Greg Baan-Meiklejohn – Winner
RE/MAX Victoria Idol 2009
2009 RE/MAX Victoria Idol Winner Greg Baan-Meiklejohn is 15 and has been singing since he was three years old, much to the delight of his dad, musician Duncan Meiklejohn. He plays trumpet at Reynolds Secondary, where he’s in Grade 10. He also performs with the Vic High R&B Band and with Subject Zero. Greg says if he had a chance to meet one famous singer, it would be Stevie Wonder.
Tenille Wood – 1st Runner up
Tenille Wood is a North Saanich resident and a lifelong musician, having started singing when she was two. She’s now 21 and performed in a number of singing contests during her years growing up in Taber, Alta. She wants to get a degree in music but is waiting for her finances to come together on that front to be able to pursue her dream. She sings with the Victoria rock band Voyager.
Laura Hawkins – 2nd Runner up
Laura Hawkins is in Grade 12 at Brentwood College in Mill Bay. She’s a student of classical and pop/jazz music, and also sings in the Vocal Jazz ensemble and Concert Choir at her school. She’s pleased to be part of the Victoria Idol competition and looking forward to her big night at the Royal Theatre.
2008-2009 Finalists
Denise Holt is a Duncan mom with previous work experience as a Bobcat driver, who’s now putting her time into her two children and her singing. Catch her at night singing on YouTube—she remembers being so eager to hear what she sounded like as a young person that she once recorded herself on an answering machine. With any luck, she’ll soon find herself in a real recording studio!
Ryan Bernsten is 16 and a native of Chicago. These days, he’s a student at Brentwood College and an avid singer and musical-theatre actor. This summer, he claimed the title in three categories at the World Championships of Performing Arts, which netted him a scholarship at the New York School of Film and Television.
Nick Taylor is a 10-year veteran of singing and playing the guitar and is in the band, DNA, that plays a wide variety of genres, from ska to hip hop. A 2003 grad of Spectrum Community School and a former participant of PACE musicals, he has performed at the Totally Teen Talent show twice. This got him an invite to host a McMorran’s Restaurant dinner show, where he tried stand-up comedy for the first time.
Joshua Lovell is in Grade 12 at Pacific Christian School. He has sung for most of his school years, including in both the junior and senior Pacific Christian choirs. Joshua has music on his mind as a career, and hopes to study at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and perhaps get a music degree from the University of Victoria.
Christy Gibbs is an Island girl all the way, having been born in Port Hardy. By age three she was singing the Canadian anthem, and it’s been music ever since. She spent her childhood years performing at talent shows, weddings and other family events. Now age 23, she feels her voice has grown into “the essence of who Christy is.”
April Reidie is a Victoria Idol veteran who has been involved in the contest for four years in a row now. She’s 27 and a seasoned veteran of singing the anthem at Salmon King hockey games and at Western Speedway, where she hopes to return soon to continue racing her car, a favourite hobby. April works at Ryan Vending in between performing at any singing event she can.
Jenny Rhodes is 21 and a Victoria native currently studying at the University of Victoria. She was 13 when her mom enrolled her in singing lessons - and the rest is history. Jenny has performed in a number of musical theatre productions, and won awards for her performances in Annie Get Your Gun and Hello Dolly! She now performs with the Victoria Operatic Society.
Haley Isles is Idol’s youngest contestant this year. She’s a Grade 7 student at Cape Lazo Elementary in Comox. Her performances in Valley Idol and at the PNE taught her about commitment to practising and handling “performance butterflies.” She’s very interested in songwriting, having penned many lyrics that she hopes to write music for one day soon.
Laura Zeman works as a yoga teacher and doula, and is putting all the energy she once gave to competitive sports into her singing. She has sung at a variety of events for friends and family, including weddings. She doesn’t yet read music, but believes that the time she has spent listening to and learning songs has helped her develop her own unique style and voice.
