Yellowknife (May 19/04) - When Stephen Pretty moved here last year from Clarenville, Nfld., he didn't know anyone. Now everyone at the Legion knows his name.

Pretty is the Royal Canadian Legion's first North of 60 Idol, the winner of a trip for two to Nashville courtesy of First Air.

CJCD's Joanne Cochrane may have tipped the judges' hand when, during the critique for his second song, she asked Pretty what he would do if he won the trip to Nashville.

Pretty said he might busk on a street corner.

"Dude, you're way above that," Jim Stratford told him. "You've got the personality and the voice of a champion."

But even if Pretty's legion of fans don't know his name by now (and most fans tend to refer to the contestants in conversation as "the tall one," or "the boy in the white shirt," or "that girl who sang Titanic") they at least know his voice.

That voice won over the judges, the audience, and even his fellow competitors.

"I knew Stephen had it since the preliminaries," said runner-up Glenn Butt. Butt won a Yamaha guitar and dinner for two at Coyote's.

"He came out of nowhere and blew everyone away," said Butt.

For the finals, Pretty sang Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," and a '70s number by the Commodores.

He said winning wasn't his aim. He just wanted to make some new friends. As it turned out, he had whole tables of fans chanting and cheering for him. "And I got to meet the premier and that'll please my grandfather," said Pretty.

The competitive spirit

Every finalist gave it their best shot.

If there was an award for competitive spirit, Ekati mine employee Michelle Layes would be a shoo-in. After the judges said her first song fell flat, the balladeer broke with tradition and came back with an up-tempo dance number for the second round. Despite not placing at North of 60 Idol, Layes has her win at an Ekati talent show to fall back on.

"You could call me the Ekati Idol," she said.

Hay River's Mackenzie Pope was toting a bottle of lime juice. He swore that a quick shot right before singing was a great way to clear the throat.

Pope was popular with the ladies after dedicating "Pretty Woman" to his mom and "Unchained Melody" to his girlfriend.

He was Phyllis Sartor's favourite. Sartor was one of a few dozen people who paid $5 to watch the show on the Legion's big screen downstairs.

Sartor's other favourites, aside from "that Pope boy," were "the first girl" (Darby Oystrek) and "that last girl" (Julie Simpson).

Judges Cochrane, Stratford and Joe Maloney were looking for a singer who delivered consistently excellent songs. The judges based their decision on all of the contestants' performances to date, and not just on what happened Saturday night.

Stratford got a reputation as being the hardest judge to please, but he shrugged it off.

"I based my decisions on honesty," he said. "It was about making sure the right person won and they did."

After almost two months, the Idol contest had become a habit for many.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with my Saturday's now," said judge Joanne Cochrane.

But those Saturday's won't be empty for long. Legion manager Lorne Power announced there will be another North of 60 Idol contest.

There may be many. The plaques awarded to Pretty and Butt have room for 18 names each.

There's no doubt that the contest brought in a lot of business for the Legion. The clubroom was fully booked every Saturday night of the six-week competition, something manager Lorne Power had never seen before.

Branch president Lloyd Lush said the Legion took a hit when the non-smoking by-law took effect last Oct. 1, but the contest has given the club a boost.

"This is the best I've ever seen it," said Lush.

The North of 60 Idol finals, complete with a half-time show by the Aurora Ukrainian dancers and Elvis impersonator Paul Martin, was taped for the community access station and is tentatively scheduled for broadcast this Saturday and Sunday at noon and 7 p.m.