Dwight d'Eon thankful for opportunity of a lifetime

A day after being eliminated from Canadian Idol, Dwight d’Eon he was more optimistic than ever about his musical future.

“The one good thing about me right now is I’m mature enough to recognize the opportunity and mature enough to make the decisions to help capitalize on it in the best way possible,” he told the Yarmouth Vanguard in an interview on Wednesday.

“I’m going to try and do my best to get this thing rolling as quickly as possible.”

D’Eon said he’d like to head into the recording studio.

A mini East Coast tour with his band Never is another thing he’s contemplating; promising Yarmouth would definitely be one of the stops.

And while getting a career started in music is important to him, equally important is letting his supporters know how much he genuinely appreciates all of the votes and support they gave him during his Canadian Idol run. That run ended this week when the results from the Top 4 performance night were announced Tuesday.

“I’m just very proud to say that I come from our neck of the woods,” d’Eon said. “I’m just very proud of the people there for having stuck with me all of these weeks and voted. I can’t thank everyone enough.”

D’Eon tried to convey those thanks while he was at the Mariners Centre on Aug. 25 for an outdoor rally and concert. The thing is, he said, there just wasn’t enough time.

“I could have sat there for hours and gone on and on about how thankful I am for this opportunity,” he said.

Which is what he sees his time on Canadian Idol as – an opportunity.

He intends to make the most out of it, which involves trying to make the right contacts with the right people as quick as he can.

Now that he’s off of the competition – although he’ll be back with all of the Top 10 for the Sept. 11 finale – he feels as if a big weight has been lifted off of his shoulders.

Still, he said, he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

D’Eon said he knew this week that his time on Idol had been used up.

“Deep down you get that feeling,” he said. “I knew last night was the time for me to go. I did as best I could and I am very happy to have made Top 4.”

D’Eon admits it would have been nice to have stuck around one extra week because the competitors get to meet Bon Jovi. But this should work out for him anyway.

“I’ll get to meet him at the finale,” he said. “He’ll be around then so they’re going to arrange it so I can meet him because I’m such a big fan.”

D’Eon also said he is aware of the frustration of his supporters back home who couldn’t get in as many votes as they wanted through these past weeks, and Monday night in particular. Getting through on the phones was an incredible challenge.

But d’Eon says people shouldn’t be frustrated because in the end it’s all of Canada that can vote for their favourite competitor, not just Yarmouth County or southwest Nova Scotia. If he didn’t get enough votes to keep him on Idol, he says it’s not only because of one part of the country.

But he’s still grateful for everyone trying their hardest.

“Everybody worked so hard all summer voting for me and it’s sad to see that part of it done now,” he said. “But on the bright side, it’s not the end. It’s just a new beginning.”



NOTE TO READERS:

A 20-page souvenir print edition about Dwight d'Eon's Canadian Idol run will be published in Tuesday's editions of the Yarmouth Vanguard and the Shelburne Coast Guard.