teen said from his family home Monday. The finalists, which also included Surrey singers Stephanie Bird and Rebecca De Jong, each sang one song as a crowd gathered in the shopping centre. The judges then whittled the field to four contestants, who had one last chance to impress the judges with a final song. In the end, it was a battle between Mansour and Port Coquitlam's Rachel Suter, with the local singer's rendition of Stevie Wonder's Ribbon in the Sky earning him top spot. "It felt great," Mansour said. "The judges said 'you nailed it' ... one said she was speechless. "All the contestants were great. I have respect for every single one of them, but I had confidence. I went out, gave it my all and I won." The first Canadian Idol contest was held last summer and had thousands of hopeful young singers from coast to coast lining up - sometimes for days - for a chance to strut their stuff in an initial audition and possibly be chosen for the TV show. The weekend win allows Mansour to jump that line and vie for the opportunity to be the next Ryan Malcolm, the winner of last year's Idol contest who had his face splashed across newspapers nationwide, and went on to record an album with BMG Canada Inc. Mansour was featured in The Leader in 1996 when he was barely 11 years old and was basking in the glory of being the youngest Canadian to have cut a CD. Even then, the aspiring singer was intensely determined. "I never quit,'' the then-diminutive pre-teen said. "I couldn't quit - as long as I'm alive I want to be a singer.'' He's since continued his quest for celebrity, releasing a single about three years ago that became a hit in Lebanon, his family's home country. Recorded in Arabic and detailing the suffering faced by children of war, the song's popularity not only landed him extensive exposure in the Middle East, but a children's rights award which was presented by Queen Noor of Jordan. Now finishing his high school studies at North Surrey Secondary, Mansour eagerly awaits his April 27 meeting with producers of the popular national singing contest and his audition two days later. "I'm so determined. Hopefully I can make it to Canadian Idol. An idol is someone people look up to. "I want to get famous so I can say I'm from a little place called Surrey." |
© Copyright 2004 Surrey Leader
