Contestants 2006-2007
Victoria Idol 2007 winner
Lloyd Serson!
Duncan dad and zamboni driver Lloyd Serson claimed the title of Victoria Idol 2007 on Jan. 20 in front of a sold-out crowd of stomping, cheering fans at Alix Goolden Hall.
Close to 850 people attended the Idol finals. Lloyd, 44, scored high with the judges and audience alike with his lively, crowd-pleasing performances of “Hard to Handle” and “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?”
First runner-up Eryn Sharpe, 14, sang “Concrete Angel” and a bouncy version of “Happy Girl.” Ashley Richardson was second runner-up with strong performances of “What’s Up” and “It Hurt So Bad.”
Lloyd will be heading into the studio with Gordie Cheney, of Audio Garage on Discovery, to record his grand prize of a three-song demo. Eryn won a karaoke machine and 27 discs of music, while Ashley won $150 worth of karaoke music of her choice,
Thanks to all our finalists for superb performances throughout the contest, especially at the finals! And thanks to the 3,000-plus people who came out for one of the seven Idol concerts, and to the businesses and organizations that supported us through sponsorships, gift certificates and donations.
Watch our Web site starting in August for details on Victoria Idol 2008.
Lloyd Serson, 44 - This Duncan family man says his goal in life is to be the best husband and father he can be. Lloyd is a long-time musician, with credentials that include going to school with members of the Tragically Hip in his younger days growing up in Ontario. These days, he’s a Zamboni driver – an Ice Man – but is pleased at the chance to be part of Victoria Idol and having an opportunity to sing live on stage. Lloyd is one of just three men in the Idol finals.
First Runner Up:
Eryn Sharpe, 14 – Eryn has won numerous awards for her singing at various performing arts festivals and competitions throughout B.C., and sings with style and feeling that conjure up someone much older than 14. She loves stage musicals every bit as much as she is devoted to her studies in voice, piano and dance. Eryn did a star turn as Dorothy last year in the Four Seasons Musical Theatre production of The Wizard of Oz. She’s currently a Grade 9 student at Stelly’s Secondary and looking forward to a future career in the performing arts.
Second Runner Up:
Ashley Richardson, 21 - There’s nothing like having a dad with a musical background for ensuring early exposure to lots of tunes. Ashley’s father has been playing in bands since before she was born, and it left Ashley with great enthusiasm for all kinds of music. She spent a year in opera lessons to get breath control, but her heart is in pop music, and she has performed it with great enthusiasm at the Totally Teen Talent Show and the B.C. Women’s Show.
Finalists:
Gregory Baan-Meiklejohn, 13 - Gregory’s musician dad Duncan has been singing with him since age three, so this young man got early experience singing commercially when his dad – who’s also a jingle-writer – got Gregory singing lead as a toddler on commercials for Bickle’s Potato Chips and Cameron Plumbing and Heating. Since then, Gregory has sung in front of many different audiences, including the Kids Helping Kids concert last year at UVic. He’s also a keyboardist, and enjoys fishing, baseball and music composing as well.
Bre Wilson, 22 - Bre has pursued music for many years. She used to put on shows for friends and family whenever she had the chance as a little girl, and soon added school talent shows, plays, choir and vocal jazz to the list as she got older. Breanne has been on the church music team for the past seven years, and has recently started piano lessons as well. She studies part-time at Camosun College while working full-time providing care to a man with Down syndrome.
April Reidie, 25 - April finished in the top 10 at Victoria Idol last year as well. She has serious musical roots running through her family, from her drumming grandfather and her piano-playing great grandmother, to a cousin whose music has hit the charts in Europe and Australia. She’s a homegrown Victorian who does administrative and accounting work at Parker Johnston Ltd., and she loves her race car almost as much as she loves music. Keep an eye out for her at Western Speedway and Mission Raceway.
Mary Buick, 53 - This Victoria singer had the pleasure of returning to her old school stage at Oak Bay secondary for her preliminary event, where she graduated from in 1972.. Mary sang in the McPherson Playhouse Theatre at age 11, and played percussion in an amateur Australian rock band during a three-year stint living in Papua New Guinea. “I believe when you sing, it not only comes from within but from your heart, and indeed from your very soul,” says Mary.
Whitney Williams, 13 - A trio of George Bonner Middle School friends entered the Idol preliminaries, but Whitney is the only one to make it through to the finals.. She has competed in the Cowichan Music Festival for the past four years and won a number of bursaries and scholarships, and is currently in Grade 6 with the Royal Conservatory of Music’s vocal program. Whitney is also a Totally Teen Talent veteran, and is enrolled in StageCraft Musical Theatre School at the Victoria Conservatory.
Destini Willan, 14 - This Dunsmuir Middle School student is in the school’s vocal jazz program as well as choir, and is trying out for the nationals with both of those groups. She has been taking singing lessons since age nine, and has dedicatedly entered the yearly school talent shows so she could get used to performing on stage. Her actual performing career goes back to age five, when she sang Let’s Go Fly a Kite with other children from the Academy of Dance Arts in Richmond.
Spencer Needham, 14 - This young Western Communities singer got his introduction to music while sitting on his mom’s lap at his sister’s vocal lessons. He’s been a member of his school’s concert choir and vocal jazz ensembles for the past three years, and is currently lead singer with District of Soul, a hot R&B band made up of students and teachers from the West Shore. Spencer is also community-minded, having participated in fundraisers for Tour de Rock, the Heart to Heart Variety Show, an Alzheimer’s benefit and now, Victoria Idol. His older sister Sydney was second runner-up at the Idol finals last year.
Liam Styles Chang, 16 - This St. Andrew’s High School student was a semi-finalist in last year’s Victoria Idol, and is actively pursuing a musical career through his creatively named band, Two Asians and a White Guy. The band has been playing together for more than three years and has performed its modern post-emo-punk music at a number of Victoria venues. Liam is into songwriting as well when he’s not singing lead and playing lead guitar with TAWG. He performed his own composition at the Idol semi-finals, “Secrets Kept.”
Eryn Sharpe, 14 – Eryn has won numerous awards for her singing at various performing arts festivals and competitions throughout B.C., and sings with style and feeling that conjure up someone much older than 14. She loves stage musicals every bit as much as she is devoted to her studies in voice, piano and dance. Eryn did a star turn as Dorothy last year in the Four Seasons Musical Theatre production of The Wizard of Oz. She’s currently a Grade 9 student at Stelly’s Secondary and looking forward to a future career in the performing arts.
Siri Williams, 18 – This young singer also writes lyrics and is a classically trained mezzo-soprano, with all of those credentials piling up in just the last five years after she was discovered by a school choir teacher. Of course, she’d been singing for years by then. Siri likes a wide variety of musical styles, from Judy Garland and Big Band to Christina Aguilera. She’s a student at the Canadian College of Performing Arts, and has added dance and drama to her repertoire.
