Ryan Malcolm was crowned Canadian Idol Tuesday night, fitting for someone being called the “King of Kingston.”

Malcolm received the majority of the record 3.3 million votes, beating the runner-up, Gary Beals, to become Canada’s first Idol. (Check out the andPOP Gallery for exclusive photos)

“I love you guys so much, thank-you so much, I can’t believe this,” he said after winning, with 3.6 million people watching, making Idol the most-watched Canadian-produced series ever.

Now begins his quest to make some money out of all of this.

Wednesday and Thursday sees Malcolm visiting hoards of media, including every CTV show imaginable and MuchMusic. On Friday, he will shoot the music video for his first single, “Something More,” which he performed on Monday and Tuesday’s episodes.

Then begins the break, right? After months of battling on Idol, and after sleeping just one hour Tuesday night, Malcolm deserves some sleep. But his schedule is packed until the rest of the year.

Next week he will meet with producers and songwriters to discuss his album, scheduled for release on December 9 through BMG Canada’s ViK. Recordings.

On September 30, his single hits stores, and he will return to Kingston for an autograph signing.

After that, how about some sleep? Just a little, but there’s still more planned for the man compared to Buddy Holly.

He has recorded a track for the upcoming American Idol Christmas CD, “The Great Holiday Classics.” He is also scheduled to appear an American Idol Christmas special this November, probably with Ruben Studdard, the American Idol, who performed on the Canadian Idol finale.

andPOP spoke to Ryan Malcolm after the show. Check back later this week to watch the interview.






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