Anjulie

Origin: Oakville, ON
Debut: 2008
Genre: Pop

This relatively obscure country, where I lived for a year in the 1990s, is known as “the land of many waters”. Mention its name and most people will think you are speaking of a country in Africa. Its small population of only about 800,000 lives mostly in the tightly packed villages along the northern coast of South America. Not a word of Spanish or Potuguese is spoken here; it is an English-speaking country. However, if you ventured around bustling Starbroek Market in Georgetown, you wouldn’t be able to recognize a single word, as the creole is exceptionally strong here. Ethnicities are primarily descendants from India and Africa with some Chinese. Aboriginal peoples live in the interior.

For these reasons, Guyana (and, no, it hasn’t been called British Guiana since 1966) is considered part of the Caribbean, despite its being situated on the mainland of South America. It is considered the second poorest country in the western hemisphere (after Haiti). Many of its citizens yearn for a better life in northern America. One such couple, the Persauds, whose roots lay in India, was able to emigrate to Canada, settling eventually in Oakville, Ontario. And it was there that they gave birth to their fourth child—a daughter whom they named Anjulie.

If Anjulie had been born in Guyana (like Eddy Grant), she would have been surrounded on all sides by reggae, soca, and Indian music like the classic “Benji Darling.” In Canada, she found musical proclivities calling to her, as she got into the music of U2, Prince, Annie Lennox, and Lauryn Hill, and began singing and composing music as a teenager. Her talents were sought by Emma Roberts’ team as they were putting together the soundtrack for the TV series “Unfabulous”. The track “Say Goodbye to Jr. High” was written by Anjulie and she contributed backing vocals and percussion on Roberts’ 2005 album Unfabulous and More.

The Philosopher Kings’ Jon Levine who has managed to carve out a golden niche for himself by helping to launch the careers of a number of high-profile Canadian artists—Nelly Furtado, Fefe Dobson, and Kreesha Turner—helped Anjulie with her debut (self-titled) album which came out in 2009.

Many of the songs were featured in TV series:

“Boom” – ABC’s “Eastwick”, The CW’s “Melrose Place” & “The Vampire Diaries”, and CTV’s “Canada’s Next Top Model”
“Addicted2Me” – MTV’s “The City”
“Crazy That Way”, “Rain”, and “The Heat” – MTV’s “The Hills”

“Boom” topped the US Dance Charts. Anjulie opened for Jesse McCartney during his 2009 United States tour. “Don’t Call Me Baby”, a platinum Top 10 hit for Edmonton’s Kreesha Turner, was co-written by Anjulie. She also co-wrote Fefe Dobson’s “I Want You”. Anjulie’s music also appears in the 2009 movie-musical Fame.

Anjulie’s biggest accomplishment to date came in 2011. Her single “Brand New Chick” broke into the Top 20 Canadian Hot 100, finished as the year’s 52 biggest song, and was, in November, only the third single from a Canadian artist in 2011 to be certified platinum, with 80,000 digital downloads in Canada, the other two being Simple Plan’s “Jet Lag” and Hedley’s “Invincible”. Speaking of Hedley, in 2012, Anjulie opened for them during their Canadian tour.  In 2012, Anjulie released new singles “Headphones”, “Stand Behind the Music”, and “You and I”, the latter making it to #25 on the Canadian Hot 100.

If she ever returned to the country of her parents, she would be told in no uncertain terms, “Ya proppuh gone up, gal!” She has, indeed, but only because she is a storehouse of Canadian talent.

Anjulie’s Official Website

 

2000s Juno and Félix Song Nominees and Winners

IMPORTANT NOTE: Depending on the time of the year in which the Juno and Felix Awards were held, songs nominated could have been released the same year, but more often the previous year which is why I’m beginning with 2001 and ending with 2010. It would be too complicated to go through the list and pinpoint exactly when each awards gala took place, which year each nominated song was released and which year or years it spent its run on the charts. I say this simply so that the reader will not assume that a song nominated in, say, 2004 was released in and a hit in 2004.

All nominees have been listed with the winners bolded. Links to Youtube have been provided for winning songs. Where possible, the particular link is advertisement-free.

A list of nominees and winners in the 1980s is located HERE and 1990s HERE.

2001

Juno:

“American Psycho”, Treble Charger
“Can’t Stop”, Jacksoul
“Faded”, soulDecision
“Pinch Me”, Barenaked Ladies
Winner: “I’m like a Bird“, Nelly Furtado

Felix:

“Comme je suis”, Martin Deschamps
“Dans tes yeux”, Sylvain Cossette
“Irresponsable”, Okoumé
“Jamais assez loin”, Isabelle Boulay
“L’argent fait le bonheur”, Les Respectables
“Ma gueule”, Éric Lapointe
“Seul”, Garou
“Tant de mots”, Mario Pelchat
“Tu peux partir”, La Chicane
Winner: “La désise“, Daniel Boucher

2002

Juno:

“California”, Wave
“Everybody’s Got A Story”, Amanda Marshall
“If It Feels Good Do It”, Sloan
“Life”, Our Lady Peace
Winner: “How You Remind Me“, Nickelback

Felix:

“Caliente”, Kevin Parent
“Chez nous”, Daniel Boucher
“Jamais assez loin”, Isabelle Boulay
“Pas besoin de frapper”, Sylvain Cossette
“Qu’est-ce que ça peut ben faire”, Éric Lapointe
“Rêver mieux”, Daniel Bélanger
“Rock With Me”, Lulu Hughes
“Sous le vent”, Céline Dion and Garou
“Tu m’manques”, La Chicane
Winner: “Je n’ai que mon âme“, Natasha St-Pier

2003

Juno:

“Bulletproof”, Blue Rodeo
“A New Day Has Come”, Celine Dion
“Somewhere Out There”, Our Lady Peace
“Brother Down”, Sam Roberts
Winner: “Complicated“, Avril Lavigne

Felix:

“Avec classe”, Corneille
“Balade à Toronto”, Jean Leloup
“Changer”, Jean-François Breau and Marie-Ève Janvier
“Depuis”, Marc Déry
“Faire la paix avec l’amour”, Dany Bédar
“Fous n’importe où”, Daniel Bélanger
“Toune d’automne”, Les Cowboys Fringants
“Un beau grand slow”, Éric Lapointe
“Viens donc m’voir”, La Chicane
Winner: “Et c’est pas fini“, Various Artists

2004

Juno:

“Try Honesty”, Billy Talent
“Someday”, Nickelback
“Innocent”, Our Lady Peace
“Happy Baby”, Shaye
Winner: “Powerless (Say What You Want)”, Nelly Furtado

Felix:

“L’Aveu”, Garou
“Le Petit Roi”, Kevin Parent
“Le vent soufflait mes pellicules”, Daniel Boucher
“Mon chum Rémi”, Les Cowboys Fringants
“Parce qu’on vient de loin”, Corneille
“Point de mire (remix)”, Ariane Moffatt
“Seul”, Various Artists (Don Juan)
“Si exceptionnel”, Andrée Watters
“Tu me fais du bien”, Luce Dufault
Winner: “J’t'aime tout court“, Nicola Ciccone

2005

Juno:

“Not Ready to Go”, The Trews
“One Thing”, Finger Eleven
“Party for Two”, Shania Twain
“River Below”, Billy Talent
Winner: “Crabbuckit“, k-os

Felix:

“Écoute-moi donc”, Dany Bédar
“Étrange”, Doba Caracol
“J’entends ta voix”, France D’Amour and Sylvain Cossette
“Laisse la pluie”, Andrée Watters
“Naître”, Marie-Chantal Toupin
“Pour le ghetto”, Jérôme-Philippe
“Saskatchewan”, Les Trois Accords
“Seul au monde”, Corneille
“Tomber à l’eau”, Annie Villeneuve
Winner: “Les Étoiles filantes“, Les Cowboys Fringants

2006

Juno:

“When the Night Feels My Song”, Bedouin Soundclash
“Inside and Out”, Feist
“Man I Used To Be”, k-os
“Photograph”, Nickelback
Winner: “Home“, Michael Bublé

Felix:

“Aimer”, Mario Pelchat
“Embarque ma belle”, Kaïn
“Je ne vous oublie pas”, Céline Dion
“Les Corneilles”, Les Porn Flakes and Jean Leloup
“Montréal”, Ariane Moffatt
“Plus rien”, Les Cowboys Fringants
“Un ange qui passe”, Annie Villeneuve
“Voyager vers toi”, Marc Dupré
“Vraiment beau”, Les Trois Accords
Winner: “Évangéline“, Annie Blanchard

