Ryan Malcolm
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Ryan Michael Malcolm (born October 13, 1979 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian singer best known as winner of the first Canadian Idol. Ryan grew up in a small town just west of Kingston called Amherstview. The son of John and Sharron, Ryan had two older siblings, Kim and Sean. At the age of 9, Ryan's parents split and John re-married. Throughout the 90's, Ryan's father owned and operated many restaurants, which in turn is where Ryan started singing.
In 2006, after spending 2 years writing songs, Ryan formed a new rock band, Low Level Flight. Teamed up with friends Shaun Noronha, James Rooke, Dave Carter and Brandon Merenick the band recorded their debut album with acclaimed producer Mike Borkosky (illScarlett). LLF released their first single, Change For Me, in February, 2007, and their debut record, Urgency, was released March 27, 2007, on I Heart Records (Ryan's own label) with distribution by Fontana North.
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Before winning the competition he worked as a waiter, and was often referred to as the 'Waiter boy', in reference to the pop singer Avril Lavigne's song Sk8er Boi.
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.
- Audition
- Smoke Gets in your Eyes/Down on the Corner
- Top 32
- One by U2
- Wildcard
- Just the Way you Are by Billy Joel
- Top 11
- Try by Blue Rodeo
- Top 8
- For Once in my Life by Stevie Wonder
- Top 6
- Drift Away by Dobie Gray
- Top 5
- Believe by Elton John
- Top 4
- Crazy by Patsy Cline, Hooked on a Feeling
- Top 3
- He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother; Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) by Billy Joel
- Top 2
- Something More (Idol single), Stand by Me by Ben E. King, Down on the Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival
His debut single "Something More" was released to radio the day after his win and to the public on September 30. It went four times platinum on the first day of its release and stayed at #1 on the Canadian singles chart for 14 straight weeks.
On December 9, 2003, Ryan's debut album, Home was released and went platinum selling 110,000 copies and earning a Juno nomination for best pop album.
Later that month, Ryan participated in World Idol, coming in 6th. He followed this with a tour of Eastern Canada with various guests including Jacynthe, Gary Beals, and Audrey de Montigny. Ryan returned to Europe two more times that year to perform with Annie Lennox at Royal Albert Hall in London. And again in Prague. He made his acting debut in the recent 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 2 finalist Elena Juatco. Ryan also spent sometime travelling in Africa and South America, where many of LLF's songs were inspired.
- Something More (#1, Canadian Singles Chart - 14 weeks) (Certified 5x platinum with sales of over 50,000 copies - 40,000 of those copies sold on the first day of release on September 30, 2003)
- Star Of All The Planets (#79, Canadian Singles Chart)(Most added song to AC that year)
- Change For Me (February 2007)
- Low Level Flight Website
- LLF's Myspace page
- Ryan Malcolm fan site
- BMG Official Website
- Low Level Flight fan site
| Preceded by None |
Canadian Idol winner Season 1 (2003) |
Succeeded by Kalan Porter |
| Canadian Idol winners | |
| Ryan Malcolm | Kalan Porter | Melissa O'Neil | Eva Avila | |