Mitch MacDonald

Mitch MacDonald

Mitch MacDonald performing in the Top Three Tour after the sixth season of Canadian Idol.
Background information
Born October 22, 1985 (1985-10-22) (age 26)
Origin Port Hood, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genres Pop, folk music, indie music
Occupations Singer
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 2008–present

Mitch MacDonald (born October 22, 1985) is a Canadian singer who was runner-up in season 6 of the reality series Canadian Idol.

Contents

Early life

MacDonald is from Port Hood, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island.[1] He grew up in a family of seven siblings.[2] He worked primarily as a carpenter before Idol.[3] He cites his musical influences as including fellow Cape Bretoner Gordie Sampson. Bright Eyes is one of his favourite bands.[4]

Canadian Idol

On Canadian Idol in 2008, MacDonald worked with such artists as Anne Murray, Simple Plan, Gavin Rossdale, and Tom Jones.[2] During his run on Idol, he never appeared in the "bottom two" or "bottom three".[5]

Music writer Martha Worboy described MacDonald's music as "tender, mostly acoustic renderings."[6] He received accolades in particular for his rendition of Joel Plaskett's "Love This Town", which drew comparisons to Paul Simon from the judges.[7] Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald, a musician himself before entering politics, said, "[T]he key to his success throughout the contest was that he remained true to his musical roots."[8]

Performances

Week Theme Mentor Song Artist
Semifinal Group 1 Top 24 "Follow Through" Gavin DeGraw
Semifinal Group 2 Top 20 "I'm Yours" Jason Mraz
Semifinal Group 2 Top 16 "Blue" The Jayhawks
Top 10 Songs of David Bowie "Moonage Daydream" David Bowie
Top 9 Hits by Dead Artists "Angel Eyes" The Jeff Healey Band
Top 8 Week of Unplugged Music Gavin Rossdale "Oh, Atlanta" Alison Krauss
Top 7 UK Top 10 Tom Jones "Jealous Guy" John Lennon
Top 6 Canada Rocks
Canadian Rock n' Roll		 Simple Plan "Love This Town" Joel Plaskett
Top 5 Judges' Theme
Lennon–McCartney		 "In My Life" The Beatles
Top 4 Music of Anne Murray
Idol's Choice		 Anne Murray "Cotton Jenny"
"Between the Bars"		 Anne Murray
Elliott Smith
Top 3 Songs of Bryan Adams Bryan Adams "Heat of the Night"
"When You Love Someone"		 Bryan Adams
Top 2 Idol's Choice
Idol Single
Judges' Choice		 John Legend
Hedley		 "Paris"
"Where We Begin"
"If"		 Gordie Sampson
Mitch MacDonald
Bread

Post-Idol

MacDonald toured Canada as part of the Top 3 Tour tour, with Theo Tams, and Drew Wright.[9][10]

As of 2010, he continued to tour occasionally, both in his home province and in other parts of Canada, and he started work on an album.[11]

References

  1. ^ Keilty, Lindsey (August 29, 2008). "'It's just a crazy cool experience'", The Weekly News. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Pottie, Erin (August 23, 2008). "Welcome home Mitch", Cape Breton Post. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  3. ^ Brioux, Bill (September 11, 2008). "West bests East as another Idol is crowned", Toronto Star, p. E1.
  4. ^ Levine, Sheri (September 12, 2008). "Second-place finish won't stop this singer", The Province, p. B8.
  5. ^ Millar, Sarah (September 11, 2008). "Canadian Idol: Mitch MacDonald on being the runner up", National Post. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  6. ^ Worboy, Martha (September 11, 2008). "Lethbridge piano man tops in season six: Soaring vocals carry Theo Tams to victory over Mitch MacDonald", Canwest News Service. Reprinted in Edmonton Journal, p. D1.
  7. ^ (2008). "Mitch MacDonald Age: 22 Hometown: Port Hood, Nova Scotia Pre-Idol Occupation: Carpenter", Niagara Falls Review. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  8. ^ Keilty, Lindsey (September 19, 2008). "'First in the hearts of Nova Scotians'", The Halifax West Weekly News. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  9. ^ (September 11, 2008). "Mitch MacDonald is still Cape Breton's idol", CBC News. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  10. ^ (October 24, 2008). "Top 3 Tour books Winnipeg", Winnipeg Free Press, p. W1.
  11. ^ Hicks, Duane. (September 1, 2010). "‘Idol’ finalist enjoys visit here", Fort Frances Times. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
Seasons
1 (2003) · 2 (2004) · 3 (2005) · 4 (2006) · 5 (2007) · 6 (2008)
Host
Judges
Correspondents
Jon Dore (2003–2005) · Elena Juatco (2006) · Dave Kerr (2007) · Jully Black (2008)
Winners
Winner's singles
Runners-up
Gary Beals · Theresa Sokyrka · Rex Goudie · Craig Sharpe · Jaydee Bixby · Mitch MacDonald
Other alumni
Related articles