‘Canada’s Got Talent’ returning, but where?
With Simon Cowell in the house, “Canada’s Got Talent” wrapped up its season in Niagara Falls Tuesday by handing the $150,000 prize to Quebec singer Jeanick Fournier.
The 49-year-old mother of two from Chicoutimi, who got to the finals via the “golden buzzer” from show host Lindsay Ell, beat out seven other finalists in the show’s two-hour season finale from Fallsview Casino Resort’s Avalon Theatre.
Fournier was the last act to perform, singing a robust cover of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On.”
“You are a powerhouse,” said judge Lilly Singh.
Cowell — a guest judge for the finale — was especially touched by Fournier’s story back home, where she’s a palliative care attendant with two special needs children. One of them joined her on stage after she was announced the winner.
Among the top three vote-getters, Fournier beat out St. John’s singer Kellie Loder and Toronto dance troupe The Renegades for the top prize, which also includes $100,000 in Air Miles.
It was an energetic finale for the show, which filmed its entire season at the Avalon Theatre starting with auditions in November. Shortly after it premiered on Citytv in March it quickly became one of station owner Rogers Sports & Media’s most-viewed original series of the past decade.
The finale was part taped and part live. Huge lineups started mid-afternoon to get into the theatre, including a separate line of hopefuls trying to get in.
“It’s mind-blowing, actually seeing it in person,” said Kara MacKinlay, who worked postproduction on the show but was finally seeing it live. “I’m excited for everyone performing. I love all of them.”
“We travelled all the way from Newfoundland to be here, so we’re pumped,” said Sarah Richards, who came to support Loder.
The show started filming at about 4:45 p.m. As expected, guest judge Cowell got huge applause when introduced, taking his seat next to regular judges Singh, Trish Stratus, Kardinal Offishall and Howie Mandel.
“Just be as badly behaved as you want to be,” he said, egging the audience on.
Cowell revealed he hadn’t seen any of the acts perform on previous episodes and didn’t know what he was in for. By the end of the night, he was suitably impressed.
The finale answered one other mystery — the show will be back for another season, though it wasn’t clear if it would film in Niagara Falls again.