Canada’s Got Talent - A big voice from Québec earns the Golden Buzzer on Week 3 of CGT
By Bill Brioux
We were told early on in Episode Three of Canada’s Got Talent that host Lindsay Ell is also Golden Buzzer approved. It wasn’t long before we saw her use it, sending one worthy contestant straight on to the semi-final round.
Jeanick Fournier from Chicoutimi, QC, earned the accolade as well as a standing ovation from everyone at Fallsview with a soaring, sensational song.
“This is exactly what this show is all about,” declared judge Lilly Singh, with Kardinal Offishall adding, “I was super blown away.”
As Howie Mandel said, her voice sounds as if “it came from another world.” There were comparisons to another Quebecer, Céline Dion.
Adding to the joy of the moment was Fournier’s emotional reaction. The palliative care attendant demonstrated big love as well as a big voice in her back story, with a tender shout out to her two adopted and adorable seven-year-olds back home, both living with Down Syndrome. Fournier said that she wants to win the top prize of $150,000 to give her children a better life. After that performance, she’s well on her way.
Other highlights in Week Three:
Ola Dada, a budding financial advisor whose parents were born in Nigeria, is a stand-up comedian from Fort McMurray, Alberta.
He joked about how he stood out in that prairie oil town – and not just for his colourful pants.
“Nobody jokes about growing up in Fort McMurray,” he told the judges. Howie was the first to laugh.
His African name, which is much longer than Ola Dada, also gave people pause when he was making financial calls from work. He joked that he sounded too much like a phoney Nigerian prince from scam emails.
While Lilly Singh wished the act was longer, Howie told the young comic he was authentic, confident, and loveable. Kardinal thought he was dope – which means exactly the same thing.
It was four yeses for Ola, who called his mom right after the show. Sweet.
As promised, there were dog acts in Week Three. The Canine Circus from Toronto was fun but most of the judges agreed with Kardinal that it was also “a bit of a mess.” Still, the judges wanted to see more. It snuck through with three yeses.
A stage full of female physicians introduced themselves as Voices Rock Medicine (but should be called the Cure Choir!) belted out an emotional cover of “Fight Song.” Listening to them sing was a healing experience, and after everything they’ve done over the past two years, there’s no doubt they earned four yeses from the judges.
A dance troop known as The Mini Militia came out in red tracksuits and white sneakers and said they were “seven brothers from seven different mothers.” These guys were the Jackson 7 of Hip-Hop. The youngest had a crush on Trish Stratus and was rewarded with an autograph. “I can definitely tell that you are from Scarborough,” said Lilly, also a proud Scarberian. Kardinal hopes they “come with it” a little more but joined the others in voting them on to the next round.
Finally, a two-person act from Toronto known as The Sentimentalists took the stage and proceeded to freak out the judges with their sneaky telepathic powers. The man asked Lilly to think of a movie and the woman named it: “Titanic.” Next, she correctly guessed the first photo to pop up on Howie’s phone.
She truly does have, as advertised, “a PhD in ESP.”
They also correctly guessed that Howie, like all the other judges, would vote yes. That’s one even I saw coming.
NEXT WEEK: Male strippers! Hide the remote!
Canada’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv, with catch-up available on Citytv.com and Citytv Now.
Bill Brioux writes about television daily at brioux.tv.