Canada's Got Talent season 1 explained

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Num Episodes:22
Network:Citytv

The first season of Canada's Got Talent, a reality television series, premiered on City in 2012. Unlike America's Got Talent, the show only had the audition round, Top 37, semi-finals and a finale. The premiere episode aired on March 4, 2012. It had a viewership of 2 million on average, throughout the night, which was a record for Citytv. The season ended on May 14, 2012.

The season was won by Sagkeeng's Finest, an indigenous dance troupe from Fort Alexander, Manitoba.

Format

Auditions

The auditions took place in front of the judges, and a live audience, in different cities across Canada. At any time during the audition, the judges show their disapproval to the act by pressing a buzzer, which lights a large red "X" on the stage. If all the judges pressed their buzzers, the act must end. Voting worked on a majority-of-two basis, where two positive votes from the judges were required.

The Cutdown

The acts accepted past the audition moved on to the Judges Round (also known as "The Cutdown"). This stage of the competition did not feature any audiences, and only contained contestants performing in front of the judges. Out of all that made it to this point, thirty-six acts made it through to the next round, which was the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals and final were broadcast with a varying number of semi-finals, followed by the one final split into two episodes over one night. The remaining acts performed across a number of semi-finals, with the two most popular acts from each semi-final winning a position in the final. Judges could end a performance early with three X's. The judges were asked to express their views on each act's performance. Phone lines, Twitter, Facebook, texting and online voting platforms opened for a one-hour after all acts performed, while the public voted for the act they thought were the best. Voters could submit a total of fifty votes (ten in each platform). After the votes were counted, the act that polled the highest number of public votes automatically, was placed in the final. The judges then chose between the second and third most popular acts, with the winner of that vote also gaining a place in the final. All other acts were then eliminated from the competition.

Judges and hosts

It was announced that Martin Short would be one of three judges this season on October 13, 2011.[1] Four days later, Stephan Moccio and Measha Brueggergosman were confirmed to be the other two judges. The same day, Dina Pugliese, co-host of Breakfast Television, was announced as the host for the show.[2]

Broadcasting

Because of the various time zones in Canada, only viewers in the provinces and territories east of Manitoba saw the show live (in the Newfoundland, Atlantic and Eastern time zones). All other areas in Canada broadcast the show on a tape delay basis. All Citytv stations aired the show at 8:00 p.m. (in each time zone where there is a Citytv station) with the Toronto station airing the program at 8:00 p.m. Viewers in Newfoundland saw the show live at 9:30 p.m., and viewers in the Atlantic region at 9:00 p.m., because there is no Citytv station in these provinces to broadcast the show at local time. The same process occurred with the results show.

Season overview

Auditions

Preliminary auditions

Canada's Got Talent traveled to six different cities across the country for the producer auditions: Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Halifax, during the months of September and October 2011.[3]

After the final auditions were completed in Halifax, the show then traveled to Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Halifax and Montreal for the live-audience auditions (which were taped in October, November, December 2011 and January 2012).[4]

A total of 244 acts were given a "yes" during the auditions. A total of 108 auditions were aired on television (both eliminated acts and successful acts).[5]

Judges round

The acts accepted past the audition round moved on to the Judges Round (also known as "The Cutdown"). This stage of the competition did not feature any audiences, and only contained contestants walking up to the judges or Dina (host) to find out if they made it to the next round. Originally, of the acts that made it to this point, thirty-six acts made it through to the next round which would be the semi-finals. However, because the judges "broke a rule", the final number of semi-finalists were thirty-seven. During the episode, it was announced that 244 acts were given a "yes" during the auditions, meaning 207 were eliminated (some of these auditions were not shown on television).[6] [7]

The judges could not decide between two similar acts. Scott Jackson and KRNFX (who were both beatboxers), were both called up to the judges and told that in order to determine who would make the live shows, they would have to beatbox right then. After both acts finished, the judges still could not decide, opting to have both of them advance.

Good for Grapes were initially semifinalists, but they had to drop out for personal reasons. Volodymyr Martynouk served as their replacement, but he suffered a fall shortly before the semifinals began, meaning he could not make it due to his recovery time.

