Oakville teen to show Canada she's got talent By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville's Caitlin Bell has some friends to thank for pushing her to enter a video of herself into the YouTube Last Chance Audition for Canada's Got Talent. With her entry, the 19-year-old singer was selected as one of two YouTube contestants to be moved to the semi-final round of the inaugural Canada's Got Talent reality TV show. The semi-final round has a total of 39 contestants. "I'm really excited," she said. "I'm really nervous at the same time, but I think it's going to be a great experience. No matter what happens from here on, I'm super happy about what's happened." Online voters selected Bell, who performed an acoustic version of Britney Spears' Toxic song, as their favourite YouTube performer. The other YouTube winner was selected by the show's judges. However, now comes the hard part for the Abbey Park High School graduate. Bell will do her first live and televised performance before judges -- Martin Short, Measha Brueggergosman and Stephan Moccio -- and an audience on the Canada's Got Talent stage this Sunday (April 15). The live episode will air on Citytv. "Now, I'll be on stage performing so I'm nervous. But it will be good," she said. "I'm just waiting it out. I'm sure on the day, I'll be very nervous but right now I'm not too bad. I'm just pretending like it's not really happening." Canada's Got Talent continues the popularity of reality talent shows. It was created by Simon Cowell and is part of the global Britain's Got Talent franchise that includes America's Got Talent. The show features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and other performers. The contestants are competing for a number of prizes, including $100,000 in cash, a possible performance in Las Vegas, a Nissan GT-R Artscene 27 · Friday, April 13, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com submitted photo They got talent: Oakville's Caitlin Bell (centre) will be making her first live appearance as a semi-finalist this Sunday on Canada's Got Talent. Here, she is flanked by show host Dina Pugliese, and fellow YouTube-chosen semi-finalist Mathew Cathcart, of Hamilton. However, she was glad there is exposure on the show for the various types of performances. She's not sure how well she'll do, but hopes to do well. "I hope I can continue in the competition. If I don't, then I'm okay with it, but it would be really cool to continue," Bell said. "I'm sure no matter what happens, exposure is exposure so it will help at least a little bit." Bell is hoping to have a career in music and is currently taking time off school to work on it. Bell began singing at a young sports car and a spot on Citytv's 2013 New Year's Eve Bash. Over the coming weeks, the number of contestants will be whittled down from 39 until there are 12 remaining for the twohour final performance episode on Sunday, May 13. The winner will be revealed the following night. The fact that the talent show includes a number of performance disciplines has Bell worried a bit. "It makes me nervous about it. We're judged differently. A lot of people have different opinions on the different acts," she said. age, picking it up from her sister Hannah, who is two years older. She also plays the guitar. "My sister was my inspiration for starting to sing," she said. "She's really excited. As soon as she could, she was telling all her friends and posting on Facebook. My whole family is really happy for me. They're all really proud." The Sunday performance episodes begin at 8 p.m. The Monday results episodes start at 7 p.m. Bell's entry video can be seen at YouTube. com. Children's musician wins Juno for album By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Former Oakville resident Charlie Hope won the Juno Award for children's album of the year at the awards ceremonies earlier this month. Hope, who spent parts of her childhood living in Oakville, won the award for her album Songs, Stories and Friends: Let's Go Play! "I'm very excited," the 30-yearold said of her win. "My first album, released about two and a half years ago, was nominated for an award but didn't win. So I appreciate winning even more this time." Songs, Stories and Friends was recorded last summer in Toronto. While living in Oakville, Hope attended Lorne Skuce Elementary School. After university, she moved to Los Angeles. She currently lives in Seattle where she works fulltime as a musician. Hope travels cross-country for her concert tours throughout the year in both Canada and the U.S. For more information, visit www.charliehopemusic.com. Dominik Kurek can be reached at dkurek@oakvillebeaver.com or followed on Twitter at @ DominikKurek. Charlie Hope