Canadian pop stars decked the hall to sign autographs for thousands of fans in Ottawa. The artists are in the nation’s capital to participate in Canadian music week which will culminate with the JUNO awards main gala tomorrow night, hosted by William Shatner.
Above photo from left to right: Shawn Hook, Mia Martina, Deadmau5, Carly Rae Jepsen, Anjulie.
Above photo: MuchMusic video jockeys Jesse Giddings and Liz Trinnear with the crowd attending the JUNO Fan Fare event, Ottawa, Canada, 31 March 2012.
1. With the growing popularity of the Canadian Music Blog we are raising the bar in terms of the artists we profile lest we spread ourselves too thin. Beginning 31 March 2012, we will make mention only of artists who fulfill at least one of the following conditions:
A. Nominated for a JUNO or Félix award. B. An album appearing in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Canadian albums chart. C. Gold or higher certification on a record. D. A single appearing in Billboard’s Canadian Hot 100. E. A Francophone single appearing in Montréal’s CKOI FM year-end Top 50. F. A single appearing in the official nation-wide weekly Top 20, iTunes Top 10, or year-end Top 100 of a foreign country. G. A record certified gold/platinum in a foreign country.
2. We will not necessarily make mention of all artists who fulfill one of the above. Priority will be given to the following:
A. Canadian artists of Asian descent, Aboriginal Canadians, French Canadians, women, and teen stars. B. Artists who perform what we deem to be regular rock and roll, with only the occasional mention of rap music, country, folk, heavy metal, jazz, classical, and other genres. C. Artists who perform original songs over those who score hits of cover tunes.
3. Because of the grievous injustice that the Canadian music industry does not reflect the large demographic of Canadians of Asian descent we may make exception to criteria listed in #1 in this one instance wherein a talented Canadian solo artist of Asian descent is struggling to get recognized.
4. It goes without saying that we only profile artists who are Canadian citizens. In the case of a band in which only some members are Canadians, we will decide based on several factors whether or not to count the band as Canadian or not.
5. We will not remove any older posts which make mention of artists who have not fulfilled any of the above requirements.
6. Any requests to make mention of a recording artist who does not fulfill any of the above criteria will be ignored.
7. There are hundreds of blogs out there promoting obscure artists. Remember that our blog is a service dedicated to providing information about Canadian popular artists.
Last year, we ranked Canadian recording artists according to their Facebook “likes” and Twitter follows (Link). Below is an updated list. Note that not all recording artists have an official Twitter account and I imagine that Twitter (and Facebook) are more popular with younger fans. Also, some recording artists who have not been active for a while may not have picked up as many of their fans on the net. Obviously, artists with an international following will have higher numbers than those who are popular mainly within Canada. So be careful how you interpret all this data. It simply gives a general idea of some of the more popular Canadian artists currently.
Bryan Adams once said that it was easy to write a song but very difficult to write a masterpiece. Songwriters consider themselves fortunate when they are able to compose a single song born from a stroke of genius. Once in a while, a Canadian songwriter appears who is able to compose many masterpieces, and he or she can be counted as a jewel of the music scene. At the end of the day, after all the exquisite singing, musicianship, arrangement, production, engineering, tweaking, marketing, and performances, the very bedrock upon which the music industry rests is inspired songwriting.
The Canadian Music Blog would like to introduce you to Toronto’s Dylan White, leader of a brand new band from Toronto called Cedar Park.
White has created a debut album that challenges the conventional notions of how to make a record, and, ultimately, of what a band truly is.
We have listened to the forthcoming album, Way Back Home, and it completely blew us away.
Dylan White has shared with us that the approach for the album was to focus on each song individually while still keeping the album cohesive. Producer Emm Gryner and White deconstructed and reconstructed each track, making decisions on instrumentation, arrangement, and most significantly, who should sing.
Each track ended up with a different vocalist (or vocalists) who brought his/her own unique delivery to each song – from rootsy NQ Arbuckle to mesmerizing songstress Usra Leedham to powerhouse Esthero – without losing their original message or soul.
The collaborative process far exceeded White’s expectations especially when considering that he was able to select vocalists he has long admired. “It’s a songwriter’s dream, and I consider myself first and foremost to be a songwriter, to be able to get the ‘right’ singer for each song, and not be constrained by my vocal range, for example. But to have artists that I’ve listened to for years to not only agree to be involved, but to also be so generous and selfless? I mean, come on…,” White says. “I like to think they dug the songs too, though.”
