VanCity Idol Is Back!

VanCity Idol promises great music performances, all for a good cause.

Ladies and gentlebugs, it’s that time of year again! The VanCity Idol singing competition is back with 18 new contestants representing each of the public secondary schools in Vancouver. These talented singers have all worked hard to win their respective school idol competitions and are now preparing their voices to compete at the district-wide competition. In addition to being named the winner of VanCity Idol 2012, the singer left standing at the end of this two-day event will walk away with the grand prize, which includes $6900 worth of singing training at the Rockstar Academy (RSA) and a cash prize. Adding to the excitement of this year's competition is that Kid Carson from The Beat 94.5 will be the host on the final night.

Put on by the Vancouver District Students' Council (VDSC), VanCity Idol is more than just a singing competition as the VDSC has made this a charity event as well. Youthink caught up with VDSC Communications Officer Rita Steele to chat about the charity they are supporting, the special guest performances they have lined up and why people should come and check out VanCity Idol 2012.

YT: What made last year’s VanCity Idol so successful and why did you decide to make it a two-night event?
RS: Last year VanCity Idol sold out on the one night we had it. We were so happy with that so we thought, "Wow why don’t we push our luck and try to do a two-day event this year." So this year we decided to have our semifinal on the April 27th and our finals on May 4th. We’re hoping to have two sellouts for that as well.

YT: Do you have a specific charity in mind that you will be supporting through this event?
RS: We’re deciding between an organization called CLICK and another one that’s Kidsafe. We’re really leaning towards QUICK right now and I think that’s the organization that we’re going to end up going with.”

YT: How did you convince and motivate all 18 schools to participate?
RS: VDSC is kind of like a district student council so all of the student councils in Vancouver vote for a representative for VDSC and they act kind of like a bridge between each school - so it didn’t really take much convincing. Each rep just goes back to their student council and they talk to them about holding their own school’s talent show. For example, there was Brit Idol (Britannia Secondary) and Kitsilano Idol (Kitsilano Secondary) and they pick a winner and that winner moves on to our VanCity Idol semifinal and the finalists from there move onto the VanCity Idol final.”

YT: What can the audience expect to see and hear this year?
RS: This year, again, we have 18 contestants from all the schools in the Vancouver district, and there’s some really great voices. We have Kate Kurdyak. She's in the battle of the bands for BC's Best Teen Band Contest so we have a lot of youth that do singing contests outside of VanCity Idol and are really trying to get themselves out there. So the singing talent is very good.”

YT: How did you get Kid Carson to host the finals on May 4th?
RS: It was sort of luck for [The Beat] to have heard about VanCity Idol before we contacted them. Nira Arora said she had a friend in high school who has been talking about VanCity Idol and so when we emailed the Kid Carson show to ask them for promotion and for Kid Carson to MC our finals he was already into it.

YT: Can you give us a hint about the special guest performances you have lined up?
RS: We have FRESHH which is a dance crew. We also have a band coming out called Gentlemen’s Vibe that’s gonna be performing during our semi-finals as well Katy Green - she was one of the winners of last year’s competition and she’ll come back and do a song for us.

YT: Where can students purchase tickets?
RS: Right now we are selling the semifinal tickets to the secondary school students in Vancouver but our finals tickets are gonna be more for the public, as well as any left over semifinal tickets we have. And if people want to get tickets they can go to our website: www.vdsc.ca/vancity-idol and leave a comment down there asking to purchase tickets. We can then get into contact with them or they could email us at vdsc@vsb.bc.ca and they can order tickets there and then purchase them at the door.

YT: What would be one reason why people should come check out the event?
RS: I think the main reason is it’s fun. Last year the singing talent was great, it was a fun experience and there were door prizes. Last year someone came out with a pair of diamond earrings! There’s so many people there who are cheering and you have a part of the voting too so you get to vote for your favourite idol. It’s literally a community version of Canadian Idol or American Idol so it’s a really cool chance for people to experience that entertainment that they normally see on TV.

YT: Can you tell us a little bit about the Vancouver District Students' Council and what its goals are?
RS: We’re a youth organization. VDSC is all about student voice and being here to represent the students and youths of Vancouver.

VanCity Idol will be held at Vancouver Technical Secondary on April 27th for $7. The finals hosted by Kid Carson from The Beat takes place on May 4th for $10, or you could buy the combo pack for just $15!