Melissa O'Neil

I had a great evening taking my daughter to the Calgary Stampede yesterday evening.
The Stampede was not really on the radar this year. It becomes a bit same ol' same ol' after a couple of years.
But this year we had a winner from Calgary on Canadian Idol who has caught my 10 year old daughter's attention: Melissa O'Neil. I have been impressed by the material she has been given for her first album as it has been played around the house this year. Melissa was featured in a live gig at the Stampede this summer and it worked out that I got to take my daughter along with a friend and his daughter.
I got there first from work and noticed that Melissa had come out to sign autographs. I asked Melissa to sign it to my daughter and had a pleasant little chat with her.
About half an hour later my daughter arrived and fortunately Melissa was still out meeting and greeting. The thing that impressed me most was that she remembered my daughter's name from before and even how to spell it. Of course, that made my daughter's day!
Melissa was supported by Rex Goudie, the runner-up in Canadian Idol. Rex was good enough, and when Melissa came on (at 11pm) she was awesome. We were told it was her 18th birthday. It was obviously an emotional evening for her, and her performance was awesome. She's up there with Kelly Clarkson (who I'm not too keen on). I somehow don't think she'll get the same exposure on the international stage, but she certainly deserves it.