When playing live shows, it will be Dylan White and guest Usra Leedham sharing vocals, but White hints that there will be some special guest vocal appearances. “You’ll just have to come and find out.”
Mastered by Noah Mintz, featuring brass by Bryden Baird and strings arranged and recorded by Kevin Fox, Way Back Home will be released May 8, 2012 on Dead Daisy/Outside.
Cedar Park has not yet created any music videos but you can check out a live studio performance of “Time After Time” with Dylan White and Usra Leedham below.
We wish the very best to this exceptionally talented Canadian artist.
The first 3 albums of 2012 to receive platinum certification are Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas, the Star Academie 2012 compilation disc, and Johnny Reid’s Fire It Up. And there is a ton of new music coming our way.
Félix award winner Dumas has released a new album called L’heure et l’endroit. Steve Dumas has released several albums since his debut in 2001. His best-seller was sophomore album Le cours des jours from 2003 which was awarded gold certification. Dumas has collaborated with Marie-Annick Lépine of Les Cowboys Fringants. Do check out his website HERE where you can listen to his music.
JUNO award winner Joel Plaskett, under Joel Plaskett Emergency, has released a new album entitled Scrappy Happiness. The Nova Scotian released all 10 tracks as individual singles at the rate of one per week prior to the album release. My Darkest Days has a new album coming out—Sick and Twisted Affair. And, as part of their Nomad series, The Cowboy Junkies are releasing part 4 which is titled Wilderness.
Yukon Blonde has released a new album entitled Tiger Talk. The band formed in Kelowna but is now based in Vancouver. Check out their website HERE where you can see a music video of their song “Stairway”.
Toronto’s Zeus is releasing their second album, Busting Visions. The lead single is “Are You Gonna Waste My Time”. You can see the band performing the song in studio with Randy Bachman HERE. Zeus plays 70′s-style electric rock complete with cowbell.
Finally, a new metal band may well be one of Vancouver’s best-kept secrets. They are called Biljanaires. They come across as a blend of early versions of hair bands before their “discovery” showing that they have the roots of a solid rock band. Listening to their music, we are reminded of the first album of Judas Priest which, incidentally, was not a hit, or Kiss, or Quiot Riot. The guitar carries many of the songs but the vocals are good too. Once this band is discovered, there will be no stopping their success. Check out Biljanaires’ MySpace pageto listen to their tunes.
We close this blog entry with something very cool. During Canadian Music Week, British Columbian pop star Shawn Hook hijacked a piano at his Toronto hotel. Check out the video below.
2012 Winners of the Canadian Radio Music Awards have been announced and there were no real surprises. Fefe Dobson was the big winner with three awards; Dragonette and Alyssa Reid picked up two each. The awards are given primarily to first-time charting Canadian artists. We previously listed the nominations with info on the awards which you can find HERE. Below is a repeat listing of the nominees with the winner bolded in red. As well, are announcements of the biggest chart topper and breakthrough artist. Congratulations to the winners as well as all the nominees. The awards are a nice lead up to the JUNO awards which will be televised on the 1st of April.