Semi-finals

At this point in the competition, the selected thirty-seven acts performed in front of an audience and the judges. The semi-finals contained six or seven acts per week for six weeks, with the day after being the results show. Each week, out of the acts that perform, only two made it to the finals. To determine who moved to the finals, home viewers selected one act, and the judges selected the other.[8]

ParticipantAge(s)GenreActSemi-FinalResult
Angela Ewtushik and Rally39 & 7AnimalsDog Act 5Eliminated
Angry Candy27-37SingingBand2
Aygul Memet36AcrobaticsAcrobat 5
The Brat Pack14-18DanceDance Group3Eliminated
Broken Dance19-25DanceDance Group6
Caitlin Bell N/ASingingSinger3Eliminated
Christopher Charles29SingingSinger1Eliminated
Craz E Crew Stunt TeamN/ADangerStunt Bike Team3Eliminated
Daddy Cool27-51DanceDance Group2Eliminated
The Dance and Illusions of Oslen36MagicIllusionist 4Eliminated
Emilio Fina38SingingOpera Singer3
Enigma Dance18-25DanceDance Group3Eliminated
Eric Saintonge37AcrobaticsCyr Wheel Acrobat5Eliminated
Fantasy Circus8-42AcrobaticsCircus Group2Eliminated
The Forestier Family7-58MusicMusicians4Eliminated
Francelle and Mat23 & 32MusicYodeler and Guitarist 6Eliminated
Freshh 12-17DanceDance Group2
H.I.X.19-21MusicBeatboxing Group1Eliminated
Ivan Daigle41SingingSinger and Guitarist4
Jack Ettlinger18SingingSinger6Eliminated
Jeffrey and Karen ChangN/ADanceDance Duo5Eliminated
Julie Lafontaine45SingingOpera Singer2
KRNFX22MusicBeatboxer5
Laheeb Quddusi23ComedyImpressionist6Eliminated
Lisa Odjig37DanceHula-Hoop Dancer 4Eliminated
Marianne Demers15SingingSinger6Eliminated
Marissa Puff26DangerFire Dancer1Eliminated
Mathew Cathcart "The Emsee" 21MusicRapper4'
Nathan Knowles16Acrobatics Aerialist 3Eliminated
Oneblood18-50MusicA Cappella Group3Eliminated
Pulp City Inn17-22SingingBand1Eliminated
Roger LeBlanc23VarietyActor2Eliminated
Sagkeeng's Finest16-17DanceTap Dance Trio5
Scott Jackson24MusicBeatboxer2
Shale Wagman11DanceDancer3
Silvia Ricciotto49SingingSinger5Eliminated
Vithou Thurber-Promtep16SingingSinger2Eliminated
Wushu by Storm18-34DangerMartial Arts Group1Eliminated
Yuval Fichman46MusicPianist2Eliminated

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed Out | Judges' choice |

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Week 1 (April 2–3, 2012)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' votesResult
Wushu By Storm1
H.I.X.2
Pulp City Inn3
Marissa Puff4
Christopher Charles5
Freshh6
Julie Lafontaine7

Week 2 (April 8–9, 2012)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' votesResult
Scott Jackson1
Daddy Cool2
Roger LeBlanc3
Angry Candy4
Yuval Fichman5
Vithou Thurber-Promtep6
Fantasy Circus7

Week 3 (April 15–16, 2012)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' votesResult
Craz E Crew Stunt Team1
Emilio Fina2
Nathan Knowles3
The Brat Pack4
Oneblood5
Caitlin Bell6
Shale Wagman7

Week 4 (April 22–23, 2012)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' votesResult
The Dance and Illusions of Oslen1
The Forestier Family2
Enigma Dance3
Mathew Cathcart4
Ivan Daigle5
Lisa Odjig6

Week 5 (April 29–30, 2012)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' votesResult
Eric Saintonge1
KRNFX2
Sagkeeng's Finest3
Silvia Ricciotto4
Angela Ewtushik and Rally5
Jeffrey & Karen Chang6

Week 6 (May 6–7, 2012)

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' votesResult
Jack Ettlinger1
Broken Dance2
Laheeb Quddusi3
Francelle and Mat4
Aygul Memet5
Marianne Demers6

Finals Summary

Only 12 acts made it to this point in the competition. After all the acts performed in the two-hour special on May 13, 2012, Canada voted for their favourite, and the winner of Canada's Got Talent's first season was crowned on May 14, 2012, on the finale of the show. The winner received a brand-new Nissan GT-R, possibly a performance in Las Vegas, a spot on Citytv's 2013 New Year's Eve Bash and $100,000 in Canadian currency.

The youngest platinum-selling recording artist in history, Jackie Evancho, who was a finalist on Season 5 of America's Got Talent, sang the Sarah McLachlan song "Angel" as a guest artist on the season finale on May 14. Canadian rock band Hedley performed the song "Beautiful" from their album Storms.

