Mitch MacDonald (born October 22, 1985) is a Canadian singer who was runner-up in

season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

of the reality series ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Do ...

''.

Early life

MacDonald is from

Port Hood, Nova Scotia Port Hood ( Mi'kmawi'simk: ''Kekwiamkek'') is an unincorporated place in the Municipality of the County of Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is an administrative centre and a service centre for the surrounding area. It is also the site of a re ...

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

. He grew up in a family of seven siblings. He worked primarily as a carpenter before ''Idol''. He cites his musical influences as including fellow Cape Bretoner

Gordie Sampson Gordon Francis Sampson (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer from Big Pond, Nova Scotia. Beginning his career as a performer on his hometown island of Cape Breton, both in bands and on his own, Sampson has gone on t ...

. Bright Eyes is one of his favourite bands.

Canadian Idol

On ''Canadian Idol'' in 2008, MacDonald worked with such artists as

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...

Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale is an English musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992. Upon the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer and guitarist for Institute an ...

, and

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

. During his run on ''Idol'', he never appeared in the "bottom two" or "bottom three". Music writer Martha Worboy described MacDonald's music as "tender, mostly acoustic renderings." He received accolades in particular for his rendition of

Joel Plaskett William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of gen ...

's "Love This Town", which drew comparisons to

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

from the judges. Nova Scotia Premier

Rodney MacDonald Rodney Joseph MacDonald (born January 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness (provincial electoral district), Inverness in ...

, a musician himself before entering politics, said, "The key to his success throughout the contest was that he remained true to his musical roots."

Performances

Post-Idol

MacDonald toured Canada as part of the Top 3 Tour, with

Theo Tams Theo Tams (born 12 July 1985) is a Canadian singer and the winner of the sixth season of the CTV reality show ''Canadian Idol''. His debut album, '' Give It All Away'', was released on 19 May 2009 by Sony Music Canada. Early life Tams grew up in ...

, and Drew Wright. As of 2010, he continued to tour occasionally, both in his home province and in other parts of Canada, and he started work on an album.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Mitch 1985 births Living people People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia Canadian Idol participants Singers from Nova Scotia Canadian male guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers