Remix of Suzie McNeil's song "Believe" to benefit Canadian Olympians--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at 19:35 on September 17, 2007, EST.
By CHRIS JOHNSTON
TORONTO (CP) - Singer Suzie McNeil and freestyle skier Steve Omischl make an unlikely pair.
But the two Canadians share a belief that they can rise to the top of their professions and have teamed up with Bell Canada to help give Olympic athletes a reason to believe that they can do the same.
McNeil has released a remix of her song "Believe" and the proceeds will be used to support winter athletes like Omischl ahead of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler.
Those will be the third Olympics for Omischl, who finished a disappointing 20th in Turin after entering the 2006 Games as the reigning world champion in aerials.
He understands exactly what McNeil means when she sings: "No one says it's easy."
"I've won everything else in the sport except for an Olympic medal, it's all I'm really shooting for," Omischl said Monday. "That's why this song, when I first heard it, I was like, 'This is like my career."'
McNeil was part of the reality TV series "Rock Star: INXS" in 2005, and was the last woman standing on the show.
She sought out Bell executive Loring Phinney on her own and proposed the idea of using "Believe" in an Olympic campaign. That meeting got the ball rolling on the project.
The "Olympic inspired version" of the song is performed by McNeil and Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, which was conducted by Dave Pierce. It is available for download in both English and French at
www.bell.ca/believe.
All of Bell's proceeds from the sales will go to Own The Podium - the national program designed to help Canada top the Olympic medal standings in 2010.
For audio downloads, which cost 99 cents, more than 60 per cent of the proceeds will be given to Own The Podium. For mobile audio and ringtone downloads, which are approximately $3, more than 80 per cent will be donated.
McNeil is thrilled about how the song and accompanying video turned out.
"It's out there for people to get excited about the Olympics and bring the country together," she said. "The bottom line is that we need to support out athletes so that they can win golds."
Canada won a record 24 medals in Turin and finished third in the overall standings. Own The Podium estimates the country needs 35 medals to win in 2010.
Omischl, who was born in North Bay, Ont., and lives in Kelowna, B.C., is hoping to find his way to the Olympic podium in his adopted province.
He has been a member of the national team for eight years and says the biggest difference between the Olympics and a World Cup event is the buzz. He was "blown away" in 2006 after learning that school was stopped in North Bay so kids could watch him compete.
"Everybody that I've ever met in my entire life stops to watch the Olympics," said Omischl. "That's what makes it special.
"There's a mystique around competing at the Olympics that everyone wants to be part of and wants to support."
McNeil is now one of his biggest supporters.
She recently spent two years living in Los Angeles and had a Maple Leaf tattooed on the back of her neck during that time. McNeil hopes her song will help get Canadians thinking about the 2010 Games and allows for homegrown athletes to have the best chance at succeeding.
"We are a breed unto ourselves," she said. "There's no other country like us out there."
Omischl thinks "Believe" will do more for athletes than simply generate money for Own The Podium - he thinks it will inspire them.
That's extremely important to McNeil, who poured her heart into the project.
"Something like this is so much deeper and so much more meaningful for me (than the normal work she does)," said McNeil.
Of course, every dollar helps as well.
The 28-year-old Omischl is grateful for all the funding he receives and believes it's an essential step to success.
"Without that support that we receive from Own The Podium and from sponsors like Bell, no Canadian athlete would be able to put themselves in an ideal situation to do well," he said. "You need that support. You need that backing. It's a struggle."
©The Canadian Press, 2007
a shot from the video