2007

Juno:

“All I Can Do”, Chantal Kreviazuk
“Devil in a Midnight Mass”, Billy Talent
“Pull Me Through”, Jim Cuddy
“Sunday Morning”, k-os
Winner: “Promiscuous“, Nelly Furtado

Felix:

“8 secondes”, Les Cowboys Fringants
“Au gré des saisons”, Dumas
“Entre Matane et Baton Rouge”, Isabelle Boulay
“Follow Me remix”, Ariane Moffatt
“Je l’ai jamais dit à personne”, Étienne Drapeau
“Je pars à pied”, Vincent Vallières
“La fin de l’homme”, Daniel Bélanger
“Laisser l’été avoir 15 ans”, Claude Dubois and Natasha St-Pier
“Les Jours de pluie”, Alfa Rococo
“Mexico”, Kaïn
“Sous une pluie d’étoiles”, Cindy Daniel
“Tangerine”, Jean Leclerc
Winner: “Dégénérations / Le Reel du fossé”, Mes Aïeux

2008

Juno:

“Everything”, Michael Bublé
“Girlfriend”, Avril Lavigne
“Paralyzer”, Finger Eleven
“Seven Day Fool”, Jully Black
Winner: “1234“, Feist

Felix:

“Lever l’ancre”, Alfa Rococo
“Ton histoire”, Isabelle Boulay
“Chanson pour Marie”, Nicola Ciccone
“Oh mon chéri (Le ciel saigne le martyre)”, Anik Jean
“1500 Miles”, Éric Lapointe
“Mentir”, Marie-Mai
“Pousse, pousse”, Jonathan Painchaud
“Café Lézard”, Vincent Vallières
“Minuit”, Andrée Watters
Winner: “Je veux tout“, Ariane Moffatt

2009

Juno:

“Gotta Be Somebody”, Nickelback
“Lay It On The Line”, Divine Brown
“Lost”, Michael Bublé
“Taking Chances”, Céline Dion
Winner: “Dangerous“, Kardinal Offishall

Felix:

“Plus rien à faire”, Alfa Rococo
“Pourquoi”, Marie-Pierre Arthur
“Le Mépris”, Caracol
“1500 Miles”, Éric Lapointe
“La plus belle fille de la prison”, Jean Leloup
“La tête haute”, Les Cowboys Fringants
“Le déni de l’évidence”, Mes Aïeux
“Réverbère”, Ariane Moffatt
“Beau comme on s’aime”, Yann Perreau
Winner: “Fais-moi la tendresse“, Ginette Reno

2010

Juno:

“Love is a First”, Tragically Hip
“Best I Ever Had”, Drake
“Anybody Listening”, Classified
“Rusted from the Rain”, Billy Talent
Winner: “Haven’t Met You Yet“, Michael Buble

Felix:

“Reste”, Daniel Bélanger
“Chanson pour les mois d’hiver”, Isabelle Boulay
“Recommencer tout à zéro”, William Deslauriers
“Le bonheur”, Dumas
“Donner pour donner”, Marie-Ève Janvier and Jean-François Breau
“Dans mon corps”, Les Trois Accords
“C’est moi”, Marie-Mai
“Besoin d’amour”, Kevin Parent
“En attendant le soleil”, Vincent Vallières
Winner: “Cache-cache“, Maxime Landry

 

2000s Decade-End Chart

Billboard magazine published the Top 100 songs in the United States for the entire decade 2000-2009. As far as we can tell, there were six songs from Canadian artists. We’ve listed them below with their chart position.

4. “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback

44. “Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado

56. “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter

83. “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne

89. “Photograph” by Nickelback

94. “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne

You can view the chart HERE. As far as we know, there was no official decade-end chart for the U.K. or Canada, though some local radio stations may have put one together.

 

Canadian Hot 100 Singles of the Year 2008 and 2009

As the Canadian Billbaord Hot 100 launched in mid-2007, the first year for which there was a year-end chart 2as 2008. Below are the Canadian songs (in whole or in part) that made the year-end charts of 2008 and 2009. Foreign artists with which Canadians collaborated are in blue. The most popular Francophone songs of the year are taken from charts posted online by Montreal radio station CKOI.

2008 Canadian Billboard Top Songs of the Year

Title	Artist	Position
Dangerous	Kardinal Offishall ft. Akon	11
For the Nights I Can’t Remember	Hedley	14
Never Too Late	Hedley	23
Don’t Call Me Baby	Kreesha Turner	26
Into the Night	Santana ft. Chad Kroeger	34
1234	Feist	35
Your Love Is a Lie	Simple Plan	37
Hot	Avril Lavigne	42
I’ll Keep Your Memory Vague	Finger Eleven	53
Old School	Hedley	61
When I’m Gone	Simple Plan	62
Paralyzer	Finger Eleven	64
Money Honey	State of Shock	69
Drive My Soul	LIGHTS	70
All or Nothing	Theory of a Deadman	81
Gotta Be Somebody	Nickelback	82
When I’m with You	Faber Drive	83
The End	Andrew F	84
Best I Ever Had	State of Shock	87
Taking Chances	Celine Dion	90
Unlove You	Elise Estrada	92

2008 Top Francophone Songs of the Year

SONG	ARTIST	POS
1500   MILES	ÉRIC LAPOINTE	3
PUMP UP THE JAM*	THE LOST FINGERS*	10
MENTIR	MARIE-MAI	11
BELLE DANS’ TÊTE	ÉRIC LAPOINTE	13
ENTRE   DEUX TAXIS	LES COWBOYS FRINGANTS	15
POUSSE,   POUSSE	JONATHAN PAINCHAUD	17
SMILIN’!!	PASCALE PICARD	18
RÉVERBÈRE	ARIANE MOFFATT	19
L’OURS	TRICOT MACHINE	21
PLEINE   LUNE	MARIE-LUCE BÉLAND	24
LE DÉNI   DE L’ÉVIDENCE	MES AÏEUX	26
EMMÈNE-MOI	MARIE-MAI	29
JE VEUX   TOUT	ARIANE MOFFATT	31
LA   MAISON EST GRANDE	KAÏN	34
JE PENSE   À TOI	ALFA ROCOCO	36
OH MON   CHÉRI	ANIK JEAN	43
KAMIKAZE	EMI BOND	48

*  This is an English song from a Quebec-based band

2009 Canadian Billboard Top Songs of the Year

Title	Artist	Position
Africa	Karl Wolf ft. Culture	9
If Today Was Your Last Day	Nickelback	22
Gotta Be Somebody	Nickelback	27
Summer Girl	Stereos	35
Beautiful U R	Deborah Cox	39
Cross My Heart	Marianas Trench	43
Beautiful	Akon ft. Kardinal Offishall	45
All to Myself	Marianas Trench	46
G-Get Up and Dance	Faber Drive	48
Cha Ching	Hedley	58
Rusted from the Rain	Billy Talent	61
Dead End Countdown	The New Cities	69
Best I Ever Had	Drake	79
One Time	Justin Bieber	81
Haven’t Met You Yet	Michael Buble	84
Fantasy	Danny Fernandes	83
Throw Ya Hands Up	Stereos	85
Sunglasses	Divine Brown	87
Give It To Me Right	Melanie Fiona	93
Supergirl	Suzie McNeil	97
Too Pretty	State of Shock	100

2009 Top Francophone Songs of the Year

SONG	ARTIST	POS
BEAU   COMME ON S’AIME	YANN PERREAU	9
C’EST   MOI	MARIE-MAI	11
LA TETE   HAUTE	LES COWBOYS FRINGANTS	16
I’M RUNNING*	MISSTRESS BARBARA AND SAM ROBERTS*	18
SUB SU’A   JOB	MAD’MOIZELE GIRAF	20
SOUVENIRS   D’ENFANCE	DAVID JALBERT	22
LES   MALHEUREUX	ERIC LAPOINTE	24
EN   ATTENDANT LE SOLEIL	VALLIERES	31
CAMERA   VIDEO	LES TROIS ACCORDS	33
LA PLUS   BELLE FILLE DE LA PRISON	JEAN LELOUP	35
LE   PRESIDENT DANSE AUTREMENT	YANN PERREAU	37
TANT   QU’ON AURA DE L’AMOUR	LES COWBOYS FRINGANTS	40
JEUDI,   17 MAI	ARIANE MOFFATT	44
A MOITIE   MOINS HEUREUX	KAIN	47

* This is an English song from Quebec-based artists

 

Canadian Hit Singles 2007

This was the year that Billboard took over the Canadian Singles Chart. It did so in the middle of the year and the weekly singles charts are unavailbe for the first half of the year. There was no year-end chart. What we have below is a list of Canadian songs that peaked in the Top 20 of the Canadian Billboard Hot 100, that made the British weekly Top 10 and that finished on the United States Billboard year-end chart.  Foreign artists with which Canadians collaborated are in blue.  We have also included the top Francophone songs of the year thanks to Montreal radio station CKOI.

SONG	ARTIST	CA	UK	USY
Paralyzer	Finger Eleven	3		25
All Good Things (Come to an End)	Nelly Furtado	5
Girlfriend	Avril Lavigne	6	2	12
Everything	Michael Buble	10
If Everyone Cared	Nickelback	18		50
Give It To Me	Timbaland ft. Nelly   Furtado and Justin Timberlake	2	1	21
When You’re  Gone	Avril Lavigne	8	3
Money Honey	State of Shock	8
Walls Fall Down	Bedouin Soundclash	6
Do It	Nelly Furtado and Missy Elliott	11
Tongue Tied	Faber Drive	17
All I Ever Wanted	Brian Melo	11
1,2,3,4	Feist	3	8
Taking Chances	Celine Dion	9
Seven Day Fool	Jully Black	9
Into the Night	Santana and Chad Kroeger	2		98
Hot	Avril Lavigne	10
Rockstar	Nickelback	n/a	2	36
Say It   Right	Nelly Furtado	n/a	10	9
Keep   Holding On	Avril Lavigne	n/a		64

Top Francophone Songs of 2007

SONG	ARTIST	POS
TE LETTE	STAGE LACROIX	5
GATE 22	PASCALE PICARD	6
QUI   PRENDRA MA PLACE	MARIE-MAI	8
UNE ROSE   NOIRE	PAUL CARGNELLO	12
TOUT NU   SUR LA PLAGE	LES TROIS ACCORDS	16
FOLLOW   ME	ARIANE MOFFATT	21
LES   JOURS DE PLUIE	ALFA ROCOCO	24
LA FIN   DU MONDE	XAVIER CAFEINE	27
LE   BONHEUR TE FAIT DE L’OEIL	FRANCE D’AMOUR	30
L’AMOUR   DU JOUR	KAIN	32
AU GRE   DES SAISONS	DUMAS	34
MANIERE   DE PARLER	DANIEL BELANGER	36
LET’S GO	K-MARO	38
CAFE   LEZARD	VALLIERES	39
QUI JE   SUIS (LAISSEZ-MOI ALLER)	ANDREE WATTERS	41
LES   VIEUX CHUMS	JONATHAN PAINCHAUD	43
QU’EN   EST-IL DE LA CHANCE?	PIERRE LAPOINTE	45
PETIT   ANIMAL	ARIANE MOFFATT	47

 

Justin Bieber

Born: 1994, London, ON
Origin: Stratford, ON
Debut: 2009
Genres: Pop, R&B, Rap

Achievements

• In 2 years, sold more than 10 million records worldwide
• One of only five Canadian artists to receive a BRIT award
• 22 Top 40 singles, 4 finishing in the year-end Top 100 charts
• By the end of the decade was the most googled individual in the world
• 2 JUNO awards in 2011

Studio Albums and Hit Singles

2009: My World (EP)

• 2x Platinum in Canada and the U.K.
• Hit Singles: “One Less Lonely Girl” (#10 WP), “One Time” (#12 WP; #81 YE), “Love Me” (#12 WP), “Favourite Girl” (#15 WP)

2010: My World 2.0

• 2x Platinum in Canada, the U.S., and Australia
• Hit Singles: “Baby” (#3 WP; #61 YE), “Somebody to Love” (#10 WP; #87), “Never Let You Go” (#14), “Eenie Meenie” (#14 WP; #76 YE), “U Smile” (#17 WP)

2011: Under the Mistletoe

• 3x Platinum
• Singles: “Mistletoe” (#9 WP)

2012: Believe

• 2x Platinum
• Singles: “All Around the World” (#10 WP), “Boyfriend” (#1 WP; #35 YE), “As Long As You Love Me” (#9 WP; #48 YE), “Die in your Arms” (#14 WP), “Beauty and a Beat” (#4 WP)

Other Singles

• “Never Say Never” (#11 WP)
• “Next to You” with Chris Brown (#32 WP)
• “Turn to You” (#22 WP)
• “Beautiful” with Carly Rae Jepsen (#37 WP)
• “Live My Life” with Far East Movement (#4 WP, #85 YE)

Legend: WP – Weekly Peak, YE – Year-End Top 100

Canada has supplied the world with a number of teen stars over the years, and, unlike the United States, all have enjoyed continued success in their adult years.

Like many Canadians these days, Bieber was raised by a single mother. He grew up in Stratford, Ontario teaching himself drums, guitar, piano and trumpet. He entered a local singing contest when he was 12 and finished second. Taking advantage of new technologies, he uploaded videos onto internet website YouTube in 2007, of his performing covers of tunes of American artists Usher and Stevie Wonder. They took the world by storm and he racked up 10 million views.

The videos attracted the attention of So So Def management executive Scooter Braun. At just 13 years of age, Bieber was flown down to Atlanta, USA to meet with industry personnel and discuss a career. American rapper Usher and singer Justin Timberlake took an immediate interest in him but, as Usher and Braun were connected, Bieber signed with them and Island Records president L.A. Reid in October 2008. It was decided to make an EP first which was titled My World. The first single released was “One Time”, which charted globally, peaking at #12 in Canada. My World was certified double-platinum in both Canada and the United Kingdom. Eventually, seven singles from the album charted in the Billboard Hot 100, a record for a debut album.

Bieber followed up with a full-length album called My World 2.0, released in March, 2010. “Baby” was an international smash. At home, it was a #3 hit and was the 61st biggest song of the year. It topped the charts in France, peaked at #3 in Britain and Australia, and #5 in the United States where it was certified triple-platinum. To date, its music video has garnered over 800 million views on YouTube. The album matched the success of its predecessor.

He followed the album with both acoustic and remix albums and embarked on a world tour to the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. 93% of the venues sold out.

In 2011, Bieber became one of only five Canadian recording artists to win a BRIT award (International Breakthrough Act) and won two JUNO awards: pop album of the year (My World 2.0) and the fan choice award. In November he released a Christmas album called Under the Mistletoe. It was his most successful album in Canada, attaining triple-platinum sales. Track “Mistletoe”, an original song composed entirely by Canadians, was a Top 10 hit.

Bieber released Believe in 2012 which was certified double Platinum in November and became the best-selling Canadian album released in 2012 internationally.  The album spawned several Top 20 singles, including #1 “Boyfriend”, the 5th song by a Canadian artist to top the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.  He went on tour with labelmate Carly Rae Jepsen.  All shows in Northern America sold out in 30 minutes.

Justin Bieber Official Site

 

Elise Estrada

Born: 1987
Origin: Maple Ridge / Surrey, BC
Debut: 2007
Genres: R&B, Pop

Studio Albums and Hit Singles

2008: Elise Estrada

• Juno Nomination for R&B / Soul Album of the Year
• Singles: “Unlove You” (#11), “Insatiable”, “Ix Nay”, “These Three Words”, “Crash & Burn”, “Poison”, “One Last Time”

2010: Here Kitty Kittee

• Singles: “You’re So Hollywood”, “Lipstick”

“Being an Asian singer in North America hasn’t always been easy. There is nothing more rewarding than being a role model for my culture and showing aspiring artists that if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it, regardless of the odds stacked against you”  –Elise Estrada

April 5, 2008 was an inspirational milestone in Canadian music history: it was the first time a Canadian of east-Asian descent scored a Top 40 radio hit. The feat was accomplished by a young woman from Maple Ridge, BC named Elise Estrada.

