Canadian Idol Crown Goes to Brian Melo

(andPOP) - With nearly five million votes cast, the fifth season of Canadian Idol was won by Brian Melo of Hamilton, ON.

"It was really close, so close we couldn't call it," Canadian Idol executive producer John Brunton said of the margin of votes separating Melo and runner-up Jaydee Bixby.

Melo was considered by many to be the better performer on the final performance show Monday night, but Bixby had a huge fan base - he had never been in the bottom three, while Melo found himself there twice.

Melo began to tremble when host Ben Mulroney announced him the winner, but managed to keep himself together to perform his new single, "All I Ever Wanted."

After signing his contract with Sony BMG, Melo was handed a cheque which he put in his suit pocket, prompting the question what he was going to buy first.

"I haven't really opened the cheque, so I don't know how much money I got," he cracked.

Melo admitted the experience was overwhelming for him, but that he was very grateful for the support received from his hometown.

"Hamilton's been so amazing. I mean, they've followed me and have been behind me through this whole process. If it wasn't for Steel City being behind me, I mean I wouldn't be talking to anybody right now, so I'm very, very grateful."

As for a promise that if he won he would remove his trademark hat that he has worn for every performance and every results show?

"Yeah, that was a lie," he joked.

The four judges were thrilled with the results, but were quick to add that Bixby has a career ahead of him, despite not winning the competition.

"Fantastic. What a fabulous season, and the guy we love won. You can't ask for more than that," Sass Jordan said.

"The fact that Brian won, he has a real opportunity to have a career, but at the same time, Jaydee can now go make a country record. And he will be huge. He will have a huge country career," Jake Gold stressed.

"I think there's a big difference between wanting to win and needing to win. As far as I'm concerned, Brian needed to win to have the career that he deserves to have as a result," Zack Werner explained.

Despite his outrage when Greg Neufeld was voted out on week seven, Ben Mulroney said that Canada got it right with who is the Canadian Idol. However, he said he does not regret his statement on Aug. 8 when he said that Canada got it wrong by voting him out.

"No I absolutely don't. I'll ask you this - was Greg Neufeld the worst singer that week? Was he even close to the worst singer that week? He absolutely was not. And in that case - in that instance - they got it wrong that week, and I'll stand by that.

"I didn't say he deserved to win the thing, I said he didn't deserve to go home that week," he passionately explained.

Despite placing second, Bixby was very upbeat during the press conference held after the show. When asked how he was doing, a huge grin came across his face.

"Pretty good, man. I just made it to the top two, so I'm feelin' pretty good," he said.

The 17-year-old also said he didn't mind the negative remarks from the judges after his three performances Monday night.

"I don't really pay attention to what the judges say because I just out of high school...kids can be cruel, so what they said was nothin'. Nothin'," he said.

The season finale featured performances by the season's top 10, as well as performances by special guests Avril Lavigne and Bon Jovi.

Melo's single was released to radio on Sept. 12. A tour featuring Melo, Bixby and third-place finisher Carly Rae Jepsen will do a cross country tour - the first for Canadian Idol - kicking off in PEI in November.