How I Became the Font of Ben Mulroney Knowledge



Photo Credit: @BenMulroney1976

 Two years ago, I did a series on this blog entitled "The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney." It was a tongue-in-cheek look at Canada's favourite political son/entertainment reporter, and it was kind of a poke at my good friend, Sam (AKA The Pop Culture Addict). For 30 days in March and April, 2010, I posted all kinds of fun facts about CTV's Golden Boy. I honestly figured no one was paying attention. I was pretty sure my friends were rolling their eyes at me (I'm still pretty sure that they were.)

After the 30 days were over, I really didn't think about it again for a long time. Because really, who spends their days thinking about Ben Mulroney? (Except maybe Ben Mulroney.) Then I noticed that despite the fact that I had all but abandoned this blog, barely posting on it in recent memory, I was still getting hits on the site. I was curious to know what people were looking for, and I was shocked at the answer: Ben Mulroney.

It was vaguely amusing to watch the stats, and see just how many people were interested in his wedding photo. It kind of tickled me in the secret places to know that I had become the "go-to" blogger for all things Ben.

Today, though, I noticed a major upswing in the hits on my blog, and sadly they weren't reading my article about the 10 Things Lindsay Lohan Should Do While Filming in Toronto (which is really too bad, because I think it's some of my finer work!) They were LOOKING FOR BEN MULRONEY! What the heck?!?

Then I realized: Ben Mulroney co-hosted "Live with Kelly" this morning. More than half of the hits came from the US, and at least a few of them were from searches for "Who is Ben Mulroney?"

Ben has invaded the US. God help them all. It's not bad enough that they're plagued with Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum: they need Ben, too?

I'm only kidding, I swear. Despite my good friend's rancor, I harbor no bitter feelings towards Ben. He's doing his thang as the kids say. All of my kidding is done with an affectionate virtual pat on the head.

In the meantime, if you've come across this blog searching for answers to the age old question: "Who is Ben Mulroney?" I'll direct you here where all of the answers lie. Good luck, and God speed!

Terror Suspect Auditioned for Canadian Idol

You've probably heard this story by now, but if not, you can read about it here. But even though it's all over the news, to the point where "Canadian Idol" is actually trending on Yahoo (and it hasn't been on the air in two years) I thought I'd post about it anyway. After all, if it's even remotely connected to Ben Mulroney, you'll find it here!

Yes, I know, the Ben thing is getting old... I just can't help myself... it's hypnotic...

Speaking of hypnotic, here's the video... you know you want to watch it...



I swear, I'm not making fun of terrorism. I'm just making fun of this guy. You know you want to see him doing the Robot while singing (I use that term loosely) Avril Lavigne.

I read that he's actually a doctor. Anyone else think he must've lost a bet and that's why he had to do that audition? Like, "Dude, I bet you I can do backflips all the way across this room!"

"No, you can't, Dude!"

"I can! I can totally do backflips across the room!"

"I bet you can't. If you can't do backflips all the way across the room, you have to go and audition for Canadian Idol and do the Robot on national television!"

I'm right. You know I am.

Ben Reproduces! Twice!

Okay, so the whole "30 Days of Ben Mulroney" thing was sort of tongue-in-cheek, BUT, since I may now have dedicated Ben fans watching this blog for all things Ben, I thought I should mention that Ben and his wife, Jessica, welcomed twin boys Brian Gerald Alexander and John Benedict Dimitri this morning. I don't have any other details, but first-time dad Ben is apparently over the moon:

"Both boys are healthy and beautiful,” said Mulroney. “Jessica is radiant and in great health and sprits. I am the happiest man alive."

ETalk Daily is, of course, milking this for all its worth (I was about to make a breast milk joke here, but I'm thinking it might be crossing a line...) so they'll have all of the details tonight, and also "fatherly advice" from celebrity dads such as Tom Cruise and Peter Facinelli.

So... yeah... more Mulroney DNA in the world.... yeah... and two boys... that's a lot of future hair products...

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - THE END!

I hope you've all enjoyed our little foray into the land of Benedict Mulroney. I know that some of my readers may be questioning my sanity right now, but hey, it's all in good fun!

Tomorrow, we resume our regularly scheduled programming of rants on politics and pop culture! For now, though, enjoy a few clips of Ben at work.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 29!