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FinalistOrderResult
Sagkeeng's Finest1Winner
Terry Im "KRNFX"2Eliminated
Julie Lafontaine3Eliminated
Aygul Memet4Eliminated
Ivan Daigle5Eliminated
Broken Dance6Eliminated
Shale Wagman7Eliminated
Scott Jackson8Eliminated
Angry Candy9Runner-Up
Mathew Cathcart "The Emsee"10Eliminated
Emilio Fina11Eliminated
Freshh12Runner-Up

Production

On May 30, 2011, Citytv and Insight Production announced that they would create a Canadian series of the hit Got Talent series and that the show would begin in spring 2012.[9]

Revival

In June 2012, Rogers Media president, Scott Moore, announced that a second season would not be produced, after a "careful consideration of all factors, including the current economic climate".[10] However, on June 8, 2021, it was announced that the series would be revived, first announced to be returning in spring 2022. Production on the series took place in fall 2021 at Niagara Falls.[11] [12]

On December 31, 2021, it was announced that the revival would premiere in March 2022,[13] with it later specified as March 22.[14]

Ratings

OrderEpisodeViewers
(millions)
Rank
(night)
Rank
(week)
1"Toronto Auditions"1.463[15] 2[16] 15[17]
2"Calgary Auditions"1.12023[18]
3"Vancouver (Part 1) Auditions"0.953[19] 23
4"Winnipeg Auditions"1.124523
5"Halifax and Vancouver (Part 2) Auditions"0.829[20] 831+[21]
6"Toronto Auditions (Part 2)"0.98131+
7"Montreal Auditions"0.940[22] 31+[23]
8"Cutdown Episode"0.75431+
9"Semi-Final 1"0.690[24] 31+[25]
10"Semi-Final 1 Results"0.45131+
11"Semi-Final 2"0.55931+
12"Semi-Final 2 Results"0.271[26] 31+[27]
13"Semi-Final 3"0.61231+
14"Semi-Final 3 Results"0.270[28] 31+[29]
15"Semi-Final 4"0.57331+
16"Semi-Final 4 Results"0.286[30] 1531+[31]
17"Semi-Final 5"0.5611231+
18"Semi-Final 5 Results"0.311[32] 1431+[33]
19"Semi-Final 6"0.3081431+
20"Semi-Final 6 Results"0.326[34] 1131+[35]
21"Live Finals 2-Hr Show"0.521931+
22"Finale"0.459[36] 10