Elise was born in the Philippines but when she was four, her family immigrated to Canada. She grew up in the Vancouver area where she participated in a number of singing competitions as well as beauty pageants. When she was 17 she was crowned Miss Vancouver Princess. After travelling to Los Angeles, U.S., she landed a role in a Disney Television pilot based on her life as a singer.

Vancouver radio station The Beat 94.5 FM offered a singing competition which she won. Graced with a beautiful voice, she was offered a record contract with RockSTAR / Universal and released the single “Insatiable”. It received radio airplay on The Beat.

Her second single, “Unlove You” was released and was brought into regular radio rotation. It entered the Canadian Hot 100 on December 22, 2007 gradually rising into the Top 50. When it was made available on iTunes, it shot up to #11 on the charts where it peaked on April 5, 2008. It made the Top 100 year-eand chart. This is remarkable given that no music video was shot to promote the song.

Estrada performed at the Canada Day Festival in Surrey, BC and released a full-length (self-titled) album in September. The album was produced by Adam H (Loverboy, Ne-Yo, George Clinton) and Sean Hosein & Dane DeViller (Hedley, Jessica Simpson). Grammy winner Orlando Calzada (Destiny’s Child, Jennifer Lopez) took care of the mixing. It was nominated for a Juno award—R&B album of the year in 2009. She won the Canadian Radio Music Award for Best New Artist in the R&B/Dance category. Several other singles were released from the album. “Crash and Burn” was nominated for two MuchMusic video awards (see below).

Estrada hosted a dating competition MuchMusic television series called Love Court which featured her “First Degree” as the theme song. In 2010, she released her second album, Here Kitty Kittee which spawned two singles. The music video for “Lipstick” was filmed in London, England.

In 2012, Elise released single “Piece of Me” as well as a charity single about the suicide of Vancouver bullied teen Amanda Todd.

Elise’s younger sister Emmalyn is in the process of consolidating a singing career and is a name to watch for in the next few years.

Elise Estrada hasn’t racked up gold and platinum certifications as of yet, but she has set the stage for all future Canadian recording artists whose roots lie in east Asia. And in so doing, she is a true heroine and will be remembered in the generations to come as a Canadian legend.

Elise Estrada’s Official Website

 

Late 2000s Mini Profiles on Semi-Major Artists

Feist

Feist was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia but the family relocated to Regina and then Calgary. In 1991, while a teenager, she formed a punk band in Calgary. She experienced vocal cord problems in 1995 and relocated to Toronto a year later where she worked with various local indie artists. She recorded her own album on an independent label which was produced by Dan Kurtz who later created Dragonette. In 2001, with friends, she formed popular indie band Broken Social Scene. She released the acclaimed album Let It Die in 2004 and her cover of the Bee Gees “Inside and Out” was popular. She won the JUNO for Best New Artist in 2005. A remix album, Open Season, came the following year. Her big breakthrough was in 2007 when she released double-platinum The Reminder. It won the JUNO for album of the year, track “1234″ song of the year, and Feist, herself, artist of the year. In all, she has won 8 JUNO awards. “1234” was the 35th most popular song of 2008. Feist released the album Metals in 2011.

Marie-Mai

Rocker Marie-Mai (Bouchard) was a finalist during the first season (2003) of Star Académie, somewhat of a French version of Canadian Idol. She grew up learning piano and developed a love and a talent for singing. Her grandmother mentored her and was the one who encouraged her to audition for the reality TV show. She released her gold debut album in 2004. She became noticed in Europe opening for Garou. Marie-Mai’s popular standing was sealed with the release of her second (gold) album, Dangereuse attraction, which won the Félix for rock album of the year. “Mentir” was nominated for the Félix song of the year, and she performed “Emmène-Moi” at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. She released her 3rd album, Version 3.0, in 2009. It was certified platinum and won her 2nd rock album of the year award. Both “C’est Moi” and “Comme Avant” (co-written by Rob Wells) were nominated for Félix awards. Marie-Mai won the Félix female artist of the year award in both 2010 and 2011. She recorded the song “Kill the Lights” with David Usher (Moist) and provided vocals for the French version of Simple Plan’s “Jet Lag”.  In 2012, she had the biggest Francophone song of the year, “Sans cri ni haine”, a French-language cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend”.  It won the Song of the Year Felix.  She released album Miroir which was quickly certified gold.

State of Shock

This Vancouver hard rock band has enjoyed three songs in the year-end Top 100 singles charts: “Best I Ever Had” (#87, 2008), “Money Honey” (#67, 2008), and “Too Pretty” (#100, 2009)—all from their second (gold) album Life, Love, and Lies. State of Shock is special in that it is a gender-combo band, including both male and female members. They released their debut album in 2004 but shot to stardom with their second release. Their lead singer is Cameron Melnyk, originally from Edmonton and of Ukrainian descent. They have toured with Nickelback and Puddle of Mud. State of Shock released its third album, Rock ‘n’ Roll Romance, in 2011.

Faber Drive

This band is from Mission, B.C. and has been more successful in the singles than the albums department. Like State of Shock, they have enjoyed three songs in the year-end Top 100 charts: “When I’m with You” (#83, 2008), “G-Get Up and Dance” (#48, 2009), and “Give Him Up” (#84, 2010). “Tongue Tied” was a hit in 2007. The band is named after lead singer Dave Faber and has gone through several line-up changes, the only other consistent member being Jeremy “Krikit” Liddle. They shifted from standard pop rock fare to a more synth-rock sound on their second album.

Drake

Toronto’s Aubrey Drake Graham is a Canadian rap artist. He became known as an actor first, however, playing the character Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. His recording career was launched when he was signed by American rapper Lil Wayne’s company. He released an EP first (in 2009) and his debut (platinum) album, Thank Me Later, was released the following year. Drake often collaborates with other artists in his recorded singles. “Headlines” is his only gold-certified single. “Best I Ever Had” made the year-end Top 100 in 2009; “Find Your Love” and “Over” did in 2010, when he won two JUNO awards, including one for best new artist. In 2011, he recorded hits with Barbados’ Rihanna and Trinidadian-American Nicki Minaj. That year he released his second full-length studio album, Take Care, with contributions by Chantal Kreviazuk, among others. Drake’s father is African American and his mother is Jewish Canadian.

The Stereos

Edmonton is not known for churning out popular rock bands. But all that changed with the advent of The Stereos who have a gold album under their belt and have managed three year-end Top 100 singles: “Summer Girl” (#35, 2009), “Throw Ya Hands Up” (#85, 2009), and “Turn It Up” (#80, 2010). The first two were double-platinum digital downloads and the latter platinum. The Stereos are led by Pat Kordyback. They formed in 2008 under the moniker Stand By Me, changed it to Turn It Up, and finally settled on The Stereos. They rose to prominence by performing on MuchMusic show disBAND and were judged by Gene Simmons of Kiss. Universal Music Canada signed them immediately. After their gold debut album in 2009, they released a second album the following year.

LIGHTS

LIGHTS is a female recording artist and synthesizer virtuoso. She was born in Timmins, Ontario but moved around during her childhood, living in Jamaica, The Philippines, and Vancouver, before settling in Toronto in her teens. In 2006, she got a job with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and composed music for television. Her talents led to a record deal with Sire / Warner Music and her song “Drive My Soul” became a Top 20 hit and the 70th biggest song of the year 2008. Before she even released her debut album, she received the JUNO award for best new artist. The Listening came out in 2009 and was certified gold. Her second album, Siberia, came out in 2011 and was certified gold in 2012. A departure from her more poppy-sounding debut, Siberia showcased a more creative electronic rock sound and drew critical acclaim.

 

East-Asia, Edmonton, and Americanization (2007-2009)

The most significant event that occurred in the latter years of the first decade of the new millennium was that, for the first time in music history, a Canadian of east-Asian descent scored a radio hit. Canadians of Asian descent make up over 12% of the population but have seen little representation in the music industry. Maple Ridge B.C.’s Elise Estrada, born in the Philippines, recorded the R&B hit “Unlove You” which peaked at #11 on the singles chart.

This period also witnessed the 3rd best-selling Canadian single of all-time internationally, after Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”. Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” sold 7.3 million copies worldwide.

Edmonton, which had been left off the map in terms of churning out significant recording artists, contributed two during this time: Kreesha Turner and the Stereos.

Canadian music embraced further diversity. For the first time in a while, Canada gave the world a new male teen international superstar. A couple new electronic artists achieved success. Rock trio Metric released the single “Help, I’m Alive” which peaked at #21 on the singles chart in early 2009. LIGHTS, a female singer-songwriter, won the best new artist JUNO after her electronic pop song “Drive My Soul” became a Top 20 hit. Much of this diversity, however, involved taking on American styles of music, like R&B and rap. This coincided with Billboard magazine’s taking over the Canadian singles and albums charts in 2007.

Americanization

In the late 2000s, a large portion of Canadian music began to emulate styles popular south of the border. A number of new Canadian artists began performing rap and R&B music. Relatively-speaking, such music did not sell well domestically. Most of these American-style artists arose from Toronto and were heavily promoted by Toronto-based MuchMusic. Although many of them were of Jamaican ancestry, they did not perform reggae music.

While it is true that Canadian artists like Avril Lavigne, Chantal Kreviazuk, and Raine Maida were busy writing and producing songs for American idol winners like Kelly Clarkson, and, in so doing, somewhat Canadianizing American pop, the American influence on Canadian music was much more apparent.

Artists who continued to perform Canadian styles of music began shedding their Canadian pronunciation, adopting American accents. And bad grammar became trendy. By the end of the decade these tendencies had become quite standard.

We can only speculate as to the motivations behind such a trend. Perhaps with the advent of digital music and the looming threat of rampant online piracy, record labels were pushing Canadian recording artists to tailor their music and accents to American styles in order to maximize chances of being successful in the world’s largest market for music. Ironically, many of the artists who did this did not end up making names for themselves in the republic. The most successful Canadian artists during the latter years of the decade were those who made music that was very Canadian: Michael Buble, Avril Lavigne, and Nickelback. The only new artists to sell many records during this period were Feist and Justin Bieber.

2007

Although the year was heavily dominated by pop-punk superstar Avril Lavigne, the Juno gala held the following year gave all three major awards (song, album, and artist of the year) to a folk-pop singer from Amherst, N.S. called Feist. She had received some attention in 2005 for her cover of the Bee Gees’ song “Inside and Out”. Juno-winning The Reminder was certified double-platinum. Feist’s song “1234″ was a Top 10 hit in Britain and the U.S. and made it to #3 at home. In the late 2000s, Feist was the most successful new artist at the Junos, winning eight of 11 nominations.

Five-piece, Vancouver-based, punky grunge band State of Shock scored a Top 10 hit called “Money Honey”. They managed three songs in the year-end Top 100 charts by the end of the decade. They were one of the few male-female combo bands.

Toronto’s Jully Black also made the Top 10 with her cover of the 1960s song “Seven Day Fool”. In Québec, female rocker Anik Jean enjoyed the hit “Oh mon chéri” and Jonathan Painchaud scored with “Pousse, Pousse”. But it was rocker Marie-Mai, Star Académie finalist who shone the brightest. She won four Félix awards, released gold and platinum albums, and recorded songs with David Usher (Moist) and Simple Plan. Although she did not see any hit singles, Peterborough, Ontario’s indie folk singer Serena Ryder scored a pair of gold albums and was honoured with the JUNO for best new artist.

With the handover of the official Canadian charts going to Billboard magazine, there was no year-end chart for the year, and we do not have access to the weekly singles charts for the first half of the year. Nevertheless, we have attempted to piece together data on some of the hits this year which you can find HERE. In brief, besides the new artists mentioned above, Avril Lavigne, Nickelback / Chad Kroeger, Nelly Furtado, Finger Eleven, Michael Bublé, Bedouin Soundclash, and Céline Dion enjoyed big hits.

2008

Like R&B singer Jully Black, Toronto’s Kardinal Offishall (born Jason Harrow) is of Jamaican ancestry. His singles have done much better than his albums. This year, he scored the international hit “Dangerous” (11th biggest of 2008) with American Akon which won the Juno for song of the year. The two collaborated again in “Beautiful” and “Body Bounce” in subsequent years. In 2011, he recorded the song “Ghetto Love” with Montreal’s Karl Wolf, a rap-reggae version of Peter Cetera’s “Glory of Love”. Kardinal Offishall has won 3 JUNO awards.

Edmonton-born Kreesha Turner, whose mother is Jamaican, started her career by performing 70s-style R&B and scored the Top 10 hit “Don’t Call Me Baby”. South of her, in Calgary, Andrew F became a one-hit wonder (so far) with his punky song “The End”. Marie-Pierre Arthur scored the Quebec hit “Pourquoi” as did Yann Perreau with “Beau comme on s’aime”. Gypsy jazz band The Lost Fingers, from Quebec City, scored a platinum album called Lost in the 80s.

Montreal’s pop pianist Béatrice Martin, under the stage name Coeur de Pirate, released her debut album this year. It was certified platinum and was nominated for Francophone album of the year at the JUNOs.

LIGHTS is not a band but a female singer-songwriter based in Toronto. She became one of the most successful electronic pop musicians in the late 2000s, winning the Juno award for Best New Artist. Her “Drive My Soul” was the 70th biggest song of 2008.

Vancouver’s Phillipine-born beauty contest winner Elise Estrada scored the hit “Unlove You” which finished in the Top 100 year-end chart of 2008. As far as we know, she is the first Canadian of east-Asian descent to score a hit on the radio in Canada, a remarkable achievement.

Mission, B.C.’s Faber Drive were signed onto Chad Kroeger’s label 604 Records and performed mainstream pop. “When I’m with You” made the year-end Top 100 and the following year their “Get Up and Dance” was the 48th biggest song of the year.

2009

Many new artists emerged this last year of the decade.

Lebanese-born Montrealer Karl Wolf began performing R&B and his cover of Toto’s “Africa” was the biggest song of the year by a Canadian artist, finishing the year in 9th spot.

A Canadian rapper had a huge hit south of the border. “Best I Ever Had” was the 22nd biggest song in the U.S. (79th in Canada) thanks to Toronto’s Aubrey Drake Graham, known simply as Drake. He started out as an actor playing the character Jimmy Brooks on the television series “Degrassi: The Next Generation”. Drake’s father is an African American from Memphis, Tennessee, and his mother is Jewish Canadian. He started out by collaborating with American rap artists like Kanye West, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne, signing onto the latter’s record label. Drake’s album Thank Me Later managed to go platinum in Canada.

Outselling Drake was a youngster from Stratford, ON named Justin Bieber who managed one platinum and two double-platinum albums. “One Time” and “One Less Lonely Girl” were big hits this year. He became successful by uploading videos of his songs onto Youtube. This led to a recording contract. Although primarily a pop artist, some of his songs feature rap segments from American artists.

Besides Nelly Furtado and Shawn Desman, another Portuguese-Canadian popped out of obscurity; in fact, he is Desman’s younger brother, Danny Fernandes. His “Fantasy” was a big hit this year.

Born in Scotland, naturalized Canadian soul singer Johnny Reid, despite no hit singles, put out an album that went double-platinum this year: Dance with Me. Divine Brown was yet another Toronto R&B singer to arise, though she did not score any significant hits until she teamed up with Nelly Furtado and performed “Sunglasses” (#22).

Toronto’s Suzie McNeil had entered a CBS reality show called Rock Star: INXS to find a new lead singer for the band. She was the last female singer to be eliminated from the competition, having gained by then considerable respect. She relocated to Los Angeles to develop her career. Her “Supergirl” made the year-end Top 100 this year.

Also from Toronto was Melanie Fiona, whose parents immigrated to Canada from Guyana. Her “Give It to Me Right” also made the Top 100 of 2009.

Besides Kreesha Turner, Edmonton produced the band the Stereos who scored two big hits this year: “Summer Girl” (#2) and “Throw Your Hands Up” (#3). The Stereos made a kind of music that blended all the current popular styles: grunge, dance, and rap.

Originally from Trois-Rivières, Québec, The New Cities set up base in Montréal and released their debut LP this year. Gold single “Dead End Countdown” was a big new wave hit, 69th of the year.

Links to Related Posts

Lists of Canadian Songs in the Top 100 of 2008 and 2009 in Canada are HERE.

Mini profiles on semi-major artists Feist, Marie-Mai, State of Shock, Faber Drive, Drake, The Stereos, and LIGHTS are HERE.

Major profile on Elise Estrada is HERE.

Major profile on Justin Bieber is HERE.

A list of Juno and Félix song of the year nominees and winners for the decade 2000-2009 is HERE.