CHART TOPPER FEFE DOBSON
FACTOR BREAKTRHOUGH ARTIST ALYSSA REID
ROCK BLEEKER RIDGE – SMALL TOWN DEAD JONAS & THE MASSIVE ATTRACTION – BIG SLICE THE REASON – THE LONGEST HIGHWAY HOME THE SHEEPDOGS – I DON’T KNOW USS – N/A OK
CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) ALYSSA REID – ALONE AGAIN ANJULIE – BRAND NEW CHICK MARTIN SOLVEIG & DRAGONETTE – HELLO RAGHAV – FIRE THESE KIDS WEAR CROWNS – JUMPSTART
DANCE / URBAN / RHYTHMIC DEADMAU5 – SOFI NEEDS A LADDER KRISTINA MARIA – LET’S PLAY MARTIN SOLVEIG & DRAGONETTE – HELLO MIA MARTINA – LATIN MOON SUNLOVERZ FEAT. ROSETTE – FIRE
HOT AC (Adult Contemporary) ALYSSA REID – ALONE AGAIN KRISTINA MARIA – LET’S PLAY MARTIN SOLVEIG & DRAGONETTE – HELLO NEVEREST – ABOUT US RAGHAV – FIRE
MAINSTREAM AC (Adult Contemporary) ALYSSA REID – ALONE AGAIN JESSE LABELLE – EASIER JUSTIN NOZUKA – HEARTLESS MARTIN SOLVEIG & DRAGONETTE – HELLO NEVEREST – ABOUT US
COUNTRY GOMIE – EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT KIRA ISABELLA – LOVE ME LIKE THAT MARLEE SCOTT – BEAUTIFUL MAYBE RYAN LAIRD – I’M YOUR MAN THE STELLAS – PERFECT
FANS CHOICE ALYSSA REID – ALONE AGAIN FEFE DOBSON – STUTTERING HEDLEY – INVINCIBLE JRDN – LIKE MAGIC SHAWN DESMAN – ELECTRIC
SOCAN SONG OF THE YEAR ALONE AGAIN Songwriters: Alyssa Reid / Jamie Appleby / Raynford Humphrey / Thomas Kelly / Billy Steinberg Recorded by: Alyssa Reid HELLO Songwriters: Martin Solveig / Martina Sorbara Recorded by: Martin Solveig & Dragonette JET LAG Songwriters: Pierre Bouvier / Chuck Comeau / Beatrice Martin / Ryan Petersen / Nolan Sipe Recorded by: Simple Plan LET’S PLAY Songwriters: Kristina Maria / Negin Djafari / Kristian Lundin Recorded by: Kristina Maria STUTTERING Songwriters: Fefe Dobson / Claude Kelly / Michael Mentore / Jonathan Rotem Recorded by: Fefe Dobson
Annie Handley has released an album, No Shoobie, available on iTunes, and beautifully-shot music video for the song “Bring Me Back Alive” which we’ve embedded below. You can find links to her iTunes, YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter, etc. at her official website HERE.
When teen star Kaylan Mackinnon saw her fellow small town Ontario girl, Avril Lavigne, transform herself into an international superstar, it encouraged her to work like the blazes to do the same. She’s mustered over 300,000 views on YouTube and already has an EP available on iTunes.
Kaylan Rose Mackinnon, born August 18, 1993, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and model from Toronto, ON. She was raised in a small town just outside of Toronto, the oldest of three children. Mackinnon has always had a huge passion for the arts. At the age of 8, Mackinnon attended dance and gymnastic lessons several times a week for 5 years. Then, music and acting came along. Her love for performing started when she was 7 years old, thanks to the talented Avril Lavigne.
Mackinnon started playing guitar when she was 12 years old. It wasn’t until she was around the age of 15 that she started writing her own music on the guitar. At the age of 14, Mackinnon was enrolled in some music classes down the road from her country home, where she studied classical and pop a few times a week for 4 years. Mackinnon then decided to further her knowledge of music by teaching herself how to song-write, now being one of her favourite pastimes. She is always writing about her experiences, thoughts, and creative notions. Her determination led her to creating a YouTube account in 2010, where she now has a growing number of 35,000 loyal subscribers and 350,000 video views. She also just graduated from her high school, in June 2011, and is currently still working on music. She plans to attend university in the fall of 2012 for music and acting. Mackinnon just released her first debut album titled Remember Me on March 13, 2012, which is available on iTunes worldwide, featuring 4 new songs.
“Music is my passion,” says Mackinnon. “Without it I would’ve died of a broken heart years ago. I truly believe that saying ‘NO’ allows impossibilities and saying ‘YES’ fulfills dreams. Always make sure you live your potential, otherwise you’re wasting something that could turn out to be great!”
Live music is such a treat; it really is. But we have to be smart. We have to drop the potatoes on the couch, go out, and see the artists perform before they become huge international superstars.
Just after Carly Rae Jepsen released her “Call Me Maybe” single in Canada, she played a quaint little venue in Vancouver (a former church). Those who saw her then were very, very lucky. They could stand within a few metres of the stage. When the song reached #1, she opened for Hanson, playing at a larger venue. Now that she has become an international celebrity, those days are over. From now on, it’s big arenas where you have to camp out overnight or pay a small fortune if you don’t want to be in a position where all you can see is a small dot on the distant stage.
Seize the Opportunity
Stef Lang is a treasure trove of talent and she is generating press as far away as Britain. Her upcoming cross-Canada tour which begins a dozen days from now may be the last time you can see her before she becomes a dot on a distant stage. You never know!
