Eva Avila of Gatineau, Quebec, was named the fourth winner of Canadian Idol last night in Toronto.

The 19-year-old is the second female winner and the first from Quebec. However, her win wasn’t by much – she beat runner up Craig Sharpe by a mere three per cent.

“I’m just one tiny person on this planet, but thanks to you guys, I feel like I’m sitting on top of the world,” Avila told her family, friends and fans after host Ben Mulroney announced her win.

Besides a record contract with Sony BMG, Avila will have one of her tracks produced by Cyndi Lauper, who was a celebrity guest this season, and she will also join Martina McBride on her Canadian tour in the spring of 2007.

“It kind of feels like I’m at the finish line, but really I’m at the starting line,” Avila told reporters. “I felt like time stopped. I could not believe I was just announced as the winner.”

Avila believes Canadians saw her potential for an international career.

“I just hope people got to know the real me,” she said. “Ultimately, all I wanted was for Canada to see my passion for music.”

After the show, Mulroney said a contestant from Quebec meant more to the show than anyone could have imagined.

“I think it’s a compliment here to us. For the longest time people were differentiating it as Quebec had Star Academie and we had Canadian Idol. I never believed we were a show exclusively for English Canada and I knew that it would just take one special person to bridge that gap. And I do think there is a gap between French and English Canada,” he told reporters.

When asked what he thought about Avila winning, Mulroney lit up.

“You mean the perfect Canadian? She’s trilingual, the daughter of an immigrant, living in Quebec. I think she’s the perfect Canadian and the perfect Canadian Idol.”

And Mulroney’s praise didn’t stop at Avila; he had kind words to say about Sharpe as well.

“Craig’s 16, he got millions of votes. He doesn’t have a voice, he’s got a gift,” he said.

Despite predicting the Sharpe as the winner moments before the announcement was made, judge Zack Werner stuck by his choice.

“She earned it, flat out the girl deserved to win. But I am still a Craig fan,” he said.

The judges recalled the two finalists’ first auditions, and the fact that Farley Flex wasn’t present for either of them. All of the judges were surprised to see the voice come out of Sharpe, who came across as quiet and soft-spoken. The judges saw Avila’s talent, but also saw something else in her that didn’t air when her audition were shown.

“We kicked Eva’s ass during the initial auditions because I didn’t know if she could take it,” Werner said.

“There was a part of her audition that you didn’t see when it aired on television,” continued Jake Gold. “I said to her ‘you’re used to getting everything you want, aren’t you?’ And she said, ‘yeah.’ I said ‘that stops now.’”

The judges addressed critics of the Idol programs who say it’s an easy way to get a record deal.

“These kids do pay their dues. They’re out on stage long before they should be,” Flex said.

The judges say the reason Idol imitators, such as “The One,” have fizzled, while the Idol franchise continues to be popular, is because it offers something different, fresh and of great caliber.

Melissa O’Neill, the winner of Idol’s third season, said she is happy to pass on her crown, and hoped that this would mean people would relate her to her music now instead of just to Idol. Her new album is expected to be out next spring.

Craig told the press conference he was really happy for Avila and that his initial reaction was relief.

“I think the first thing that came to my mind was, ‘I’m free,’ because now I can do whatever I want,” he said.

The teenager is unsure where he will go next, whether he will return to Newfoundland or stay in Toronto. And although he does want to finish high school and get his diploma, the Idol experience has made him realize that he wants to sing for the rest of his life.

Avila answered questions in two of the three languages she speaks – English and French – with ease. As photographers snapped her photo, the 19-year-old paused, posed and smiled like she had been doing this for years. She was even looking forward to the day of press interviews ahead of her on Monday.

Avila brought up her audition in Ottawa: she left the room feeling like the judges hated her, and so she decided when she got to Toronto she would prove to the judges she deserved to be there.

“I just got more confident. I showed them who Eva was – as a person and a performer.”

She admits although the judges were tough to her in Ottawa, it was the wake up call she needed and that they were right… she had been getting by with things handed to her.

“It was hard getting judged in front of millions of people but I am so glad I did this.”

She is unsure at this point if her album will have any Spanish or French songs on it, but Avila made it clear just how proud she is of her roots in Peru. She said she would love to follow the lead of her idol, Nelly Furtado, by infusing bits and pieces of music from her roots into her pop sound.






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