I missed a week of covering the peaks and valleys of Canadian Idol due to some family issues, and what a week I missed, with Simple Plan as the mentors and the proud legacy of Canadian rock music as the theme. (Before you ask: Yes, someone did a Tragically Hip song.) There were two things worth noting during that week, during which we said goodbye to Amberly Thiessen of Alberta.

No. 1: The final six performed a Sloan song together.

No. 2: My boy Mookie did Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride.” With a DJ. Take a minute to prepare yourself before clicking play.

Now, five contenders remain, and it’s time to make the bold, original choice of having the Idols sing… Beatles songs.

The versions aren’t bad, and at least, the judges had the good sense to work from the “Rubber Soul and beyond” portion of the Fab Four’s catalog. Still, couldn’t they just have given another week over to the music of Bryan Adams? Having only three contestants sing his songs hardly seems fair. Who’s going to have the chance to do “One Night Love Affair”?

For some reason, the Canadian Idol fans who flaunt copyright law by uploading the previous night’s show to YouTube are off their game this week, but thankfully, someone captured Mookie’s take on “Come Together.”

Earl will likely go home this week, thanks to his splitting of the Alberta vote with Theo, who isn’t quite as dull. The most important thing: Mookie gets to take on an Anne Murray song next week, when the whole show is given over to her music. Canada, how can you afford to miss out on that sort of golden opportunity?

Canadian Idol [CTV]