A list of best-selling Canadian albums 2000-2009 is HERE.

A list of best-selling Canadian singles 2000-2009 is HERE.

 

Hedley

Debut: 2005
Origin: Vancouver
Genres: Pop, Rock

Members

Jacob Hoggard – lead vocals
Chris Crippin – guitars
Tommy Mac – bass
Dave Rosin – drums

Achievements

• 2 double-platinum albums
• 13 Top 40 Singles, most of which made the year-end Top 100
• Biggest Canadian song of the year 2010 (“Perfect”)
• Triple Platinum single: “Kiss You Inside Out”
• 18 Juno Nominations, including 2 wins

Studio Albums and Hit Singles

2005: Hedley

• 2x Platinum
• Hit Singles: “On My Own” (#1), “Trip” (#11)

2007: Famous Last Words

• Platinum
• Hit Singles: “Never Too Late” (#4 WP; #23 YE), “For the Nights I Can’t Remember” (#6 WP; #14 YE), “Old School” (#10 WP; #61 YE)

2009: The Show Must Go

• 2x Platinum
• Hit Singles: “Cha Ching” (#6 WP; #58 YE*), “Perfect” (#7 WP; #18 YE), “Don’t Talk to Strangers” (#11 WP; #54 YE), ”Hands Up” (#27 WP; #96 YE)

2011: Storms

• Platinum
• Hit Singles: “Invincible” (Weekly Chart Peak #9, Double Platinum, 69th of 2011 and 97th of 2012), “One Life” (Weekly Chart Peak #16, Platinum, 57th of 2012)

Non-Album Hit Singles

2012:  “Kiss You Inside Out”

• Triple Platinum.
• Peaked at #2 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 was the 19th biggest song of 2012.
• In addition to the English-only version, a special bilingual version was released, with a video, featuring Andrée-Anne Leclerc.

Notes:

WP – Weekly Peak
YE – Year-End

* Cha Ching was the 54th biggest song of 2009 and the 92nd biggest song of 2010.

Hedley formed in Abbotsford, B.C. in 2004. Lead singer Jacob Hoggard’s bandmates bet him $150 that he would not audition for Canadian Idol and lost the bet; Hoggard auditioned, became one of the second season’s ten finalists and ended up finishing third, behind winner Kalan Porter and 2nd place Theresa Sokyrka. After leaving the show, Hoggard decided to reform the band and recruited Crippin, Mac, and Rosin. Perhaps due mostly to Hoggard’s high public profile resulting from his Canadian Idol days, the band was signed by Universal.

In 2005, Hedley released its debut (self-titled) album, and “On My Own” became a chart-topping hit single in Canada. MuchMusic brought music videos of all singles released into heavy rotation for the next two years. The album was eventually certified double-platinum.

Beginning a tradition of releasing a studio album every two years during an odd-numbered year, Hedley released its second album, Famous Last Words, in 2007. Three singles from the album peaked in the Top 10. “For the Nights I Can’t Remember” finished as the 14th biggest song of 2008.

The Show Must Go followed in 2009. “Cha Ching” sprinted up the charts peaking at #6. Hedley performed this song during the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. “Perfect”, a piano ballad, was the most successful Canadian single in 2010, the 18th biggest song of the year. The song won the JUNO award for video of the year and was their most successful song south of the border, making it to #25 on the Billboard Adult Pop chart. The band toured with Faber Driver, Boys Like Girls, The Stereos, and Fefe Dobson.

Heralding their fourth album Storms, released late in 2011, was the single “Invincible”.  The band released a new non-album single in 2012, “Kiss You Inside Out” which peaked at #2 on Billboard and became their best-selling single (Triple Platinum).  A special bilingual version was recorded which featured Star Academie finalist Andrée-Anne Leclerc.

Hedley takes its name from both a town in British Columbia as well as a street from their hometown of Abbotsford. Hedley has toured with Simple Plan, Nickelback, and Bon Jovi.

Hedley’s Official Site

 

Raghav

Born: 1981
Origin: Calgary
Debut: 2003
Genre: R&B, Pop, Dance

Achievements

• Gold Single: “Fire”
• The only artist to score three Top 10 singles on the UK Chart in 2004
• Has won seven music awards and been nominated for a Juno
• 5 of the tracks off his debut album peaked in the UK singles chart at #15 or better

Studio Albums and Hit Singles

2004: Storyteller

• Worldwide sales: 1.6 million
• Singles: “So Confused” (#6 UK), “It Can’t Be Right” (#8 UK), “Can’t Get Enough” (#10 UK), “Angel Eyes” (#7 UK), “Let’s Work It Our” (#15 UK)

2009: Identity

• Peaked on the India albums chart at #3
• Singles: “My Kinda Girl” (#3 India), “Humrahee” (#3 India)

2012: The Phoenix

• Singles: “So Much” (Nominated for a Juno Award), “Fire” (94th of 2011 CA; GOLD single)

Raghav is a vital component in the Canadian music scene simply because his talent is astounding.

He was born in Toronto, his parents having immigrated from India. The family soon after settled in Alberta—Calgary and Fort McMurray. As a teenager, while falling in love with Indian music, he also took a liking to American R&B. He wrote a song when he was 16 that won an award by the National Songwriters Association of America and the following year moved to Los Angeles to receive vocal training from Seth Riggs, mentor of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Stevie Wonder. After a year, he relocated to Liverpool, UK to study at the city’s Institute for Performing Arts. There, he joined a local R&B band called 11/7.

In 2003, Raghav signed a deal with A&R/V2 Records collaborating with DJ / producer 2Play and recorded the single “So Confused”. It was a big hit in Britain peaking at #6 on the official singles chart. In fact, every single that Raghav released rocketed its way up the singles chart into the Top 15. A total of five singles did so, four of which made the Top 10. A full-length studio album with 11 additional tracks was released in September 2004 called Storyteller. “Angel Eyes” was inspired by the reggae classic “Murder She Wrote” by Chaka Demus and Pliers, while “Sooner or Later” featured fellow Canadian artist Kardinal Offishall.

In 2005, Raghav toured the world in the truest sense, performing in India, Africa, New York, Australia, and, of course, Canada.

Canada’s fellow Commonwealth country India was no doubt eager to get their hands on Raghav. In 2009, Universal Music India signed him to release his second album, Identity. The album was a huge hit in the second most populated country on earth, peaking at #3, aided by a pair of Top 3 singles. It features songs in both Hindi and English. “My Kinda Girl” featured rapper Redman.

After record deals in Britain and India, Raghav was ready to come home and, in 2010, signed with Canadian label Cordova Bay (State of Shock, Acres of Lions). He released the single “Fire” which became a GOLD-certified digital download despite no music video being made. It was released in conjunction with the Hindi “Kya Se Kya Ho Gaya”. “Fire” made the year-end Top 100 chart of 2011. Again teaming up with Kardinal Offishall, Raghav recorded “So Much” which was nominated for a Juno in 2011. Cordova Bay released Raghav’s third studio album The Phoenix in 2012. “Top of the World” made the Canadian Hot 100.

Raghav’s style is a unique blend of pop, reggae, R&B, rap, dance, and Indian music. Not only should Canadians of Indian descent (who make up a large portion of Canada’s population) be proud of him, all Canadians should be. He’s one of our best.

Raghav’s Official Website

 

Michael Bublé

Born: 1975, Burnaby, BC
Debut: 2003
Genres: Jazz, AC

Achievements

• All 5 studio albums quadruple platinum or higher
• 3 Top 10 hits
• Nominated for 2 BRITs
• 3 Grammy Award wins
• 21 Juno Nominations, including 10 wins

Major Juno Awards

2006: Song of the Year, “Home”
2006: Artist of the Year
2006: Album of the Year, It’s Time
2010: Album of the Year, Crazy Love
2010: Song of the Year, “Haven’t Met You Yet”

Studio Albums and Hit Singles

2003: Michael Bublé

• 4x Platinum
• Singles: “Sway” (#15 AUL), “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”, “Kissing a Fool”

2005: It’s Time

• 6x Platinum
• Juno Album of the Year
• Singles: “Home” (Juno Song of the Year; Platinum Digital Download), “Feeling Good”, “Save the Last Dance for Me”

2007: Call Me Irresponsible

• 4x Platinum
• Singles: “Everything” (#10 CA), “Me and Mrs. Jones”, “Lost” (#19 UK), “It Had Better Be Tonight”, “Comin’ Home Baby”

2009: Crazy Love

• 4x Platinum
• Juno Album of the Year
• Singles: “Haven’t Met You Yet” (#5 CA & UK; #31 CA-YE; Juno Song of the Year), “Hold On”, “Cry Me a River”, “Crazy Love”, “Hollywood” (#2 IL)

2011: Christmas

• 8x Platinum

Other Singles

• “Spider-Man Theme” (#6 CA) from the 2004 Spider-Man 2 soundtrack
• “Let It Snow!” (#22 AUL)

Legend: AUL-Australia, CA-Canada, UK-United Kingdom, US-YE-United States Year-End Chart, IL-Ireland
Note: Only countries with highest positions mentioned

Beginnings

Michael Bublé was born in Burnaby, a suburb on the east side of Vancouver. He was attracted to jazz vocal music as a child, especially Bing Crosby. His family noticed his singing talents when he was 13. As an avid Canucks fan, initially, Buble wanted to become a hockey player, and played the game in his youth. From age 14, he spent his summers working with his father, a commercial fisherman.

