West End Girl Vaults Into Top 10 of Canadian Idol Singers
By Laurel E. Anderson
Kourier-Standard – July 22, 2005
Last Friday I had the opportunity to speak with Ottawa’s newest sweetheart and oh, don’t forget, latest singing sensation, Emily Vinette. This bright-eyed blonde hails from the nation’s capital and belts out a tune like she’s been at this more than her seventeen years on earth. When I caught up with Emily late last week before the top ten performance, I could feel her excitement right through the phone and just knew that she was smiling on the other end.
Emily is an honours student who also holds down a part-time job at Aldo (gotta have your shoes girls) and manages to fit in time with her singing teacher Gary Pereira. She credits him with helping her with her singing and always making time for her while working on his own career. Oh and in her ‘spare’ time she also skates competitively and practices ballet. I’m tired just writing it all down but Emily exudes a level of energy saved and reserved for those under the age of twenty and Emily has upsized!
Of course everyone wants to know Emily’s secret to juggling school, work and performing and so I asked her to please, please share her secret. “My mom put me in sports and other activities to keep me active all along. I like keeping busy and I’ve had a job since I was fifteen.” But what’s the secret I ask again. Emily thinks for a minute and then says that paying attention in class helps. We both share a laugh after this one. She agrees that being organized also helps!
When I asked Emily how it feels to be sitting in the Top Ten of Canadian Idol this year she answered that she is both excited, nervous and a little stressed, feeling ‘a bit of everything’ was how she put it although the reactions from friends, family and co-workers back home has been comforting. “They are supportive, just like they’ve always been,” she says. “They’re as lovely now as they were before,” she finishes.
Emily doesn’t have a long and complicated story behind her journey to this year’s Idol tryouts. “Last year I was too young to try out,” she explains, going on to say that her mom was very supportive and encouraged her to tryout and so she did. Well, Mom was right on the mark as we have seen from the results on the show so far and she is never far from Emily either. Her biggest supporter and fan, these two share a very close bond and I could even hear her in the background while talking with Emily.
Emily has been singing for a while now and won the youth category at the Canadian Open Country Singing Contest last year and placed second in the youth competition at the Central Canada Exhibition. And with these successes under her belt, I asked her how her Idol experience so far, has changed her as a performer. “Well, I’ve definitely done more singing in the past two months than ever before,” she shares. “I’m still a little shy and nervous but the calls from family and friends always give me a boost,” she continues.
Emily doesn’t talk for a few hours before performing and so I was lucky to catch her on a rehearsal day. Getting ready for a live show is lots of work and I ask Emily if she does any ‘funny’ things with her voice before performing. “I rest my voice and maybe warm up by singing a few low songs.” I ask Miss Vinette what she would hum if I asked her to ‘hum a few bars’ right then and there and after a bit of thinking she said ‘Star Wars.’ I joked with her that that alone was going to get her extra votes as the competition continues.
As my fifteen minutes with Emily were just about up, I asked her what was going to be the key to wowing the crowd during her Top Ten performance and there is no hesitation in her answer, “hitting the high notes.” “When you’re up there, that’s what grabs people, bone chilling high notes.” Sounds good to me and while my fifteen minutes are up, I think Ottawa is going to try and guarantee that Emily Vinette gets a lot more than fifteen minutes of fame!