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Ryan Michael Malcolm (born October 13, 1979 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian singer best known as the winner of the first season of Canadian Idol.

In 2006, after releasing his debut solo album Home, Malcolm formed a new rock band, Low Level Flight. They released their debut record Urgency on March 27, 2007.

Biography

Early years

Malcolm grew up in Amherstview, a small town just west of Kingston. The son of John and Sharron Malcolm, Ryan had two older siblings, Kim and Sean. At the age of nine, Ryan's parents split and John re-married. Throughout the 1990s, Ryan's father owned and operated many restaurants, where Ryan started singing.

Before entering Canadian Idol, he worked as a waiter at the Lone Star Texas Grill in Kingston and was often referred to as the 'waiter boy,' in reference to the pop singer Avril Lavigne's song Sk8er Boi. Both Malcolm and Lavigne attended the same high school in Napanee.

Canadian Idol

Malcolm did not crack the top 10 in his first attempt but was awarded a spot on the wildcard show after which, because the vote was so close, he became the 11th contestant in the final group. His consistency throughout the final phase of the competition and his great song choices won him many fans and eventually the Canadian Idol crown.

After Idol

His debut single "Something More" was released on radio the day after his win and to the public on September 30. It went four times platinum on the first day of its release and stayed at #1 on the Canadian singles chart for 14 consecutive weeks.

On December 9, 2003, Malcolm's debut album Home was released. It debuted and peaked at #4 on the Canadian album chart and went platinum, selling 170,000 copies and earning a Juno nomination for best pop album.

Later that month, Malcolm participated in World Idol and shared the stage with Elton John and Victoria Beckham. Alongside fellow idol friend Kelly Clarkson, he placed sixth. He followed this with a tour of Eastern Canada with various guests, including Jacynthe, Gary Beals, and Audrey de Montigny. He returned to Europe two more times that year to perform with Annie Lennox at Royal Albert Hall in London as well as to perform in Prague.

He made his acting debut in the recent Ross Petty pantomime "Snow White and the Group of Seven" at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto with fellow finalists Gary Beals and Billy Klippert, as well as season two finalist Elena Juatco. Ryan also spent some time traveling in Africa and South America, where many of LLF's songs were inspired. In 2006 and 2007 he was a two-time host of Toronto's sketch comedy show Sunday Night Live.

Malcolm is now fronting the alternative rock band Low Level Flight. Their second single "Say" cracked the Canadian Hot 30, and the band spent much of 2007 touring across Canada promoting their debut album. Their first video for their first single "Change For Me" went to number one on the MuchMoreMusic Top Ten. In September 2007, LLF performed "Say" on the top three results show of Canadian Idol. The video for "Say" was played by both MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic. In 2009, LLF signed a record deal with Times Of India, and toured throughout India.

Along with fronting LLF, Malcolm is a partner in I Heart Records, a Toronto-based label he co-owns with Michael Rosenberg.

He represented Canada at the National Children's Peace Concert in the Czech Republic. He sang the national anthem at the 2004 Grey Cup.

Singles history

• Something More (#1, Canadian Singles Chart - 14 weeks) (Certified 5x platinum with sales of over 50,000 copies - 40,000 of those copies sold on the first day of release on September 30, 2003)
• Star of All The Planets (#79, Canadian Singles Chart) (Most added song to AC that year)
• You Made This Fool Become a Man (March 2004)

Low Level Flight singles

• Change For Me (#63, Canada) (February 2007)
• Say (#22, Canada) (September 2007)
• Hesitate (December 2007)
• Turnaround (May 2008)

See also

Music of Canada portal

• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada

External links

• Low Level Flight
• Ryan Malcolm at MySpace