All Canadians and especially those from New Brunswick should be proud of Mia Martina. Her new single “Burning” from album Devotion is burning up the charts, currently at #27. And we’ve got the song’s brand new music video for you hot off the press…
Category Archives: News: 2012-01
Coeur de Pirate and Marc Hervieux Among New GOLD Recipients
Some new gold and platinum certifications have been made over the past few weeks.
Gold albums include Coeur de Pirate’s Blonde. Marc Hervieux has scored a pair: A Napoli released last year and Le Premier Noël released in 2009. Wooden Arms, Patrick Watson’s 2009 album, has also gone gold. Serena Ryder’s 2006 single “Weak in the Knees” has been certified gold as well.
Rapper-actor Drake has a couple of new certifications. “Take Care”, title track of his 2011 album, has gone gold, while “Headlines” is now platinum. Other platinum singles are My Darkest Days’ 2010 song “Porn Star Dancing” and Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”.
Beautiful Photos of Carly Rae Jepsen in Concert
Professional photographer Cameron Brown has posted some beautiful photos of Carly Rae Jepsen from her concert at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver on the 23rd. And he claims that, aside from her musical talents, she is a a masterful baker. Any of you recording artists looking for a great photographer, Cameron’s the man. Please check out his blog and the gorgeous photos of Carly in concert HERE.
Ariane Moffatt’s New Album
Absolutely thrilled to announce that acclaimed JUNO winner Ariane Moffatt will be releasing her new album on February 27th. It bears the title MA. All of her previous studio albums have won the Felix Pop-Rock Album of the Year Award. Her talent knows no bounds. Lead single “Mon Corps” received heavy radio airplay in Quebec and now she has a brand new English single called “In Your Body” which you can preview and download on iTunes HERE. A fan of Canadian band Metric, she is going with an electronic flavour on the new album. Tickets to her album launch event in Montreal have been sold out. We strongly encourage you to check out this fabulous Canadian singer-songwriter.
Ariane Moffatt Website
2012 Songposium
Suzie McNeil will be one of the presenters at a symposium put on by The Songwriters Association of Canada. The 2012 Songposium will take place tomorrow in the Toronto area and will cover the following themes:
1. Anatomy of a Hit -Breaking down the art of creating a hit song.
2. Creative Digital Marketing -How to market yourself on the web.
3. Pitching to Radio - What it takes to get on the radio
4. Demo Evaluations - Get your song critiqued by Pros!
More info can be found HERE.
Suzie posted the very interesting question on Twitter this afternoon, “What do you think makes a song a hit?”
Here are some responses:
Nicole: A song that the artist’s fans can relate to and the support of the artist’s fans.
Cynthia: singable tune, singable lyrics + touch the heart, great bridge, singer connects w/audience.
Andrea: A great vocal line and lyrics that connect with the listener. And artists should sing like they mean/believe every word !!
Martin: a good hook!
Brent: melody and great vocal so u shouldn’t have any problem there 
Mary: catchy lyrics that people can relate to and a singer who really believes in the lyrics and the song
Sarah: i think a song that isnt really that shallow & that they believe in. a song that people can realte to.
Craig: A lot of money and good perks for programmers
We contributed, suggesting: songwriting #1, promotion #2, and arrangement / production #3.
What do you think? What makes a song a hit?
Avril Lavigne Fans Name Goodbye Lullaby Her 2nd Best Album
A couple weeks ago, we asked what your favourite Canadian album was last year (of the best-sellers). Avril Lavigne‘s Goodbye Lullaby received the most votes. Thank you to all who participated. Because you chose this as your favourite Canadian album last year, we will be writing a special piece on the album soon.
Fan site Avril Bandaids has run a survey on Avril’s Goodbye Lullaby era to gather feedback on how it went. We are happy to share some of the results with you.
1. Avril fans regard Goodbye Lullaby as her second best album after Under My Skin.
2. Fans regard their enjoyment of Avril’s music and the singer’s personal happiness as more important than her public reputation and commercial success.
