Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 23/06) - Singers from across the NWT have a chance to compete for stardom on Canadian Idol next month.

Auditions for the hit CTV program will be scheduled for at a yet-to-be determined Yellowknife location some time in February, said publicist Anne-Marie La Pointe.

Doris Rogers of Inuvik performs at the North of 60 Idol in Yellowknife last fall. She said she may consider attending the Canadian Idol auditions in Yellowknife next month. - NNSL file photo

In 2005, the competition held auditions in Whitehorse.

"We just got a lot of great stories from the North last year and that's what we're back again this year," she said.

Although the final competitions will be held in English, singers in the pre-auditions are welcome to sing in Dogrib, French or other languages of their choice. The contest is open to all musical genres. Singers must be 16-28 years of age.

The pre-auditions will be filmed and performances by a few singers will be broadcast in the early episodes of the show next fall.

Within a week or two of the auditions, the judges will present gold tickets to any singers selected to advance to the next round. That includes an all-expenses-paid trip to tryouts in a major centre in the south.

"We'll give out as many gold tickets as there are great singers," La Pointe said.

"There's certainly no limit or any kind of ratio. We hear that there's some great talent there so we're going to give out as many gold tickets as we can."

Inuvik singer and guitarist Doris Rogers said she may consider making the trip to the capital for an audition.

Rogers competed in the North of 60 Idol at the Yellowknife Legion last fall and performed with her father, James, at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre in December.

Kiera Kolson, of Yellowknife, will also be in line to audition.

"I'm happy that (Canadian Idol) decided to give Yellowknife a chance because we have so many talented people here that have a lot to offer the competition," she said. "I definitely want to try out."

The biggest challenge for Kolson will be fitting the try outs into her busy schedule.

She is performing at the Aboriginal Achievement Awards in Vancouver later this month and then she headlines an Edmonton gala to promote the second World Indigenous World Youth Conference followed by a performance in Rae at the First Annual Tlicho Youth Conference.