Ryan Michael Malcolm (born October 13, 1979) is a Canadian singer and realtor best known as the winner of the first season of ''

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 ...

''. In 2003, he released his debut solo album ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' which was certified Platinum in Canada. In 2006, Malcolm formed a new

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band, Low Level Flight.

Biography

Early years

Ryan grew up in Amherstview, a small town just west of Kingston. The son of John and Sharron Malcolm, Ryan had two older siblings, Kim and Sean. At the age of nine, Ryan's parents were divorced and then John remarried. His wife Deborah had three children, and Ryan had three new step-siblings, Jordan, Reagan, and Grayson. Throughout the 1990s, Ryan's father owned and operated many restaurants, where Ryan worked as a waiter, setting up his nickname on idol as "waiter boy", in reference to the pop singer

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

's song "

Sk8er Boi "Sk8er Boi" (pronounced "skater boy") is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the second single from her debut album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002). It was written by Lavigne and The Matrix (productio ...

". Both Malcolm and Lavigne attended the same high school in Napanee. Ryan had his musical debut singing at guest appearance with his Dad John, who had a solo vocal act. When John and his step-mom Deb opened their restaurant in Napanee, Ryan, 13 at the time, started singing regularly with his Dad. Later brother Reagan joined the act, and the band "A Bit of Nostalgia" was born. Ryan continued singing with "A Bit of Nostalgia" until he won Idol. Presently, he enjoys coming home for reunion shows with his Dad and brother Reagan, for special events. Before entering ''

'', he also worked as a waiter at the Lone Star Texas Grill in Kingston.

Canadian Idol

Malcolm did not crack the top 10 in his first attempt but was awarded a spot on the wildcard show after which, because the vote was so close, he became the 11th contestant in the final group. His consistency throughout the final phase of the competition and his great song choices won him many fans and eventually the ''Canadian Idol'' crown.

After Idol

His debut single, "Something More" was released on radio the day after his win and to the public on September 30. It went four times

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

on the first day of its release and stayed at #1 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian music charts are a collection of record charts reflecting the music consumption of people in Canada. '' RPM'' and '' Billboard'' are the biggest publications to have published Canada's official charts for decades. However, the first ...

for 13 consecutive weeks. On December 9, 2003, Malcolm's debut album ''

'' was released. It debuted and peaked at #4 on the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

, and was certified

, selling 170,000 copies and earning a Juno nomination for ''Best Pop Album''. Later that month, Malcolm participated in World Idol and shared the stage with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and

Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...

. Alongside fellow idol friend

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

, he placed sixth. He followed this with a tour of Eastern Canada with various guests, including Jacynthe, Gary Beals, and Audrey de Montigny. He returned to Europe two more times that year to perform with

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in London as well as to perform in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He represented Canada at the National Children's Peace Concert in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He sang the national anthem at the 2004

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

. He made his acting debut in the Ross Petty pantomime "Snow White and the Group of Seven" at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto with fellow finalists Gary Beals and Billy Klippert, as well as season two finalist Elena Juatco. Ryan also spent some time traveling in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where many of LLF's songs were inspired. In 2006 and 2007 he was a two-time host of Toronto's sketch comedy show ''Sunday Night Live''. Malcolm and his girlfriend briefly ran a restaurant in El Castillo, Costa Rica.

Low Level Flight

In 2006, Malcolm formed and fronted a new five-piece

band ''Low Level Flight''. On March 27, 2007, the band released their debut album '' Urgency''. The band spent much of 2007 touring across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and later toured

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, promoting their debut album. In September 2007, LLF performed their second single from the album "Say" on the top three results show of ''Canadian Idol''. In 2009, LLF signed a record deal with

Times Of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

, and toured throughout

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. LLF released their second studio album "Through These Walls" in 2011. And toured UK and Europe twice in support of the release. They are currently on their third single "TSK TSK". The band will return to India in early 2013 for more tour dates. Along with fronting LLF, Malcolm is a CEO of I Heart Records, a Toronto-based record label.

Discography

* ''

Ryan Malcolm discography This is the discography of Canadian Idol Canadian Idol (season 1), first season winner and Low Level Flight vocalist Ryan Malcolm. In his career, Ryan has released one solo studio album, one solo single, two LLF album, and three LLF singles. He a ...

References

External links

Low Level Flight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malcolm, Ryan 1979 births Living people Canadian Idol winners Musicians from Kingston, Ontario Singers from Ontario Canadian pop singers Canadian rock singers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers