Curse Rex Goudie and his youthful metabolism.

The 2005 Canadian Idol runner-up was at the Crowne Plaza Hotel last week as part of a national press tour for his sophomore album, Look Closer - it's out Tuesday.

It comes hot on the heels of his debut, released just last year. It's quick, he realizes, but he doesn't do slow that well.

"I'd die if there wasn't something to do," said the svelte 21-year-old, picking at his humungous artery-hardening pile of syrup-coated bacon during breakfast. He then proceeded to dip bread into his oatmeal - a Newfie tradition, he told me.

Goudie is likewise intent on sticking around and, given fleeting and fickle tastes of the viewing/listening public, that's a mean feat for Idol contestants, be they Canadian or American. As such, he says, moving quickly was essential.

Maybe he did have to act fast, being second banana on the top-rated show last year and all. But if you're going to come in second best to anyone, it might as well be to your girlfriend, 2005's Canadian Idol champion Melissa O'Neil.

Now living in Toronto, Goudie reveals that they've been an item since about week three of last year's Idol. They initially kept it a secret, because they wanted the focus to be on the show and their abilities, not a romantic subplot.

O'Neil is still tinkering with her identity and voice, says Goudie, but is confident people will be pleased with the results when her new album drops next summer. And while he moved fast - that's on a new album, not O'Neil - he stresses that it wasn't a rush job.

"The first album kind of felt like that, obviously, because you've got to capitalize on the popularity of the show," he says.

"But as soon as we were done touring this summer, I started compiling songs.

"The new album is entirely the kind of music I like and thought I could do. Everything is recorded live with a mike on the floor. That changed the whole dynamic and it makes a big difference for how the whole thing sounds. It's a mix of classic rock radio sounds with newer stuff you'd hear from bands like the Foo Fighters."

Is that to say the debut album isn't what it should have been? To a point, he admits.

Look Closer was guided along solely by producer by Jeff Dalziel, who's worked with Edwin and Thornley, whereas Under the Lights had four different producers.

Goudie says that's what gave his debut such a different feel between the tunes, which seems like a polite way of saying the album was uneven. Regardless, Under the Lights went platinum and garnered him Juno nominations for artist of the year and album of the year.

Now, it's really a question of proving he's more than a product of the show.

"There's definitely a stigma that comes with it. People think we're just singers, which is bull; a lot of us can write," he contends. "With how hectic the first one was, I didn't really have a chance to get into the recording. But with this one, I had more of a chance to speak my mind."

A press tour would indicate that people want to hear more from him, particularly in Fort McMurray where he signed copies of his albums and his biography, Rex Goudie: Idolized, which was released this summer.

The turnout was huge, owing, of course, to the huge contingent of his fellow Maritimers now living in Fort Mac.

"I actually ran into relatives and friends I haven't seen in years," he laughs. "It was unbelievable how many people I knew there."