Well People, it's almost over! Whatever will we do without our little dose of Ben each day?

Wow...I just noticed how much he looks like his father in that picture... look at that chin... it's going into Jay Leno territory...

Anyway, since I had such a good time with the Canadian Idol clips yesterday, I'm going to add in a few more today. Again, it's my blog, and I can do what I want!

Theo Tams was the last Canadian Idol. The judges often claimed he was the best male vocalist ever on the show, and I think they might be right. He was classically trained in voice and piano and he just has a very clear tone that can really give you goosebumps. I've only ever heard one song off his debut album, but I hope he gets a chance because he really does deserve it. Again, I had a hard time picking just one performance, but I really do like this one, and it's also one of the shorter clips.



Mitch McDonald came in second that year. He was a completely different kind of artist than Theo. This performance of Joel Plaskett's "Love This Town" is just so awesomely charming.





Eva Avila, the Season Four winner has had a reasonable amount of success. I quite like the radio singles she's put out, and she's worked closely with Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida, which I think has helped her. Here's her "Idol Single" Meant to Fly. Not nearly as annoying as most of them. Outside of Alive, I think this might have been the best of them.



Kalan Porter was the winner of the amazing second season that I wrote about yesterday. I can't find any of his really good performances online, but here's his audition. It shows that right from the start he had the talent and that shy smile that gave him the win.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 28!

Well, it's Day 28, and because A) I'm running out of Fun Facts and B) it's my blog and I can do what I want, I'm choosing today to post a few of my favourite Canadian Idol performances. Probably all from Season 2, because I still wholeheartedly believe that was the best season the show ever had, and quite possibly it was the best season of any of the Idol shows.

First up, because I want to be sure as many people as possible see this one, is the Top 6 performance of Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy. I admit, I didn't know the song before this. What's significant about it, though, is that this was the first time on any Idol show that the contestants played their own instruments. I think this performance truly showed just how talented these kids were. It may be my favourite Idol moment ever. Honestly, I found this the other day and I've already watched it several times since then. Take a few minutes and appreciate it!



I had a hard time picking my favourite performance of Jacob Hoggard's. He is, undoubtedly, the most successful artist to come out of Canadian Idol, with his band, Hedley. Honestly, I don't think the Idol franchise has ever seen an entertainer like Jacob. From his Top 32 performance of Billy Joel's Only the Good Die Young to Lifehouse's Everything and David Bowie's Space Oddity, he was never dull, that's for sure! He gets a lot of flack for his connection to Idol, but honestly, he shouldn't. Luckily I found this clip that's a mix of his Idol performances, and also includes the infamous "Wet Willy Incident".



It took me forever to find my favourite performance of Theresa Sokyrka's. Ironically, despite finishing 2nd, she chose to still go her own way, and she's still out there performing. She has a truly lovely voice. Here she's singing Lionel Richie's Hello.



In Season 1, Newfoundland's Jenny Gear really showed that Idol in Canada was going to be a completely different animal. She was unapologetically WEIRD and I loved it. Here's her take on Sarah McLaughlin's Possession.



 And finally, from Season 3, the winner, Melissa O'Neil. She hasn't really been heard from since Idol, like so many others, but I do think she has a great voice, and this is probably the best Idol single ever. I may be a bit biased, since I've known the songwriter since I was five years old, but honestly, for the cheesy songs that they're usually forced to record, I think this one was a million miles above the rest. Sorry it's not a video. The videos I found weren't great quality, but enjoy the song anyway.



There have been a lot of great performances from Canadian Idol, but they're not so easy to find! Especially not in good quality. However, I hope that people will take a look at these. Idol gets a hard time, and often it's deserved. I think some really interesting artists have been discovered on that show, even if they haven't had the commercial success that's associated with their US counterparts. How very Canadian, eh? (HAHAHA...)

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 27!

Only THREE more days, Gentle Readers! Whatever will we do without a little Ben in our lives each day?

Today's Fun Fact: Ben was named one of Canada's Best Dressed by Hello! Canada magazine in 2009.

Hmm... I guess they haven't seen my usual daily attire...

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 26!

Ben is taller than Tom Cruise! Wait... isn't everyone? I think my not quite 1-year-old might be... I'm just saying...