3. Two-thirds (67%) of the fans rated Goodbye Lullaby as above average, 27% average, and 6% below average or poor. Fans regarded all aspects of the album (including sound and vibe, lyrics, artwork, production, and song themes) as outstanding.
4. Interestingly, when fans were asked what their favourite song on the album was, the #1 choice was “Everybody Hurts” which was not released as a single. Their second favourite song was “Wish You Were Here” which was their favourite of the singles.
5. Favourite music video was “Smile”.
6. When asked about the overall success of the album, most (45%) felt it was mostly a success with some missteps.
7. The “missteps” were felt to be the promotion of the album; 80% felt it was not promoted well enough.
8. Fans felt the best aspects of the Goodbye Lullaby era were the live performances (72%).
9. The majority (58%) felt that, overall, Goodbye Lullaby has helped Avril’s career.
10. In terms of Goodbye Lullaby’s commercial performance, fans felt that the most positive influence was the album’s musical quality (77%) and the most negative (73%) was the delayed release of the album.
11. 42% of Avril’s fans surveyed were able to attend at least one of her shows on the Black Star World Tour.
12. The fans’ favourite performances of songs on the tour were “I’m with You” (#1) and “Everybody Hurts” (#2).
A Fantastic Voyage Up to #2
I went to school with a member of the Edwards clan, fast Earl. In electricity class, the teacher was in the habit of drawing circuits on the board and then declaring, “Let’s solve this pup.” One day he drew an especially complex circuit diagram. After stating the usual, “Let’s solve this pup,” fast Earl shouted out, “It looks like a full-blown pit bull to me!” Earl was always the first one to offer an insightful comment on what was going on. And, this week, another member of the Edwards family is the first one to score a hit album in 2012.
Kathleen Edwards had the 2nd best-selling album in the country last week, a work entitled Voyageur. If Earl were still around, he’d probably say something like, “It sounds like a fantastic voyage to me.”
There is nothing much new on the singles chart this week other than the cool fact that Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” is up a notch to the 3rd biggest song in the country. She has embarked on a tour with U.S. band Hanson, and her album Curiosity will be out on Valentine’s Day. “It sounds like a curious Valentine’s Day to me.” There are several other tours going on and starting soon: Avril in Asia; Hedley Canada; Jann Canada; Simple Plan Canada, then Europe; Nickelback U.S. and Canada; Down with Webster U.S. and Canada; Feist Oceania, then Europe; and LIGHTS Canada, the U.S., Ireland, and the U.K.
Ideas and New Releases
All’s quiet on the northern front but there are a few things coming, many of them from la belle province.
Kreesha Turner will be releasing a third single from her excellent album Tropic Electric. She is filming the music video in the party capital of Canada–Montreal. It’s a secret as to which track is being released as single #3.
Speaking of partying, one of the country’s hottest bands, the awesome duo Alfa Rococo, is also releasing a new single. “La société des loisirs” from their 2010 sophomore album, Chasser le malheur, is the one. You can listen to a sample of it at their website HERE.
Leonard Cohen fans can look forward to the Montrealer’s first studio album in 8 years. Old Ideas will be out on the 31st. You can listen to samples of its tracks HERE.
Some of the world’s coolest stuff has come out of the area over the years, including peanut butter, Bixi, Cirque du Soleil, and, of course, Bill Shatner.
Video of the Week: “Invisible Wings” by Angela Zhang
Canadian Music Blog wishes a happy Chinese New Year to all. Monday begins the Year of the Dragon. In honour of this festival, we are happy to share with you the following story.
In 1982 a baby girl was born in Taiwan surnamed Zhang (pronounced Jong), given names Shao Han. When she was 12, the family emigrated to Vancouver, Canada, a city over 25% of whose citizens are of Chinese descent. She became fluent in English and attended Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. As a teenager, she participated in many local singing contests. She chose the English name Angela. Her dream was to become a singer. After high school graduation in 2000, Angela returned to Taiwan. Word had already spread about her talent, due to her prizes in the singing contests, and she was invited to star in a television series and in a feature film. It was there that she launched her singing career.
