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Calgary's Billy Klippert sought medical advice and antibiotics in Toronto on Saturday, just two days before performing on Canadian Idol last night.
He was in fine form when he belted out his renditions of Paul Young's Everytime You Go Away and the Stone Temple Pilots' Plush.
No one was more relieved than his father Jim Klippert, who watched the show on a giant screen at the Metropolitan Centre in Calgary with more than 250 enthusiastic fans.
"When I talked to Billy on Sunday, he was still stressed out. They ran him all over Calgary when he came back for his public appearances and they had an even more hectic schedule for him when he got back to Toronto," said Jim.
Billy got to meet Nicolas Cage, one of his screen idols, in Toronto on Saturday and attended several Toronto Film Festival events.
"It all just got the better of him, which is why he finally decided to get checked out by a doctor," said Jim.
Billy was in Calgary when he received word the judges had selected Everytime You Go Away for him to perform.
"Billy didn't know the song. It's not something that he would sing," said Jim.
As Billy finished his rendition of the Young classic, Jim said he felt his son "handled the song very well. It was a very different kind of song for him.
"He did an incredible job for a guy who could barely talk on Sunday."
Billy had another shock when he learned the rights to Plush were not readily available.
Jim said his son "insisted on singing Plush. The Stone Temple Pilots are his idols and that's his favourite of their songs."
The organizers of Canadian Idol sent someone to the Pilots' Scott Weiland, who gave written permission for Billy to perform the song last night.
Jim was as pleased with Billy's rendition of Plush as the judges, but he was even more pleased when he saw his son's reaction as Billy sat down with host Ben Mulroney.
"Look at Billy's smile," said Jim, pointing at the screen.
"To me, it doesn't matter what the judges have just said, it's seeing how happy Billy was with his performance."
Billy's Calgary fans couldn't have agreed more. Their cheers were near deafening.
They unanimously agreed that, come next Monday, the final battle should be between Billy and Ontario's Ryan Malcolm.
When asked which of the final trio had to go, they chanted Gary Beals, proclaiming he's not in the same league as Billy and Ryan.