Jeremy Bradley- Farley Flex the Canadian Idol judge with the style and… well, patience to have to sit beside Zack Werner on the panel.

Farley Flex-  (laughing)

JB-  And I think he's actually started borrowing your clothes, hasn't he?

FF- Yeah, what happened was the wardrobe department accidentally put my suit - the was the suit I had worn on the previous show - so when they returned the dry cleaned clothes they put my suit by accident into his dressing room.  He had one of his abstract brainstorms and decided he was going to wear my suit.

JB-  It almost seems like you never know what's going to come from the judges.  Is that how you all are in real life?

FF-  I think so.  We're all sort of creative people in our own right, I guess you could say.  As an artist manager you have to have some element of creativity, whether it be for marketing or just unique ways to bring your artist to the marketplace.  And Sass (Jordan), obviously as a singer-songwriter is creative in her own right.  I think that element of surprise and spontaneity is important for the show.

JB- Last week on the show the contestants went "unplugged".

FF-  Yes.

JB-  Why is that such a test to see the real test an artist has?  I mean, isn't that how you originally met them?  It's almost the exact same thing.

FF- Yeah, it was almost the exact same thing.  It was fully a cappella and those were massive underdeveloped people.  Now we've got people who have been exposed to the Cyndi Laupers and the Dennis Deyoungs of the world and probably found themselves from an artistic standpoint or gotten to know what their capabilities are in a much greater capacity over time.  So I think when you do it as we did it last week and you allow them to bare - expose - that raw talent again in a more evolved capacity, I think that's what the appeal is.  And when you strip it down like that it exposes the flaws and quirks, good and bad.  It seemed to work really well for them.

JB- You did mention some of the big names that have been on helping the contestants along - Cyndi Lauper, Chantal Kreviazuk, Nelly Furtado.  While this can be a really exciting experience do you think there's a bit of intimidation that goes along with it?  If you have a superstar telling you to do something one way, you may think that is the "right" way.  Those artists are giving the contestants advice but have you ever thought to yourself, "No, no, no… don't change that!"

FF-  I'm really, really pleased with the type of advice the guest performers have been giving.

JB-  Generally you've agreed with what they've suggested?

FF-  Generally speaking, yeah.  There were a couple of times when… it's all about analysis.  It's also always subjective.  I mean, opinion is opinion.  But for the most part what the kids get from it is these people come and they're down to earth, they show care and concern for the potential for each of them and they go into it with that part of it.  I don't think the hard and fast direction is the main thing.  I think just being in the same room with them and sharing the experience, et cetera is enough to get a kid out there and say, "Wow, she said I have a really cool tone.  Wow, he said if I do this a little more it'll impact the audience more."  Those are all universal comments, you know what I mean?

JB-  Yes.

FF-  It's almost like the comments we give them throughout the show.  When we say it, it has a little more credibility in their eyes and they take it to heart and they understand and they want to be better.

JB-  With the contestants, it's completely up to them what they sing.  I'm sure there's songs you'd like to see them sing and there are probably times when you shake your head and say, "What the hell were you thinking?"

FF- Yeah.

JB-  So what selection has surprised you the most?  Whether that be in a good way or bad way.

FF- I think last week's show, the song Eva (Avila) selected, the Alicia Keyes song ("How Come You Don't Call Me") was a little bit of a surprise for me but a totally positive one.  But that particular song was one of her more produced songs actually.  To hear Eva take ownership of the way she did I was really pleasantly surprised.

JB-  Originality is the key to standing out, but sometimes we see the contestants being criticized for being too different - not the way we're used to seeing them - so do you think taking a big chance is always a good thing?

FF- The objective of this show, I think, should be at least two-fold in the mind of each kid.  There's the primary objective of winning and then there's the objective of "I wanna be in the music business after I leave this show - whether I leave first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth."  To leave with an identity is always better than to leave without one. Because if you leave without that identity there's nothing to play with.  You're not holding any cards.  When you're a Jacob Hoggard (former Idol finalist and current member of pop-rock band Hedley) or a Steffi D… uh, (mispronouncing) DiDomenicantonio…

JB-  (laughing)  There you go.  You'll get it by the end of the season!

FF- Yeah, exactly!  Or Chad (Doucette) for that matter.  When you have something recognizable or memorable -- you hear me say it on the show all the time - be memorable.  That's all you want to be on this planet.  I don't care if you're working at McDonald's or you're a recording artist, be memorable in what you do.

JB-  And we've seen time and time again that you don't need to win the show to be successful.

FF- That's correct.