We’ve listed the dates and venues below. New cities may be added later; we’ll keep you all posted. For details (addresses, times, ticket prices, etc.), go to her website HERE. Promoting her tour is her brand new EP Fighting Mirrors which she is offering Radiohead-style, i.e. free download. We’ve also embedded a nice interview with Stef below the dates.
Sarah McLachlan, while busy recording her new studio album, has announced a symphony orchestra tour around Canada and the United States. The tour includes a VIP package for the best seats and meet and greets, proceeds of which will be donated to her School of Music for children and youth in Vancouver. This special tour will begin in Toronto on June 22. You can get more info at Sarah’s website HERE.
Ariane Moffatt is becoming a bigger name since her new album MA debuted on the Canadian Billboard album chart at No. 2, just behind Adele. She is performing in New York and Paris. Despite its popularity, the MA CD is not being stocked at HMV stores in western Canada. We contacted HMV last week asking them to provide an explanation, and after a couple of assurances that they would respond within 1 or 2 days, they have not. The Canadian Music Blog feels that MA is a strong contender for 2012 Canadian album of the year. Yes, it’s that good!
On March 23, Canada’s new international superstar Carly Rae Jepsen will be a guest on The Ellen Show, a popular chat show in the United States hosted by comedian Ellen DeGeneres. “Call Me Maybe”, the song that catapulted her to superstardom has broken into the Top 30 in the U.S. – at #24 this week (Billboard Hot 100), and it has been sent to radio in the United Kingdom. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the Brits will love it as much as we do. Meanwhile, at home, single “Curiosity”, title track of her new EP, has been added to the playlists of various radio stations in Canada.
Dragonette is going to be hopping around Northern America this year of the dragon with a tour of selected cities and towns, all beginning in two days in Austin, Texas, USA. Check it out at their website HERE.
Canadian indie singer-songwriter, Josh Reichmann, from the Etobicoke area of Toronto, has come out with a music video for “Burning Books” off After Live released last year. You can watch the video HERE. He is also finishing an album with band mate Sebastien Grainger titled Death From Above 1979.
Finally, Gitar is a trio from Toronto who will be releasing an LP called Seen as Unclean in the spring. The first single is a cover of Neil Young’s “Hippie Dream”. The band incorporates some urban, electro, and rock and roll elements in their unique style. Gitar is Mikhail Galkin, Tai Lee, and drummer Dan Rios. Check out their website HERE.
Of the five studio albums they have thus far released, 2 have gone gold, 2 platinum, and 1 double-platinum. Their song “Dégénérations”, the 3rd biggest song of 2006 in Québec, won the Félix for Song of the Year, and the six-member band has won the Group of the Year Félix three times. In just a few days, Mes Aïeux is releasing a brand new studio album, their first in 4 years, called À l’aube du printemps.
Known for melodies full of imagery, the members of Mes Aïeux say they have arranged a work adapted as much for the stage as for CD. As for the themes for this new disc, they circle as much around big questions as they do around mundane things of daily life. Themes that inspire authors and composers like the environment, social solidarity, relationships, the Quebecois identity, and the big cycle of life and death, are the elements that have guided the group in their writing process, often led by Stephane. “Each composes on his own, or by two or by three”, says Marc-André. “Often, Stephane writes the lyrics, but there is a big participation of all. Everything is done organically, together.”
The rich, complex, progressive-folk songs bring to mind the audio universe of Harmonium, the rhythms of La Bottine Souriante, or the melodies of Beau Dommage. As if the morals of Quebecois stories were impressed on some part of Stephane Archambeault’s brain, Mes Aïeux have upheld a sense of morality that is relevant for today. The song Passé dépassé reminds us that we live in a disposable society and culture. “En ligne” calls for changing values. “La berceuse” attacks companies that pillage our natural resources. “Le fil” examines the Quebecois identity.
Here’s hoping this great Canadian band scores another gold/platinum disc. With such creativity, they certainly deserve it.