According to the National Post, there was a Twitter account @ETalkBen. Sadly, that account is no more. It contained references to "Uncle Karlheinz", lunch bills and personal hygiene. It was a fake account, but apparently even got George Stroumboulopoulos, a friend of Ben's, into the act. Take a look at the article, it's quite entertaining, actually. I think my friend Sam would get quite a kick out of it.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 25!

Wuv, twu wuv... (if you don't get the reference, you're not allowed to read this site anymore...)

Anyway, if all of my Ben Mulroney bizarreness has you hooked, here's where you can buy "Ben Mulroney for Prime Minister" t-shirts. Now, granted, if you're here, hopefully you think that Cyn should be PM, but well... I'm just putting it out there!

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 24!

Happy Easter Everyone - from the Easter Benny!

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 23!

Here you see Ben with his family (his parents in the middle) leaving the Mulroney - Schreiber hearings in 2009.

To tell the truth, I know very little of this, so this is my only mention of this one.

Tomorrow, back to happy Fun Facts.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 22!

Everyone is thrilled to have their picture taken with Ben, right?

In a profile of Ben done by Duke University's Alumni magazine, Ben professed to be considering a reality show based around his famous parents.

"Everyone has a reality show they want to do," he says. "Hey, I figure if Paris Hilton and her mother can both have reality shows, no idea is too stupid."

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 21!

Ben is apparently quite the connoisseur of Montreal crap food. In fact, the Canadian Idol website has an entire article about how much Montreal crap food Ben is going to consume while they are holding auditions there. Two different places for ribs, smoked meat, hot dogs... oy...

You can read Ben's suggestions for the Montreal food experience here.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 20!

Ah Ben, the kooky things you do. My good friend Sam (www.popcultureaddict.com) who inspired this series, commented thusly on today's photo:

"Think those guys are fighting over which one gets to clock Ben?"

I don't know, Sam. I don't know if we'll ever know...

Today's Fun Fact: Ben made his big screen debut in Fantastic Four as an entertainment reporter. Obviously trying to stretch his acting muscles!

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 19!

Is there any Canadian personality more maligned than Benedict Mulroney? I think perhaps, of late, only Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. So here's a picture of Ben interviewing Chad Kroeger of Nickelback!

Canadian Idol did their own version of Idol Gives Back one year, and Ben and one of the judges, Farley Flex, went to Malawi. Ben is also a National Ambassador for UNICEF Canada. Here's the video clip of Ben and Farley's trip:

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 18!

This is Ben with his co-host on ETalk Daily, Tanya Kim.










Here's Ben on Corner Gas. Oscar is complaining about watching "that no-talent Ben Mulroney".

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 17!

Somewhere around Day 11 I messed up, so we are actually into Day 17 of our 30 Days - I am aghast that this is going by so quickly - although I'm running out of fun facts, so it's okay, I think.

Today we will explore Ben's personal interests, as listed on his Facebook fan page, for those of you who haven't joined it yet.


Inspiration: Anyone with the last name Mulroney

Can't live without: His PVR

Favourite Movie: The Great Escape

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 16!

Ben with David Foster! Two Canadian icons, right there!

I've posted the link to this blog on Ben's fan page. It really looks abandoned, so I doubt he'll even see it, but hey, a girl can hope, right?

In the meantime, here's Ben being interviewed, rather than interviewing, on George Strombolopolous' show, The Hour. I'm actually a big fan of Strombo. He reminds me a bit of Dennis Miller. I also like somewhat snarky intelligence, so he's my guy.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 15!

I do believe that this was Mariah Carey's first live performance on Canadian television (probably her only one?)

Today's Fun Fact: Ben's Facebook fan page can be found here. He currently has 188 fans and has never actually written on the page, from what I can tell. But hey - it's there!

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 14!

Aw - that kooky Ben!

Another quote from the Macleans article (can you tell I'm starting to reach here?):

"The perfect host for Idol should be slightly more interesting than vanilla: fashionable, but not like he's trying to upstage anyone, funny but not necessarily a comedian, confident but not necessarily cocky. He should be like a good child: speak when spoken to and recognize his place in the family. This show is first and foremost about the singers, and then about the judges, and maybe if we're lucky after that, and we have time, it should be about the host."