To say that Angela Zhang become a popular singer would be an understatement. In the mid-2000s, she became one of the three best-selling female Chinese singers in the world. To offer her appreciation for her education in Vancouver, she returned in 2007 to perform during Chinese New Year’s eve festivities in the city (see a video HERE). Although there were several songs that made her a superstar, the main one was a song called “Invisible Wings”, the video of which we are pleased to embed below. You can also see a nice instrumental rendition (piano) of the song HERE. Happy Chinese New Year!
Hosts of the JUNO Awards
I received a personal email asking me whom I would like to see host the JUNO Awards this year (2012). I’m not a member, so my opinion doesn’t hold much weight. But I did give it some thought. The JUNO Awards were first televised in 1975, the host being Paul Anka (fitting). Over the years, hosts have not only been music stars but actors, TV personalities, and comedians. Below is a table summarizing the hosts of the JUNOs since 1975, including the host city.
| Year | Location | Host |
| 1975 | Toronto | Paul Anka |
| 1976 | Toronto | John Allan Cameron |
| 1977 | Toronto | David Steinberg |
| 1978 | Toronto | David Steinberg |
| 1979 | Toronto | Burton Cummings |
| 1980 | Toronto | Burton Cummings |
| 1981 | Toronto | Andrea Martin |
| 1982 | Toronto | Burton Cummings |
| 1983 | Toronto | Burton Cummings and Alan Thicke |
| 1984 | Toronto | Joe Flaherty and Andrea Martin |
| 1985 | Toronto | Andrea Martin and Martin Short |
| 1986 | Toronto | Howie Mandel |
| 1987 | Toronto | Howie Mandel |
| 1989 | Toronto | Andre-Philippe Gagnon |
| 1990 | Toronto | Rick Moranis |
| 1991 | Vancouver | Paul Shaffer |
| 1992 | Toronto | Rick Moranis |
| 1993 | Toronto | Celine Dion |
| 1994 | Toronto | Roch Voisine |
| 1995 | Hamilton | This Hour Has 22 Minutes Cast |
| 1996 | Hamilton | Anne Murray |
| 1997 | Hamilton | Jann Arden |
| 1998 | Vancouver | Jason Priestley |
| 1999 | Hamilton | Mike Bullard |
| 2000 | Toronto | The Moffatts |
| 2001 | Hamilton | Rick Mercer |
| 2002 | St. John’s | Barenaked Ladies |
| 2003 | Ottawa | Shania Twain |
| 2004 | Edmonton | Alanis Morissette |
| 2005 | Winnipeg | Brent Butt |
| 2006 | Halifax | Pamela Anderson |
| 2007 | Saskatoon | Nelly Furtado |
| 2008 | Calgary | Russell Peters |
| 2009 | Vancouver | Russell Peters |
| 2010 | St. John’s | None |
| 2011 | Toronto | Drake |
| 2012 | Ottawa | TBA |
| 2013 | Regina | TBA |
As you can see, in the beginning, for feasibility, the show was held in Toronto. In 1991, for the first time, the gala was held elsewhere–in Vancouver. With bigger budgets, it is now being held in various cities. The JUNOs were broadcast on CBC up until 2002 when CTV took over. In general, they prefer big name stars to help draw viewing audiences. So, I’m guessing they’re considering Michael Buble, Justin Bieber, Rachel McAdams, Nickelback, Ellen Page, Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Avril Lavigne, Wayne Gretzky, and Jim Carrey.
I prefer the idea of a lesser name star.
