Hay River (Nov 15/04) - Place an order for Chinese food for delivery in Hay River and the guy who shows up at your door could well be the North of 60 Idol runner-up and perhaps the next member of the band New School.

Mackenzie Pope performs Jump, Jive and Wail at the North of 60 Idol 2 finals at the Royal Canadian Legion in Yellowknife. - Jennifer Geens/NNSL photo

"It's about following dreams," said Mackenzie Pope. "Everyone should try it once in a while."

Pope walked away from the North of 60 Idol 2 contest in Yellowknife with the second place prize and the judges' choice award -- a shot at the big time by way of an all-expenses-paid trip to Vancouver for an audition for a spot in the band New School, where agents from other record labels will be present.

In between making deliveries, Pope found time to fly to Yellowknife four times to compete in the North of 60 Idol 2 contest.

The last two times, Pope found out Buffalo Airways didn't charge his credit card.

It was his second shot at the title.

He made the finals at the first North of 60 Idol contest, but didn't place.

What made him want to enter the contest a second time was the additional carrot of the judges' choice award.

"When I heard the prize was a trip down south, where the scouts are, that was it for me," said Pope.

"No scouts are going to come up here, unless they're on vacation."

Like the winner, Fawn Fritzen of Fort Liard, Pope demonstrated remarkable vocal versatility in the contest, singing country, swing, pop and rock.

Judge Jim Stratford from CJCD remarked on how much his performances had improved since the spring.

"People in Hay River should be really proud," he said.

Judge and music teacher Katey Simmons often gave him perfect scores.

He'll leave for Vancouver and his New School audition sometime in the next two weeks, but he's not banking on success just yet. Whatever the outcome of his audition on the west coast, he'll make the best of it.

"If I can make it with those guys, then right on," he said. "If I can somehow make a living at music, then that's great."

But if not, Pope is okay with that, too. He recently received a grant from the NWT Arts Council to record a demo CD. He hopes to combine that with the 15 hours of recording time he won in the contest.

Another part of his runner-up prize was a trip for two to the Ekati Mine, but he doesn't know when he'll find the time to go.

"The next few months I'm going to be busy, I hope," he said.