Eva Avila… Canada’s Newest Idol!
"She watched and she learned and you could just watch her growing week by week by week and for you who are watching this show, just phenomenal song choices, amazing self-confidence, amazing ability to just like start to expose more and more and more of the real Eva every week and I couldn’t be more proud." - John Brunton, Executive Producer of Canadian Idol
John Brunton, Executive Producer of Canadian Idol backstage at the Canadian Idol Finale media conference, introduces the new Canadian Idol Eva Avila!
“Introducing Canadian Idol 2006 Champion Eva Avila. Every year this show takes on a life of its’ own and Eva went through one of the toughest first auditions I’ve ever seen. Our four judges could immediately see this incredible ability in her and they really, really, really wanted to see her shine and they put her through a really, a pretty tough process and it really had an enormous effect on Eva, in my opinion. She watched and she learned and you could just watch her growing week by week by week and for you who are watching this show, just phenomenal song choices, amazing self-confidence, amazing ability to just like start to expose more and more and more of the real Eva every week and I couldn’t be more proud. I couldn’t be more thrilled to announce to you the 1st Canadian Idol from Quebec, ladies and gentlemen it only requires one name, let’s give a big round of applause for Eva!”
Eva: Hi everyone. Thanks for coming. Thank you to everybody who has been supporting, everybody who has been voting, everybody who I’ve been able to touch in some way, everybody who believed in me in some way as an artist and a person from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.
This kinda feels like I’m at the finish line, but it’s the start line. Umm, it’s the beginning of a new life. It’s already been a new life, it’s a new chapter once again. I just want to Congratulate Craig. Where are you Craig? I love you so much! Congratulations! And once again, a big thank you. I’m excited for what’s ahead and it’s gonna be a pretty, pretty cool ride and I cannot,cannot wait, it’s gonna be super exciting. Ok.
On how it felt to hear her name as they announced the winner…
I felt like time had stopped. I felt like the earth had stopped turning. I could not believe it. I was soooo, I was just so overwhelmed, I couldn’t, I couldn’t feel my body.
Craig and I were just saying to each other how much we both deserve it and how much we love each other, I love Craig so much, he’s one in a million and he’s so talented and we were just, you know, holding hands and squeezing our hands and we were just so excited and I don’t know what I was thinking, millions of things were running through my mind, the end of things, was definitely killing both of us, I think.
On what is was like to work with great artists like Nelly Furtado and Tony Bennet…
I just feel so privileged to have met these amazing, successful, professional people like them and just knowing that I will be working with them, I never thought I would see Nelly Furtado again, seeing her, she’s my idol, and ah, it just reminded me how big this is and that it’s happening to me and I feel like I truly deserve it and my dream is finally coming true.
On what the journey has meant to her…
When I came to Toronto, I was so scared, I was so nervous, I was like, they hated me in my audition in Ottawa, so I’m gonna have to work my butt off to impress them this time. It felt really weird, you saw my reaction on T.V. when I came out of that room, I didn’t look that happy, they had torn me down, but anyways, I think that I just got more and more comfortable on stage and I just got more in my comfort zone and I showed them, like the judges say, I showed them who Eva is as an artist, as a performer, as a person and I’m so glad that Canada got to see all of that and got to know me and apparently liked it.
But it was kinda like a wake-up call, cause it’s true, other like, performance-wise, in my musical career, I do, have been getting things pretty easy, I’ve won a lot of contests, done a lot of stuff, it’s hard getting judged and scrutinized in front of the whole country, just something that’s so new to me, so it was very hard, but I’m so glad they gave me a hard time.
On the reaction of her fans….
I think and hope that people saw in me, Canadians, a potential International career, which is what I’ve been wanting forever. I want to embrace all of my background and just hoping that people know the real me, you know I’m an open book, I’m a happy person, I’m giddy, I can sing in 3 languages, I love all kinds of music and I love to sing and I want to convey certain emotions and messages to the public and I want to share my passion for music with people, I just that’s all I wanted, that’s all I wanted Canada to see, my passion for music, and wanting them to feel like I feel. I feel so proud. I feel that God truly blessed me and I’m just so proud that I’m able to represent the Latin community and the Quebecois and just Canadians in general and I’m really happy that people got to see that and are proud of me and what I am able to represent.
On what the future brings…
You know, again, I love Nelly Furtado, I love what she does with the new hip hop vibe, a little bit R&B and she’s including just a little touch of elements of instruments, like a flute or a Spanish guitar or just singing in Spanish, anything that like makes it Eva, I’d like to group all different elements and make a big combo of different styles of music, you know one day, who knows? I might do a duet with my dad and I would love it, and he could play the quitar with me.
