Tag Archives: Anjulie
Canadian Music Blog’s Top 20 Song Faves of 2012, Part 1: #20 to #11
PREAMBLE
Considering that some 8,000 songs from Canadian artists came out in 2012, coming up with the top 200 would have be difficult enough, but the top 20 was extremely difficult! To make things easier (and a fairer and tidier list), we allowed only one entry per artist.
Equally difficult was trying to decide whether a song could be considered a 2012 song. The biggest song of the year, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” was released in 2011. But we think of it as a 2012 song because that’s when it enjoyed its biggest chart success. Below are a list of rules about which songs were eligible for our list.
ELIGIBILITY
1. For songs on albums not released as singles, the album had to have been released in 2012.
2. For non Hot 100 charting singles, the release date had to be in 2012.
3. For charting singles, the song had to reach its Hot 100 peak position during 2012.
4. If a song was included on our Faves list for the previous year but ended up being released as a single or charting this year, we will not re-include it on this year’s Faves list.
5. All songs eligible had to be in whole or in part credited to and performed by a Canadian artist whether or not it was composed by a Canadian.
PROCESS
As with our albums list, we listened to all 2012 songs shortlisting the ones we loved, then ranking them at the end of the year. We were not at all swayed by how popular (or unpopular) a song was or what the genre was.
We have included the cover art for singles. For album non-single songs, we framed the album cover with the song’s name on the frame.
THE LIST…
#20. “You and I” by Anjulie
JUNO-nominated, platinum-selling Oakville recording artist Anjulie is one of the most stylish and exquisite songwriters in the country, not to mention a talented musician and very good singer to boot. This year she released 3 gourmet singles and it was a tough call picking our favourite. We’re settling on Top 30 (currently) “You and I” which pays homage to 1970s dance music while still remaining distinctively fresh and modern. It begins in a simple vein on acoustic guitar strums and builds into a star-soaring, beat thumping chorus, complete with revving keyboard riffs. This was one of 2012′s precious treasures, simply beautiful.
#19. “Love” by Raghav
Gold single “Fire” was one of the most delightful songs of 2011. Calgary’s JUNO-nominated Raghav was the only artist from anywhere in the world to score three Top 10 singles in the UK in 2004 having launched his career from Britain. He released his long awaited album The Phoenix in home country of Canada this year. Raghav’s gorgeous ballad “Love” was originally written for Michael Jackson and was released as a single late in the year. With catchy lyrics “Is this what they call love? Is this what all the fuss is about? If so, let me out!”, unpredictable and detailed hooks, and some sweet singing, this was definitely one of the best songs of the year.
#18. “Tough Love” by Suzie McNeil
This Mississauga native, currently signed to Vancouver label 604 Records, is a fabulous singer best known perhaps for her song “Supergirl” which made the year-end top 100 of 2009. Suzie is blessed with a versatile voice, handling both softer and harder rock with ease. She released her 3rd studio album this year, Dear Love, three tracks of which have been released as singles. She co-wrote “Tough Love”, the album’s 3rd single, with Marianas Trench frontman Josh Ramsay. This magnificent song which should have been a huge hit is Katy Perry rolled up with Joan Jett, i.e. lovely but tough. This song is like a battle between mischievous Cupid and Supergirl Suzie.
#17. “The Love You Gave” by Elisapie
Her album Travelling Love was one of our favourites of the year and this track stood out the most for us. Elisapie, previously in JUNO award winning duo Taima, is zooming ahead in her solo career’s skidoo as her second album shifted gears from her folky roots to a more pop/rock sound. The song is a savoury blend of spicy keyboards, sweet vocals, bitter beat, salty guitars, with backing choir, handclaps, and even a 70s style guitar solo. In short, “The Love You Gave” is perfect from every standpoint including composition, arrangement, delivery, and production. It’s no wonder that iTunes selected this song as one of their “songs of the week”.
#16. “Castle in the Cloud” by Stef Lang
A cool groove that has the beauty to stop you in your tracks is this little jewel written, delivered, recorded, and produced by British Columbian independent artist Stef Lang. After releasing radio friendly EP Fighting Mirrors earlier in the year that spawned airwave played “Paper Doll” and moreover after laying the vocals on two tracks off Delerium’s latest album Music Box Opera, she created LP Self, our 9th favourite of 2012. This track was our pick of the bunch, though just about any selection from the album could easily be placed here. While many of the more popular tunes this year got away with bearing too much resemblance to a hit of the past, this is a very original composition.
#15. “The Veldt” by deadmau5
Canada’s best-known EDM musician who composes but does not normally sing recruited Chris James to deliver the vocals on what sounds like a track inspired by Carol Anne Freeling in Poltergeist. One thing we know for sure is that the title came from a short sci-fi story by Ray Bradbury. Deadmau5 first created the tune on a live streaming session and then discovered Chris’ vocal rendition of it via Twitter. He invited Chris to perform on the official recording. The single came out just one month prior to Bradbury’s passing. “The Veldt” peaked on the Hot 100 at #24 and was the 75th most popular song of the year. To date, deadmau5 has won 4 JUNO awards.
