JB- You've become a household name not only because of your music accomplishments here in Canada, but now because of this little obsession we have called Canadian Idol.  But we'll rewind now for a bit and go back to your history in music.  It was a while back.  It was in the 80s, wasn't it?

FF- Yeah it was.  I got into the music business as an event promoter at a pretty young age and that evolved into my interest into the music model and how it worked.  I would bring artists to the city and meet their managers and understand how that formula worked.  When I was finishing university a friend said he was going to try get a record deal and asked if I would help him.  That was based on a friendship and his knowledge of the sort of peripheral involvement I had in the business.  So we developed and artist-manager relationship and from there we got very involved in all genres of music…and just helping keep Canadian music alive and in the minds of the public.

JB-  Perfect opportunity then when you got the gig on Idol.

FF-  I've got to say, I immediately saw it as an opportunity for Canadian musicians and Canadian talent.  I've stayed in that foray for a long time, you know, trying to develop and develop and develop.  I recognized the need.  And I say it all the time, it allows people from every corner of this country to have an opportunity to not just come to our big city and so on and so forth, but be exposed to millions of people when otherwise they wouldn't have (had that opportunity).

JB- What about people who criticize the show and say it's simply a karaoke competition?  These people aren't doing their own music to begin with.  They're just redoing stuff that's already out there.

FF- I think one of the key components of music is the ability to sing.  When you're judging someone on the ability to sing it doesn't matter what they're singing - whether they wrote it or they didn't, that comes along later on.  It's not an artist show, it's a singer show.  And hopefully people will evolve into artists if they are not already artists.  I think if you watch the way the show has evolved in a number of ways in terms of the type of guest performers we're having on it and the credibility it's garnering through those types of initiatives and the amount of records being sold, the amount of Junos being nominated and won.  All those things that the traditional industry has used as measures for success, Idol's achieving all of those.  Not to mention the opportunity to expose the kids on the show, but these acts who come on, like Cyndi Lauper's record flew to the top of the charts right after she was on the show.  And that tells you something about this show as a mechanism for opportunity.

JB-  We'll get back to the celebrity guests who have been on the show in a second.  But there's a lot of pressure on these contestants because a lot of us already know the songs they're doing.  Are we going to compare them to the original?  Does that make it tough to change it up and make it different?

FF- It's a question of who actually votes.  When you think about who votes on the show it's not always the seasoned musicologists like guys like you and me are.  A lot of 15- and 16-year-old girls out there have been exposed to one of the vintage artists or songs that are usually used.  And when they choose a new song, I think the appeal of the song alone is enough.  But I think the public is smarter than that.  I think the public is smart enough to think that, "OK, this person isn't there to sing the song exactly as the original, they're there to sing the song well."  And if "well" is defined as taking ownership of it, relative to voice and skill and vibe, allow them to do that and assess that.  I think one of the problems the industry has had over that sort of demise for a while was not recognizing how smart the consumer is.

JB-  Now, last week we saw Ashley Coulter leave.  Was that surprising?

FF-  Yeah, I was a little bit surprised on one hand.  And on the other I know how close the race is.  Leaving, even when you may have lost by one vote, you're still leaving.  We don't get the numbers as judges, but we do get an idea from the producers how tight the race is because it matters.  You know, when we do interviews like this it matters.  The race has been really, really tight and doubt she was far behind.  And all the contributing factors to how well one does including regionality and national appeal and how you dress and your hair and she was close.  I know that for a fact and good on her.

JB-  We all know that someone has to leave every week it just happened to be her time.

FF-  Exactly.

JB- Were you expecting her to leave already?

FF-  I thought she may have been in jeopardy.  I also thought Steffi might have been in jeopardy on that particular show and I also thought that Chad might have been in jeopardy.

JB-  Ashley had chosen some big, well known songs. But at the same time she can also pull them off.

FF-  Yeah.

JB-  Do you agree with that or do you think she made a couple of mistakes along the way?

FF-  I said on the show she was evolving at the fastest rate, in terms of week-by-week.  I certainly was a fan and certainly am still a fan.  There's lots of factors like who's voting, why they vote and where they're from.  I think when you go further into the Top 10, like right around now, it's more of a performance-based outcome that you're getting which is great.  Earlier on, regionality plays a bigger part than we hope it would in the latter part of the competition.  But now I think it's the playoffs and you've got to come out with your best game and may the best gamer win.

JB- All of the contestants have shown growth throughout the season.  Who do you think has shown the most?  When you think back to when you first met them, you think, "Wow that's a total 180 from when we first saw you."

FF-  I'd probably have to say Tyler (Lewis) in a lot of respects.  I would also say… well, Eva was interesting for me because I didn't see her audition.  I was… I had food poisoning in Ottawa.  Ha ha!  I had to leave the room actually and when I came back the (judges) were just finishing with her.  And it's really important for people to know that we make our connection with the kids in the audition process.  It's the one time we get to spend as much time as we want with them.  Although the edited version of the show shows us just putting people through, putting people through, putting people through, not one of those people in the Top 10, I guarantee you, spent less than 20 minutes to half an hour of serious interaction with.  Like, "OK, that was great, but you're not evoking enough emotion and then can you sing it a little more real for us as if it's the last song on the earth?"  And we do all this stuff to get inside their psyche and their talent base and figure out what their potential is in that moment so that when we see them later on and can't really talk one on one the way we do there we still have an idea of what their potential is.

JB-  So who sticks out for you as being a strong contender to be in the final two?

FF-  Final two?  As a fan, I think Eva's gotta be a strong contender and Tyler has got to be strong as well.  I think he hasn't picked a bad song yet for him.

JB-  And that's my next question-  What song would you sing for your Idol audition?

FF-  For me, I'd sing, [singing the words] "Unforgettable.  That's what you are…"  I'm a big Nat King Cole fan. 

JB-  And how would the judges…

FF-  (laughing)  You're supposed to at least smile or say something!!!

JB-  I am smiling, I think that was great.  But I'm not here to judge.  That's your job!

FF-  (laughing)

JB-  You've worked with the other judges long enough, what would they say about your performance?  Would they put you through?

FF-  Well what happened, and I don't know if you remember this, but in year one when we were in Newfoundland we actually auditioned for Sass.  Because she was the only one who was beyond auditioning for us, right?  So we auditioned for Sass and Jake and Zack were sent home promptly and got put through to Toronto.  Just so you know!  (laughing)

JB-  I'll make a record of that then!

FF-  (laughing)