It was Michael’s Italian grandfather, a plumber, who began encouraging his musical talents and who paid for his singing lessons. Any nightclubs that needed plumbing work done were offered service in exchange for giving Michael stage time. He was 16. Two years later, Buble entered a local talent contest and won but was disqualified because he was underage. The organizer, Bev Delich, made it up to him by entering him in the Youth Talent Search which he won as well. Michael asked Delich to become his manager; she accepted. Over the next several years, Buble performed every gig possible, performing on cruise ships, at shopping malls and corporate events, in hotel lounges, bars, clubs, for corporate events, even doing singing telegrams. He made appearances in several television shows like The X-Files. But success eluded him.

In 1997, when he was 22, he performed on national television via a documentary called “Big Band Boom!” The same year he became a frequent guest on CTV’s Vicki Gabereau show as a fill-in for guests who cancelled. He performed with Diana Krall who was impressed with him. He began composing songs for Canadian cinema which led to a couple of Genie nominations. He recorded a self-financed independent album, First Dance, which went unnoticed. He pursued high-profile Vancouverite Bruce Allen to be his manager but was ignored. He relocated to Toronto to appear in some musicals.

At the end of the decade, Bublé’s musical career was, despite all the effort, going nowhere. He was ready to give up and pursue a career in journalism.

Turning Point

In the summer of 2000, Michael McSweeney, a speech writer for former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, heard Michael Buble sing at a corporate party. Mulroney’s daughter Caroline was getting married in September. McSweeney recommended Buble to sing at the wedding giving the Mulroney’s a copy of his independent album. The former P.M. extended the invitation, and Buble sang “Mack the Knife”. Guess who else was attending the wedding? David Foster. Bingo!

Foster was indeed impressed; however, he was honest in saying that he did not know how to market Bublé’s style of music. Buble followed Foster to Los Angeles, refusing to give up hope. He appeared in the films Duets and Totally Blonde. He recorded two more independent albums, Babalu (2001) and Dream (2002). At some point Paul Anka arrived on the scene to personally endorse Buble and Foster finally agreed to sign him onto his label 143 Records with no assurances from Warner.

Stardom

The self-titled 2003 release contained contemporary standards of such songs as Van Morrison’s “Moondance”, George Michael’s “Kissing a Fool”, The Bee Gees “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”, Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, and Paul Anka’s “Put You Head on My Shoulder”. “Sway” became, perhaps, the best-known track. Originally, a 1953 Spanish mambo song by a Mexican composer, it was recorded by Dean Martin the following year with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel.

Buble went on tour to promote the album and made a number of TV appearances. The album was eventually certified 4x Platinum in Canada but saw its greatest success in Australia where it topped the album charts and went 7x Platinum.

The following year, Buble was asked to sing the spider-man theme for the huge blockbuster Spider-Man 2. It became his first Top 10 hit in Canada.

Bublé’s sophomore release It’s Time became his biggest-selling album at home, selling over 600,000 copies. “Home”, an original song, which Buble co-wrote, won the Juno for Song of the Year. Buble performed songs with Nelly Furtado and world-renowned trumpeter Chris Botti. “Save the Last Dance for Me” was a 1960 hit for Ben E. King. “Feeling Good” was originally written for the musical “Roar of the Greasepaint”. It’s Time won the Juno for Album of the Year and Bublé for Artist of the Year.

Call Me Irresponsible came next, in 2007. “Everything”, another song Buble co-wrote, was a Top 10 hit at home. The album also contains the song “Lost” which he co-wrote with Jann Arden. He sang with English actress Emily Blunt for “Me and Mrs. Jones”, originally a hit for Billy Paul in 1972. He performed the original song “Comin’ Home Baby” with American vocal group Boys II Men.

In 2009, Buble released Crazy Love which was especially well-received in the U.K. & Ireland (8x and 9x Platinum). With it, Buble received his second song and album of the year awards. Co-composed “Haven’t Me You Yet” became his biggest hit: Top 5 in the U.K. and Canada and appearing on the year-end American Billboard chart at #39. Buble co-wrote a second song on the album—”Hold On”. He performed Ron Sexsmith’s “Whatever It Takes”. “Hollywood” was included on a re-release of the album and made it to #2 on the Irish charts.

Buble released a Christmas album in October, 2011. It became his highest certified studio album, 7x Platinum, making it the best-selling Canadian album of the year.

                    Copyright 2011 by the Canadian Music Blog

 

Simple Plan

Formed: 1999 in Montréal
Debut: 2002
Genre: Pop Punk

Members

Pierre Bouvier – lead vocals
Chuck Comeau – drums & percussion
David Desrosiers – bass guitar, backing vocals
Sébastien Lefebvre – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jeff Stinco – lead guitar

Achievements

• Quadruple-platinum album: Still Not Getting Any
• Over 7 million albums sold worldwide
• Eleven Top 20 Singles
• Platinum single: “Jet Lag”
• 9 Juno Nominations, including 2 wins

Studio Albums and Hit Singles

2002: No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls

• 2x Platinum
• Singles: “Perfect” (#5), “I’d Do Anything”, “I’m Just a Kid”, “Addicted”

2004: Still Not Getting Any…

• 4x Platinum
• Singles: “Welcome to My Life” (#1), “Shut Up” (#12), “Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)” (#3), “Crazy” (#4), “Perfect World”

2008: Simple Plan

• Platinum
• Singles: “When I’m Gone” (#11), “Your Love Is a Lie” (#16), “Save You” (#18)

2011: Get Your Heart On!

• Gold
• Singles: “Jet Lag” (#11; 37th of 2011), “Can’t Keep My Hands Off You”, “Astronaut”, “Summer Paradise” (#8; 22nd of 2012)

Bouvier, Comeau and Desrosiers were involved in a moderately-popular punk band in the 90s called Reset. For various reasons, they departed, and later hooked up with Lefebvre and Stinco who had dabbled in other bands. The five became Simple Plan in 1999.

They developed a spirited punk sound and, after writing some songs and touring, they booked studio time to record their works. A couple of members of other bands assisted them in the studio, most notably Mark Hoppus of Blink-182. The resulting album, under Lava / Atlantic / Warner, bore the rugby slogan No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls, and was released in March of 2002. Single “Perfect” became a Top 5 hit in Canada. The group was able to achieve international success. Besides Canada, the album was certified double-platinum in the two most lucrative markets for music in the world: the United States and Japan. It was also a hit in the United Kingdom , Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines Singapore, and Australia. In all, the album sold over 4 million copies worldwide. They opened for Avril Lavigne during her Try to Shut Me Up tour.

High-profile Canadian producer Bob Rock was assigned to the task of producing Simple Plan’s sophomore album, Still Not Getting Any. It was the band’s most successful album at home, attaining quadruple-platinum sales. Four hit singles were released from the album. The style of the album was somewhat of a departure from their pure punk debut release, drifting over towards modern rock.

In 2006, Simple Plan received its only Juno, the fan choice award. Fans would have to wait four years before the release of their third album. In 2007, Bouvier went down to Miami, USA to meet producer Dave Fortman who had worked with Evanescence. Additional producers were Nate Hills (Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado) and Max Martin (Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears). Parts of the new album were recorded in Los Angeles, Montreal, Miami, and New York. The (self-titled) album came out in 2008 and spawned three hit singles, once of which the band performed during the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The album struck platinum.