A fighter’s chin refers to his ability to tolerate blows to the head without being knocked unconscious. Canadian heavyweight boxer George Chuvalo epitomized this, as, in over 90 professional fights from 1956 to 1979, he was not once knocked down. Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace (often referred to as OLP) has featured a young Cuvalo on the cover of their upcoming album Curve. Their 8th studio album, it has been called more experimental and ambitious than the band’s previous work by lead singer Raine Maida (husband of singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk). Producer Jason Lader provided inspiration for the band’s direction by encouraging them to make an album that they, themselves, would listen to. Our Lady Peace is one of the best-selling bands in the country. Its 1997 album Clumsy was certified diamond. Curve was recorded over the past two years at Maida’s home recording studio in Los Angeles and, as with the group’s previous album Burn Burn, it is not being released by a major record label. “Heavyweight”, the album’s lead single, was released at the end of 2011. Curve will be released April 3.
For a Canadian artist who has recorded primarily in French to make the Top 5 of the Canadian Billboard album chart is formidable, whether a release is in English or French or both. Celine Dion and Roch Voisine are among the few who were able to make such an accomplishment. Ariane Moffatt’s debut at No. 2 on the chart with her new bilingual studio album MA (most of the tracks are in English) is even more remarkable given that she has competition from the likes of Adele, Whitney Houston, Leonard Cohen, and compilation album of 2012 Grammy Nominees. In short, Ariane has cleaned up. Well done!
There is a new semi-Canadian entry on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week. American rap band Far*East Movement has recruited Justin Bieber to vocalize their new track “Live My Life”. It has debuted on the chart at #4. Speaking of the number 4, Carly Rae Jepsen is No. 1 for the 4th week with her double-platinum “Call Me Maybe”. Her United States radio tour is helping the song to climb the American chart; it is #31 now in that country and has cracked the iTunes Top 10 there. K’naan and Nelly Furtado’s “Is Anybody Out There” is just outside the Top 20 at #23 this week.
Kristina Maria is not the only talented Canadian artist releasing an album on April 10. Calgary-raised Raghav‘s long-awaited third album, The Phoenix, will finally be launched thanks to Cordova Bay Records. Raghav’s first album, Storyteller, was released by The United Kingdom-based label V2. Five of its tracks peaked within the Top 15 of the official UK singles chart; in fact, Raghav was the only artist local or international to enjoy 3 Top 10 hits in Britain during the year 2004.
Being of proud Indian heritage, Raghav decided to release his second album in the second-most populated country in the world, India. The work was entitled Identity and included songs in both English and Hindi.
Now that Raghav had become a major name in Britain and India, he returned home to Canada to release his third album after a number of charting singles, his most successful being gold-certified “Fire” which made the Top 100 songs of the year in Canada last year and has the singer nominated for a couple of CRMA awards this year. “So Much” featured renowned Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall. Raghav’s latest single is “Top of the World”.
The Phoenix was produced by Labrinth (first artist signed to Simon Cowell’s label Syco) who produced the UK chart-topping single “Pass Out” for Tinie Tempah. Also producing on Raghav’s new album is Jim Beanz (Nelly Furtado, Britney Spears, Timbaland).
Raghav very smoothly incorporates elements of mainstream rock and roll, dance, R&B, rap, and Indian rhythms into his music and has fans from all over the world.
Her voice is so amazing that it brought a former senior vice president of Sony Music out of retirement, one of the key figures in Céline Dion’s rise to superstardom. She scored a Top 20 radio hit that was the 64th biggest song in Canada last year. Sales of her digital singles have surpassed 100,000. She has been nominated for 3 Canadian Radio Music Awards including SOCAN Song of the Year. And her name is Kristina Maria.
The Canadian Music Blog is thrilled to announce the release of the Ottawa native’s debut album on April 10th.
Tell the World will include 14 tracks, 11 of which were co-written by Kristina. The songs have been recorded in studios in Montréal, Los Angeles, Miami, and Sweden over the past year and a half. A team of some of the industry’s biggest names has co-written and produced the tracks: Vito Luprano (Céline Dion), Kristian Lundin (The Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync), Andreas Carlsson (Katy Perry, Clay Aiken), Anders Bagge (Madonna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez), Peer Astrom (Enrique Iglesias, Lara Fabian, Ace of Base), Josh Alexander (Leona Lewis), and JC Chasez (Girls Aloud, Basement Jaxx).
The album will include her smash hits “Let’s Play”, “Co-Pilot”, and “Our Song Comes On”. You can listen to samples of the tracks HERE.
It is rare for a recording artist to be both an exceptional singer and songwriter. Kristina Maria is one of those rare jewels. She makes us proud to be Canadian.
