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Godson takes Toronto

Adam Johnson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 05/06) - It's a waiting game, now. Aaron "Godson" Hernandez returned from Toronto this week, after filming a video for his track, "Are You the One?"

NNSL Photo/graphic

Aaron "Godson" Hernandez poses with last year's idol winners, Rex Goudie and Melissa O'Neil, on the set of his video, which will open this season of "Canadian Idol." - photo courtesy of Aaron Hernandez


The video will air during the first episode of "Canadian Idol" this season. When that episode drops on Tuesday, May 30, it will be the Yellowknife rapper/producer's first taste of national exposure. He just has to wait and see.

"They (the producers) want this to blow up huge," he said. "But I hear a lot of things. We'll see how this actually pans out."

He was trying to stay level, but with seven albums under his belt, Godson has never been closer to his ultimate goal - a record deal.

"I feel like it's right there," he said, reaching out to grab an invisible contract with both hands.

Godson's journey to Toronto began in February, when he performed for Canadian Idol producers at the Yellowknife audition. That earned him a ticket to Vancouver, where he performed again for the judges.

"They went nuts for my audition," he said. "But I didn't go through, because I can't sing."

Instead, he was asked to write a song for the upcoming season. He said he wrote the track during a single day in March, between shows for the Arctic Winter Games in Kenai, Alaska and a short tour of the North. Within days of sending it off, he was told he was making a video.

"It was all in the same week," he said, with a smile. "That was a great week."

On the set, Godson said he was surprised by the high-end production, which included a full crew, extras, breakdancers and backup dancers, as well as a cameo from last season's winners, Rex Goudie and Melissa O'Neil.

"It was all about me," he said with a lingering sense of awe. "It was my video."

He said he was blown away when Idol hopefuls (who served as extras) asked him for advice on how to get their ticket to Toronto.

"I was like, 'I lost, man,'" he said with a laugh.

Following the two-day shoot, Godson was interviewed by several national media outlets.

"People would ask me, 'what's the hip-hop scene like in Yellowknife?' I'd say, 'it's gone now, because I'm in Toronto.'"

Godson said as amazing as the experience was, it's only stoked the fires that have kept him rapping and writing for 11 years.

"My ultimate goal was do a music video," he said. "Now that I've done one, I want to keep going.

"If the top show in Canada wants your song, but the labels keep ignoring you, then there's something wrong."