My Toronto: Canadian Idol Mookie Morris

Peter “Mookie” Morris is the last Torontonian standing on Canadian Idol. The youngest male this year, the 18-year-old is nicknamed after famed Blue Jay Mookie Wilson, though it’s not as if he needs more Hogtown cred. He was born here, he’s lived here his whole life, and this is where he rocks out. Reporter Dave McGinn spoke to Mookie about life in the city.

High school days • I went to Northern Secondary School. It was super big, super easy to fall through the cracks, which I guess I did for a couple of years. In Grade 11 I transferred to Leaside High School. It was a bit weird. Leaside is a really good school, I just don’t know if it was right for me. I never really liked it.
Calling St. Clair home • My family and I have been living near Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. since I was 8-years-old. Before that we lived at Summerhill. It’s a great neighbourhood. The subway is accessible and you’re close to the downtown core but you still live in a nice residential area. But I’m always going to different places. I love the multiculturalism of Toronto. You can get a taste of so many different things all in one city.
An Idol’s evolution • I tried out for Idol last year. It’s kind of funny. I decided to go out on a limb. On the morning of the auditions I just said, “Screw it, I’ll just go and see what happens.” I made it through to the third day of auditions. This year, things just seemed to have lined up for me in a lot of different ways. There’s been a lot of luck involved, I think. The competition has been pretty strenuous. I can’t complain about the judges, though. They’ve been super nice to me the whole time.
The Mookie Mobile • My sister and my two brothers have been incredibly supportive. I didn’t expect this much hard work from them. My mom put “Vote Mookie” stickers on her Minivan. She calls it the “Mookie Mobile.” She’s a hustler. She’s got good ideas all the time.
Chilling with the Idols • Everyone hangs out for the most part. We used to go out to the Loose Moose (146 Front St. W.) and Jack Astors (144 Front St. W.) back when we were staying at the Royal York. One night I took [fellow contestant] Earl Stevenson’s family out for dinner at this crazy Iranian restaurant called Pomegranate (420 College St.). I don’t think they were expecting it, but they ended up really liking it.

continue...

Comments