Collaborations becoming increasingly popular after the first decade of the new millennium, K’naan, Marie-Mai, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, and British superstar Natasha Bedingfield were brought on board to contribute to Simple Plan’s fourth album, Get Your Heart On. The album was produced by Brian Howes (Hedley). “Jet Lag” was released in both official languages. The English version featured Bedingfield and the French version Marie-Mai. “Jet Lag” became a platinum single.  “Summer Paradise” was the third most successful Canadian song of 2012, on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 at #22.

Simple Plan’s Official Site
 

 

Ariane Moffatt

Born: 1979, Saint-Romuald, QC
Debut: 2002
Genre: Pop Fusion

Achievements

• Five songs nominated for the Felix song of the year award
• Felix Song of the year award (“Je veux tout”, 2008)
• Felix Female Artist of the Year Award, 2006
• All albums named Best Pop-Rock album by ADISQ
• 3 Juno Nominations, including a win for Fracophone Album of the Year (Tous les sens, 2009)

Studio Albums and Hit Singles

2002: Aquanaute

• Platinum
• Felix Pop-Rock Album of the Year
• Singles: “Fracture du crâne”, “Poussière d’ange”, “Point de mire” (Felix song of the year nomination)

2005: Le cœur dans

• Gold
• Felix Pop-Rock Album of the Year
• Singles: “Montreal” (Felix song of the year nomination), “Will You Follow Me” (Felix song of the year nomination)

2008: Tous les sens

• Gold
• Felix Pop-Rock Album of the Year
• Juno Francophone Album of the Year
• Singles: “Je veux tout” (Felix song of the year award), “Réverbère” (Felix song of the year nomination)

2012: MA

• Debuted at #2 on the Canadian Billboard albums chart
• Singles: “Mon Corps” (French), ”In My Body” (English)

Ariane Moffatt has released only three studio albums but all won the Felix for best pop-rock album of the year. And one of them won a Juno award.

Moffatt studied piano and jazz singing at the Cégep Saint-Laurent in Montréal. She entered and won several performance contests before enrolling in pop music and singing at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She hooked up with Marc Déry to further her training and ended up touring with Daniel Belanger as keyboardist and backup singer. He had her perform some of her own songs during his concerts as well. This led to her signing with Audiogram and releasing her debut album Aquanaute in 2002 which went platinum. “Fracture du crâne” and “Poussière d’ange” were popular, and its track “Point de mire” was nominated for song of the year at the Felix gala. Aquanaute was named pop-rock album of the year.

In 2005, Moffatt released Le coeur dans la tête which won her second pop-rock album of the year. As well, she was named Female Artist of the year. “Montreal” and “Will You Follow Me” were nominated for the song of the year award.

Her third album, Tous les sens, came out in 2008. Again, it won the Felix for best pop-rock album and, additionally, the Juno award for Francophone Album of the Year. “Je veux tout” won the Felix for song of the year. “Réverbère” was nominated the following year.

In 2012, Moffatt released MA which debuted at #2 on the Canadian Billboard albums chart.  Most of the tracks on the album are English with a few French, Moffatt being fluently bilingual.

Like Nelly Furtado, Moffatt’s style of music is a fusion of different genres: folk, jazz, reggae, electronic, and pop.

              Copyright 2011 by the Canadian Music Blog

 

Mid-2000s Mini Profiles on Semi-Major Artists

Gregory Charles

Of French and Trinidadian ancestry, multi-talented Charles was born in 1968 in Montreal. At 7, he won the national Canadian piano contest and performed with many of the country’s symphonies. He studied law but landed a role in the TV series “Chambres en ville”. This led to his hosting a daily radio show, a television game show, a chat show, and he made several appearances in “Just for Laughs”. He toured with Celine Dion in 1998, providing backing vocals and piano work. He launched a variety show in the new millennium and finally his first studio album in 2006, I Think of You. It was certified triple platinum and he was nominated for three Juno awards. The French album Loin de la lumière followed in 2008 for which he won the Felix for male artist of the year.

Fefe Dobson

Born in 1985 this singer-songwriter and model from Scarborough has English, French, Aboriginal, and Jamaican ancestry. Her debut self-titled album, released in 2003, went platinum and she received two Juno nominations. The album spawned two Top 10 hits: “Bye Bye Boyfriend” (#8) and “Don’t Go (Girls & Boys)” (#9). She ran into record company problems and her second album was never released. After many delays and changes, her third album Joy came out in 2010 resulting in three Top 20 hits. “Ghost” was the 47th biggest song of 2010. And, in 2011, “Can’t Breathe” was 76th of the year while “Stutterin’” was 45th.  Fefe is known for her music videos which have won three MuchMusic awards for her.

Finger Eleven

Forming way back in 1989 as the Rainbow Butt Monkeys, they released their first album in 1995. It and its two hard rock follow ups made little impact. But in 2004, the band scored the international acoustic guitar hit “One Thing”, the 66th biggest song of the year in the U.S. In 2007, their song “Paralyzer” did even better scaling up the domestic charts to #3 and was the 64th most popular song in 2008. “I’ll Keep Your Memory Vague” also made the year-end chart (#53). Two of the band’s albums have gone platinum, including 2007′s Them Vs. You Vs. Me which won the Juno for best rock album. The band has received 8 Juno nominations to date.

Mes Aïeux

This sextet (five men and one woman) folk outfit formed in 1996 and released its debut album in 2000. Like Les Cowboys Fringants, their style is dubbed as neo-traditional. The band’s third 2004 album, En Famille, went double-Platinum, a difficult feat for a French release. They have also scored two platinum albums. At the 2007 Felix gala, the band’s song “Dégénérations” was named song of the year. “Le déni de l’évidence” was nominated two years later. Mes Aieux was declared Group of the Year thrice in Quebec.

Billy Talent

This is a heavy metal quartet, formerly known as Pezz, led by vocalist Ben Kowalewicz. They formed in Mississauga and recorded a self-titled album in Vancouver in 2003 which sold over 300,000 copies domestically. Their first Top 10 hit came in 2009—”Rusted from the Rain” which was the 61st biggest song of the year. Billy Talent has been nominated for a whopping 17 Junos, winning 7 of them including Group of the Year twice and album of the year in 2005.

Shawn Desman

Shawn is an R&B singer from Vaughan, Ontario (just north of Toronto) and, like Nelly Furtado, is of Portuguese descent. Generally speaking, he has done better in the singles than the albums department in terms of sales. His only album to achieve gold certification was his debut, self-titled release in 2002. 2005′s Back for More won a Juno for R&B/Soul recording of the year. “Don’t Wanna Lose You” was his first hit single (#19). “Get Ready” topped the charts with “Shook” (gold) peaking at #3. His album Fresh, released in 2010, spawned three hit singles, all of which made the year-end charts. In 2010, “Shiver” was 78th and “Night Like This” was 86th. And in 2011, ”Electric“, a platinum download, was 59th of the year. In 2012, “Nobody Does It Like You” peaked at #18 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Marie-Élaine Thibert

Thibert of Montreal has achieved remarkable success in a very short time. She was runner-up in the first season of Quebec television reality series Star Académie (somewhat of a French version of Canadian Idol). Her debut, self-titled album, released in 2004, went triple platinum in Canada, a striking achievement for a Francophone album. It won the Juno award for Francophone Album of the Year. What’s more, her single “Toi l’inoubliable” was certified 6x platinum, making it the 2nd best-selling single of the decade (after Kalan Porter’s “Awake in a Dream”). She has released two albums since then, both of which have gone platinum.

Marianas Trench

Mike Ayley, Ian Casselman, Josh Ramsay, and Matt Webb formed the band in Vancouver and eventually landed a deal with Chad Kroeger’s (Nickelback) local record label, 604 Records. Their debut album appeared in 2006 and spawned a couple of hit singles: “Say Anything” peaked at #3 on the charts and “Shake Tramp” was certified gold. Followup album Masterpiece Theatre was a platinum release in 2009 and, in all, four tracks made the year-end Top 100 singles chart in 2009 and 2010; the highest charting was ”Cross My Heart” (43rd of 2009). In 2011, they released a new platinum single “Haven’t Had Enough” (81st of the year) and their third studio album, Ever After.  “Fallout” and “Desperate Measures” both made the year-end Hot 100 of 2012.