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Martin Short to be a judge on Canada's Got Talent . Toronto.com . October 13, 2011 . April 2, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325154209/http://www.toronto.com/article/701003--martin-short-to-be-a-judge-on-canada-s-got-talent . March 25, 2012 .
  2. Web site: More 'Talent' judges announced . Toronto Sun . October 17, 2011 . April 2, 2012.
  3. Web site: Canada's Got Talent . CityTV . July 20, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717012942/http://www.gottalent.ca/ . July 17, 2011 . dead .
  4. Web site: Canada's Got Talent Live-Audience Audition Dates . Canada's Got Talent (CityTV) . September 28, 2011 . September 29, 2011 . https://www.webcitation.org/65mHzBzcu?url=http://www.canadasgottalent.com/news/cgt-live-theatre-audition-tour-tickets-info/ . February 28, 2012 . dead .
  5. News: Canada's Got Talent, semifinalists revealed: Recap . Toronto Star . March 26, 2012 . March 26, 2012.
  6. Web site: Canada's Got Talent Broadcasting Details . Rogers Media . February 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305062830/http://rogersmediatv.ca/pr_detail.php?id=547 . March 5, 2016 . dead .
  7. Web site: Canada's Got Talent Episode 8. Citytv. March 26, 2012.
  8. Web site: Voting & Ticket Info . Citytv/Canada's Got Talent . March 27, 2012 .
  9. Web site: Canada's Got Talent Official Announcement . Rogers Media TV Access . May 28, 2011 . March 31, 2012.
  10. Web site: 'Canada's Got Talent' Canceled After First Season. The Hollywood Reporter. September 5, 2015.
  11. Web site: Canada's Got Talent Revived After Nine-Year Hiatus; Simon Cowell Takes America's Got Talent To Las Vegas. Deadline Hollywood. Jake Kanter. June 8, 2021. June 8, 2021.
  12. Web site: Canada's Got Talent returning to Citytv with Simon Cowell as part of 2021/22 lineup. Toronto Star. Victoria Ahearn. June 8, 2021. June 9, 2021.
  13. 1477036962519334920. Happy #NewYears, Canada! We're excited to announce that Canada's Got Talent will premiere THIS MARCH on @City_tv! #CGT #GotTalent #Canada #HappyNewYear. CanGotTalent. Canada's Got Talent. December 31, 2021. January 24, 2022.
  14. 1485613580187840518. The #CGT stage is set! Canada’s Got Talent premieres Tuesday March 22 on @City_tv!. CanGotTalent. Canada's Got Talent. January 24, 2022. January 24, 2022.
  15. Web site: The Brioux Report: Canada's Got Ratings . Bill Brioux . March 7, 2012 . May 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150109200124/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/03/brioux-report-canadas-got-ratings.html . January 9, 2015 . dead .
  16. Web site: The Brioux Report: Canada's Got Ratings . TV Feeds My Family . March 7, 2012 . October 30, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120928034348/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.com/2012/03/brioux-report-canadas-got-ratings.html . September 28, 2012 . dead .
  17. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: February 27 - March 4, 2012 . bbm.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928034956/https://www.bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat02272012.pdf . September 28, 2013 .
  18. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: March 5 - March 11, 2012 . bbm.ca . October 30, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928035029/https://www.bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat03052012.pdf . September 28, 2013 . dead .
  19. Web site: The Brioux Report: Big Bang wins another week . Bill Brioux . March 14, 2012 . May 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120425195624/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/03/brioux-report-big-bang-wins-another.html . April 25, 2012 . dead .
  20. Web site: Brioux Report: Big Bang goes Missing . Bill Brioux . March 21, 2012 . May 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120423055810/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/03/brioux-report-big-bang-goes-missing.html . April 23, 2012 . dead .
  21. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: March 12 - March 18, 2012 . bbm.ca . October 30, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120425152528/http://bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat03122012.pdf . April 25, 2012 . dead .
  22. Web site: The Brioux Report: old favourites Survivor, Amazing Race, Idol, NCIS and CSI dominate . Bill Brioux . March 28, 2012 . May 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120423091024/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/03/brioux-report-race-missing-big-winners.html . April 23, 2012 . dead .
  23. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: March 19 - March 25, 2012 . bbm.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120417112643/http://bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat03192012.pdf . April 17, 2012 .
  24. Web site: The Brioux Report: Big Bang's Easter Miracle . Bill Brioux . April 11, 2012 . May 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120423073727/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/04/brioux-report-big-bangs-easter-miracle.html . April 23, 2012 . dead .
  25. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: April 2 - April 8, 2012 . bbm.ca . October 30, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224438/http://www.bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat04022012.pdf . December 17, 2013 . dead .
  26. Web site: The Brioux Report: Stanley Cup fever . Bill Brioux . April 17, 2012 . May 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120421053447/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/04/brioux-report-stanley-cup-fever.html . April 21, 2012 . dead .
  27. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: April 9 - April 15, 2012 . bbm.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120617015156/http://bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat04092012.pdf . June 17, 2012 .
  28. Web site: The Brioux Report: Canucks exit impacts CBC . Bill Brioux . April 24, 2012 . May 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120427053845/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/04/brioux-report-canucks-exit-impacts-cbc.html . April 27, 2012 . dead .
  29. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: April 16 - April 22, 2012 . bbm.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928035309/https://www.bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat04162012.pdf . September 28, 2013 .
  30. Web site: The Brioux Report: CBC and TSN see second round slump for Stanley Cup ratings . Bill Brioux . May 2, 2012 . May 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120505005858/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/05/brioux-report-cbc-and-tsn-see-second.html . May 5, 2012 . dead .
  31. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: April 23 - April 29, 2012 . bbm.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120617020408/http://bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat04232012.pdf . June 17, 2012 .
  32. Web site: The Brioux Report: wrong teams, afternoon scheduling has hammered hockey ratings . Bill Brioux . May 9, 2012 . May 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120616135907/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/05/brioux-report-wrong-teams-afternoon.html . June 16, 2012 . dead .
  33. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: April 30 - May 6, 2012 . bbm.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120617015521/http://bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat04302012.pdf . June 17, 2012 .
  34. Web site: The Brioux Report: 4 Mil+ say "I do" to Big Bang . Bill Brioux . May 16, 2012 . May 18, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120616091919/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/05/brioux-report.html . June 16, 2012 . dead .
  35. Web site: Top 30 Tv Programs: May 7 - May 13, 2012 . bbm.ca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928035604/https://www.bbm.ca/_documents/top_30_tv_programs_english/2012/nat05072012.pdf . September 28, 2013 .
  36. Web site: Redirecting . January 3, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081910/http://www.tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/05/brioux-report-rare-win-for-greys.html . March 4, 2016 . dead .