Jeremy Bradley-  The popularity of Idol is growing with each season.

Jake Gold- Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?  It's interesting how you'd think the show would be… we never thought the show would last as long as it (has) and it continues to amaze us.

JB-  This year during the audition process we saw a different side of -- and I'm going to use the word "scary" -- side of Jake Gold.  For those who didn't see the show, there was a bit of an outburst in the audition room.

JG- Yeah.

JB-  A bit of squabbling between the judges.  Now, often when it comes to TV there is quite a bit of editing.  We don't always see everything that happens.

JG-  And you have to keep in mind that they choose to put in the show what they choose to put in the show.  There could have been squabbling in other seasons that you never saw because they never chose to put it in the show.

JB- What did happen that day?

JG-  Which day?  There were two!  (laughing)

JB- We're talking about the storming out of the room, the coffee cup going flying.  What was going on there?

JG-  Yeah, that was the situation with (fellow Idol judge) Farley (Flex).  I felt at that point he was trying to be physically intimidating and I just didn't want anything to do with that.

JB-  Where did that come from?  Is that common?

JG-  Part of it was there was this great guy auditioned and I thought he was pretty cool and we put him through and instead of just letting him celebrate his win, per se, his golden ticket, they continued to sort of harass him.  And then, I forget exactly what I said or what he said, but then it became this, like, "Well what are you going to do about it?" and stood up and I was, "I don't really need this.  I'm outta here."  It was a really arduous day.  It was the last day of the auditions and I was just fed up.  We hadn't had a lot of great singers in that day and I thought, "Finally we find someone who's interesting and move on.  We've already put him through, let's move on," and they continued to want to deal with it and I was like up to my eyeballs in it.

JB-  How long are the days when you're there listening to people?

JG-  We are on set, at times, at 7:30 in the morning and there were a lot of days when we didn't leave the set until 11 or 12 at night.

JB-  So it's understandable how…

JG-  Tensions can get the way they are.

JB-  By the end of it are you saying, "I don't even want to hear any voices anymore"?

JG-  Well, there were days when my ears started to shut down on me.  I could feel them shutting down.  It was really tough some of those days.  And honestly, the day before the Toronto auditions I remember that night laying in bed thinking, "I don't know if I can go there tomorrow."  Because it was the last day and I was so burnt.  Normally we would get a break.  We didn't get a break this year.  We were going straight through from the middle of February to the middle of May.  It was a lot of travelling and that kind of stuff.  I don't ask people to feel sorry for me, but you know, it's just that's the way I was feeling at the time.

JB-  And you're basically just sitting the whole day and listening to people and hearing some people really murder songs.

JG-  Yeah.

JB-  Two words have become famous, or infamous, on the Idol shows around the world.  The two words are "song selection".

JG- Right.

JB-  Now, in very plain terms, what does that mean?  Does it mean to pick a song that suits your personality?  Or pick one that suits your range?  For instance, could we see someone like (contestant) Steffi D, who's cutesy with bows in her hair, could she pull off an 80s hard rock song?

JG-  It depends on the song and how she interprets the song too.

JB-  So "song selection" for you means?

JG- It's got to be the right song for the right person.  You know, last week (July 3 and 4) I felt there were a few people who made bad choices.  And I'll stand by it.  I thought Brandon (Jones) doing Somebody To Love was a joke.  That guy shouldn't be doing that song.  I think he's good.  I think doing that song was really stupid.  I think Alyssa (Klazek) doing Magic Carpet Ride was stupid.

JB-  At this point we know all of them can sing - that's not even a question - but how much guidance do they get when picking the songs?

JG-  None.

JB-  So it's totally up to them?

JG-  Yeah, that's part of the show.  That's why we talk about song selection so much.  We're trying to say to them, "Look, your choice is not only important in terms of how good you sound, but it tells us something about you."  And I think that's really important.  It tells us, "Do you have taste?  Are you smart?  Are you cool?  Do you get it?" you know?

JB-  And also there have been comments from the judges about the arrangements…

JG-  Well you think about it right now.  OK, Jeremy, you think about this:  You are about to do a song like Magic Carpet Ride, which is a big guitar, drivin' kind of song, right?

JB-  Right.

JG-  But your only accompaniment is a piano.  So why would you pick that song?  Unless you completely reinvented it - which I would not agree with - I think there are certain songs that are iconic and you don't f**k with them.

JB-  You don't touch them.

JG-  Right.

JB- But is that enough to end it for someone on the show?

JG-  We saw it with Alyssa Klazek last week.  It was the end of her.

JB- So you think it was that one song that did her in?

JG-  Well the week before wasn't that great either.  But you do two bad performances in a row and…

JB-  But it's also been talked about that sometimes it's about not necessarily being the best singer but good performer, entertainer, whatever.  Although, our Mohawk friend Chris (Labelle) is gone.  So how much of it is personality and how much of it is talent?

JG-  I don't think you can necessarily quantify it like 60 per cent this, 40 per cent that.  I think it's all those things.  And sometimes it's just, are you connecting with people?  I think in the case of Chris people just probably went, "You know what?  OK, enough of that guy."  You know what I mean?

JB-  It's entertaining for a little while and but then let's just get down to business.

JG-  Yeah, he's getting on me.

JB-  And it's also not necessarily about looks because Greg (Neufeld), who is deemed the Idol heartthrob this year, is also gone.

JG-  Yeah.  Personally I think that was a big mistake.

JB- Why is that?

JG-  Because I think he's a really, really talented guy.  And I think the public not voting for him was a big mistake.

JB-  We were talking about Alyssa and she's kind of like the hippy type chick.  And then there's Alisha (Nauth) who's R&B.  Is it just because that sound isn't necessarily what people think of when they think of Canadian Idol?  Is it because they are just a different type of artist?

JG-  Yeah, R&B is really tough in Canada.  When you think about the people that watch the show, it's fairly mainstream and R&B, unless you're more R&B-pop, it's hard to get it over in Canada.

JB-  Nevertheless, you were or you weren't shocked with the outcome?

JG-  Interestingly enough when I watched the show back on television, I record it and watch them all back, I actually thought in that particular case that Alisha Nauth's performance was not that great.  I was more shocked by Greg Neufeld gone.

JB-  Who would you have put in his place then?

JG-  I thought Tyler (Lewis) was not very good.