WATCH ABOVE: An aspiring young singer in Alberta, without much money to his name, surprised everyone with what he did after winning a $10,000 prize during the Calgary Stampede. Global’s Reid Fiest explains where and why he donated his talent search prize.
CALGARY – Christian Hudson’s take on the 1960s song, “Be My Husband,” swayed the judges of the Calgary Stampede Talent Search.
The 19-year-old’s unorthodox performance used a digital recorder on stage to record his guitar, playing back certain parts, as he sang.
“There’s a pedal, essentially, when you hit it, it starts recording whatever you’re playing, and then you hit a pedal, and it plays it back to you,” Hudson told Global News.
“So I just build up this sound, and I take it out and re-implement it.”
Now, like many musicians, he wants to turn his passion into a career.
“Live off it really, be able to survive, not have anything on the side,” said Hudson.
You’d think that’s where the $10,000 prize he won Saturday night would come in handy, but a unique experience gave him a different idea.
Last week, when plans to stay with a friend during the competition fell through, he wandered through downtown Calgary looking for a place to sleep.
Along the way, he met a number of the city’s homeless, and their stories struck a chord with the young man from Airdrie, Alta.
“At the time, it was funny – I left the night, I was feeling miserable, like everything in the world had gone wrong,” said Hudson.
“I met these people and realized I’m actually a pretty fortunate fella.”
When he eventually rolled out a sleeping bag along the bank of the Bow River to sleep for the night, he decided if he won the talent search, he wasn’t keeping the prize.
“The scenario ran through my head that (if I won) I decided to give everything away to the folks I met tonight.”
Saturday night, he made the announcement on stage moments after he was crowned the winner. He plans to donate the funds to the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre.
It surprised everyone in the crowd, not to mention the Calgary Stampede.
“Oh my goodness, what a thing to do!” organizing committee member Gay Robinson told Global News.
“What a fantastic, generous, from-the-heart thing that he had done!”
Big names have taken this title in the past; country singer Paul Brandt shares a win, as well.
A launching pad to success Hudson says is all he needs, as many are still shocked by his generosity.
“I really don’t need the big grand cash prize, because I’ve already got everything I need.”
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