Because our blog has a policy of giving priority to promoting Asian and Aboriginal Canadians, it would be cool if a star from one of these realms appeared as emcee. Because the show is being held in Ottawa this year, it would be fitting, though not necessary, if an Ottawan served as host. It should be someone current (i.e. had a hit in the past couple of years). And, it would be preferable to have a fresh face, someone who hasn’t hosted before. One name who fits all of these comes to mind–Kristina Maria. Being from Vancouver though, I can’t help being a bit biased. I would seriously cry if the honours were given to Elise Estrada.
Who should host the JUNOs? What do you think?
Canada Breaks Into the Top 5
Carly Rae Jepsen has done something no Canadian artist throughout 2011 was able to do—score a Top 5 single on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100. “Call Me Maybe” is at #4 this week. The last time a Canadian song charted this high was way back in May 2010 when the nation was enthralled with the Young Artists for Haiti rendition of K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”. The highest charting Canadian single last year was Avril Lavigne’s “What the Hell” (#8).
That’s not the only good news for Canadian artists. This week, Burlington Ontario’s band Walk Off the Earth are in the Top 20 with their cover of Gotye’s song “Somebody That I Used to Know“. It jumped from 99 to 13 on the Canadian Hot 100 mostly due to its (we won’t use that horrid v-word) YouTube video—28 million views in 2 weeks. The song is a cute and simple ditty and the MV includes Sarah Blackwood from another Burlington band called The Creepshow. She’s not to be confused with Dubstar’s Sarah Blackwood … or is she? Anyways, go Burlington!
“Our Song Comes On”, Kristina Maria
One of Canada’s finest new recording artists has just launched a brand new single. Ottawa’s Kristina Maria has recently been nominated for 3 Canadian Radio Music Awards, including SOCAN Song of the Year for “Let’s Play”, a top 20 hit last year and our 2nd favourite 2011 single from a Canadian artist. Kristina is churning out some smokin’ hot dance tunes that are as addictive as maple-dip doughnuts. She is not just a fabulous singer–one of the best in the country–but a gifted songwriter. Her new single is called “Our Song Comes On”. You can give it a listen HERE. A piece of advice: wear a toque while listening to it, because, when it gets stuck in your head, it’s so good it deserves to be kept warm, eh.
Update: The song is now available for download on iTunes.
Cool Video of the Week – “Aural Psynapse”, Deadmau5
They used to call university in Canada a bar with a $50,000 cover charge. I believe they still do. But the university crowd has one thing new–a cultural phenomenon known as Deadmau5. That is not to say that the older and younger crowds aren’t into it too. But, hey, when you’re forced to sit passively for hours and listen to dry, intellectual lectures, nothing soothes more than chemiluminescence and music that gets your heart pumping and your feet shuffling. Below is an amazing video of Deadmau5 live in Toronto featuring his latest single, “Aural Psynapse”. Deadmau5 has 4 JUNO awards and a platinum album under his belt.
Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian Voyageur
I awoke early this Saturday morning only to notice a white gleam emanating from behind my curtains. I pulled them open to find Vancouver’s first snowfall of the year. In a more heightened Canadian mood, I whipped up some pancake batter so that I could enjoy my first dose of maple syrup in 2012. After breakfast, I turned on the computer to find, spread across the internet, writeups of the first major Canadian album release of the new year, Kathleen Edwards’ Voyageur.
Like Ron Sexsmith, Kathleen Edwards is one of those singer-songwriters who attracts great lakes of praise but has a hard time convincing Canadians that her records are hotcakes. Voyageur is a gorgeous blend of sounds like her motherland is a beautiful mélange of people, stylish and sophisticated in keeping with our culture. NPR has the kind of review that I love – no opinion, no thumbs up or down, no star-ratings, just an objective, concise piece on the album and artist with links to song samples enabling readers to listen for themselves and discover whether the style of music is their cup of tea…LINK. It is obvious that Kathleen put her whole heart and soul into this work of art and we offer our deep appreciation for this. If the album is a sign of the level of songcraft we can expect from Canadian recording artists in 2012, things are looking very good.
Kathleen was on U.S. chat show Late Night with David Letterman recently and performed her new single “Change the Sheets”:
