(August 22, 2006)

National pair champions Valérie Marcoux and Craig Buntin, and national ice dance champions Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, along with Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Utako Wakamatsu and Jean-Sébastien Fecteau, Elizabeth Putnam and Sean Wirtz, Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay, Emanuel Sandhu, Shawn Sawyer, and Amanda Billings had front row seats on CTV’s Canadian Idol show last night.

CTV invited the skaters to attend the 24th episode of the fourth season of Canadian Idol at the John Bassett Theatre in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, which featured the top 5 contestants in this year’s edition.

Canadian Idol’s host Ben Mulroney acknowledged the skaters’ presence by presenting them to the audience before the start of the show. On a commercial break Emanuel Sandhu sang Prince’s hit from the 80s Purple Rain, a performance appreciated by everyone present, including the judges on the show. “I had no idea I would be doing it, but this was a great experience to sing a cappella and feel the crowd enjoyed it,” said Sandhu. Sandhu just finished recording a cover of Prince’s song and will release it soon on his website www.emanuelsandhu.com. Although Sandhu’s singing performance was not shown on television, viewers at home were able to see him appreciate the performance of 16-year-old contestant Craig Sharpe from Newfoundland.

Canadian skaters were given backstage passes and met and talked to the 5 contestants after the show.

See below pictures of the Canadian skaters on the show.

A full day of fun at the Skate Canada Sponsorship Summit in Toronto

Earlier, skaters took part in a mix and mingle luncheon with representatives from national sponsors such as BMO Financial Group and CTV. Skaters also had an on-ice team-building session with former national dance champion, World and Olympic bronze medalist Tracy Wilson at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club .

Prior to the Canadian Idol show, skaters were invited to a pre-reception at Hotel Intercontinental’s Azure Restaurant.