Zack Werner

Boos rain down like hailstones every time Zack Werner walks on stage on Canadian Idol. It’s a shame, a case of mistaken identity, because the loquacious judge is actually the nicest person in the cast. But his mouth, and razor-sharp wit, often land him in hot water with fans.

Viewers liken him to Simon Cowell, the uncompromising American Idol judge famous for lampooning competitors while pushing them out the door. But Werner, a former rock singer whose band once opened for Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam, detests the comparison.

In fact, he sparred with the big-mouthed Brit a few years ago when both were judges at a World Idol competition in London.

“I think the comparisons are completely irrelevant,” said Werner, who argued with Cowell over criticism the Canadian leveled at U.S. contestant Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol winner. “Let’s go head-to-head: I look better, I’m smarter, I’m more entertaining, I’m more Canadian, which is a great thing.

“It’s like, does he think he invented being the nasty dude? What, has he never seen The Gong Show?’ “

An artist manager and lawyer who worked for a firm in Toronto that represented the likes of Nelly Furtado, Avril Lavigne and Sum 41, Werner is easily the most friendly and outgoing member of Canadian Idol’s four-person judging panel. The others are Sass Jordan, Jake Gold, and Farley Flex.

Werner spends nearly as much time out of his seat as he does in it during Canadian Idol telecasts, often using commercial breaks to kibitz with the audience, sign autographs and pose for pictures. He is not satisfied with simply saying hello to folks sitting in sections adjacent to the judges table; he ventures so far up into the balcony at the John Bassett Theatre that he has to sprint back to his seat seconds before a broadcast resumes.

The Best of Zack Werner

“That was really odd, Daryl, but so are you. I don’t know, but you’re here for another week. You’ll do something bizarre next week.” -- To the waifish Daryl Brunt, after he sang Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” during a program that offered a tribute to pop hits of the 1980s.

“I think the arrangement was a Stevie blunder. You sang fine if you were fronting the Ice Capades.” -- To Brunt, after the 16-year-old sang “Superstition” on a show that paid tribute to Stevie Wonder.

“I think the outfit is an atrocity but above and beyond that, I think there’s nothing cool going on here. You sang fine, but it’s B-room casino.” -- To British Columbia teenager Ashley Leitao after she stumbled through “Sir Duke” during the same show. Leitao was eliminated the next night.