Yellowknife (Oct 01/04) - North of 60 Idol returns Saturday night, but with a few new twists.

"The number of contestants is down, but I have a feeling the quality is better," said Lorne Power, manager of Yellowknife's Royal Canadian Legion and organizer of North of 60 Idol.

Instead of choosing who to keep from each night's performing pool, judges will vote on who to eliminate from the contest.

"Last time, on the first night we had eight contestants, five of whom could have won the contest," said Power.

Under the old system, only four of them moved on to the semi-finals.

This time, the participants have been divided into two groups. 10 contestants will sing Saturday, and eight of them will return Oct. 23. Another 10 singers will perform Oct. 9 and their top eight will return Oct. 16. By Oct. 30, the remaining 12 contestants will compete for a spot in the finals Nov. 6.

The second version of the contest has been in the works since the finals for the first round in May.

The judging panel was no small part of the show's popularity.

CJCD's Jim Stratford, who once told a contestant that the last time he'd heard something like that was when he stepped on his cat's tail, emerged early on as the "Simon:" the hard to please judge with a dry wit.

"I was just honest. Why tell somebody they're good when they're bad?" asked Stratford.

His colleague Joanne Cochrane now CJCD's program director will also be back at the judge's table.

"We have a lot of new staff at the station and I've been telling them 'save your Saturday nights for this,'" said Cochrane. "North of 60 Idol 2 stands for twice as good."

Cochrane came up with what may be the most exciting prize, aside from the top spot.

The Judge's Choice award will go to the best singer in the contest between the ages of 19 and 25. He or she will win a trip to Vancouver, paid for by the Legion, to audition for the band New School.

A friend of Cochrane's runs the band's record label and mentioned to her over the summer that the group held auditions for a new member but couldn't find anyone who fit.

"And I said 'Hey!'" said Cochrane.

Though the audition comes with no guarantees, there will be other Vancouver agencies at the try-out, increasing the winner's southern exposure.

North of 60 Idol became the hottest ticket in town last spring. The premier and the mayor handed out the top prizes to first place winner Stephen Pretty and runner-up Glenn Butt on May 15.

Many of last spring's strong contenders will be back for another kick at the can.

Morris Bishop and Mackenzie Pope will return. Kelley Merilees-Keppel and Brenda Lowen, who dropped out of the previous contest due to scheduling conflicts, will also be back.

Tickets for all six Saturday nights went on sale Wednesday, with the proceeds going to charity.