#14. “Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber
Believe was the most internationally successful Canadian album of the year and was certified double platinum at home. Of several singles released from the LP, we favoured this one best which is just a blast with its playful style and funky bass. The song was composed by internationally acclaimed songwriters Max Martin (Sweden), Anton Zaslavski (Russian-German), and Savan Kotecha (American) and it features a short and sweet spoken word segment with Nicki Minaj. “Beauty and a Beat” debuted on the Hot 100 at #47, disappeared the following week, and then re-entered 16 weeks later, peaking at #4. It has gone gold. Justin Bieber has won three JUNO awards.
#13. “So Happy I Could Die” by Bif Naked
JUNO-nominated and platinum-selling (not to mention humourist, motivational speaker, and comic cartoonist) Bif Naked in recent years underwent a successful battle against cancer. This year she released an album of mostly acoustic versions of her biggest hits plus a couple of new songs, Bif Naked Forever: (Acoustic Hits & Other Delights). In teaming up with Ryan Stewart, “So Happy I Could Die” is her welcome tribute to dance pop with a fantastic beat punctuated by her classic and lovable nasally vocals. “So here goes. I decided that’s enough. And it shows. I’m a fighter; I am tough” pretty much sums up the lessons she has learned from her experience.
#12. “Satellite” by Andrew Allen
Vernon, British Columbia, situated in the beautiful Okanagan valley, is the hometown of emerging recording artist Andrew Allen. Having enjoyed some radio hits, most notably the 3-million-plus YouTube viewed “Loving You Tonight”, Andrew launched his delicious dance-pop tune “Satellite” after scoring a charting single “I Want You” earlier in the year. Pulsating, percolating, and bubbling ’round the maple tree, the song is quite the embodiment of the touring lifestyle to which Allen has no doubt grown accustomed. 2012 was the year that Canadians became dance pop specialists and Allen is yet another example of such greatness.
#11. “Kiss You Inside Out” (Bilingual Version) by Hedley ft. Andrée-Anne Leclerc
The addition of Star Academie finalist Andrée-Anne Leclerc to perform a bilingual duet with Hedley’s Jacob Hoggard converted a good song into a great song and transformed something that could pass for a tune from any country into one that was distinctively Canadian. “Kiss You Inside Out”, released outside of JUNO-winning album Storms as a separate single, reached #2 on the weekly Hot 100 and was the second biggest Canadian hit of the year (after “Call Me Maybe”) in 19th spot on the year-end Billboard Hot 100. Given the beauty of musical composition, with a sweet and catchy melody, we are not surprised that this has become a triple-platinum single.
Related Posts
Top 20 Song Faves of 2012, Part 2 (#10 to #1)
Top 10 Music Video Faves of 2012
2012′s Music Video of the Year
Top 15 Album Faves of 2012
2012′s Album of the Year
Anjulie’s Got Her Headphones On
It is becoming increasingly difficult these days to find pop stars who write their own songs. There are millions of good singers around the world, but few who can, in addition to singing well, compose brilliant songs. It’s kind of like being able to score dazzling goals and also serve as an outstanding goaltender.
One of the few who can do both is JUNO-nominated, platinum-selling Canadian recording artist Anjulie.
She imbues her music with a rare and refreshing burst of energy, originality, and creativity that makes it exciting and a joy to listen to. Her music videos are intense, vibrant, and full of life.
It was Anjulie who wrote Kreesha Turner’s mega-hit “Don’t Call Me Baby” before scoring her own platinum single “Brand New Chick”. Anjulie followed up with the gorgeous “Stand Behind the Music“. With a new studio album in the works, she has now released brand new single “Headphones”.
For the life of me, I cannot get over Anjlie’s talent. She’s absolutely amazing.
Canadian Radio Music Award Nominations, 2012
For those of you having trouble waiting for the JUNO nominations next month, a nice prelude to them (especially in terms of new artists) are the Canadian Radio Music Awards. The CRMAs are holding their 15th annual gala luncheon, this year at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto on March 23. The awards look at first-time top-charting Canadian artists, with the exception of the Fans Choice Award and SOCAN award. The categories are based on the different radio “formats”. In spite of the advent of digital music, the radio is still the biggest confirmation for a new artist and the first major milestone on the road to superstardom. It is possibly the most exciting aspect of a recording artist’s career to hear, for the first time, his or her song being played on the radio. The nominations for the 2012 gala are as follows:
CRMA 2012 NOMINEES
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
UPDATE: Find the winners HERE.
2011 in Music
In the Autumn, I was walking along in the Collingwood neighbourhood of Vancouver. A young Chinese-Canadian woman beside me suddenly gasped and pointed to a street lined with trees. The sky was completely blue. The sight of the leaves glistening in the sun was spectacular. They were green, chartreuse, yellow, orange, vermillion, red, burgundy, and purple. The year 2011 in sound was similar to that sight; there was a diversity of musical styles being created. Moreover, there were a number of new faces this year, and Canadian artists of Asian descent are on the rise which is very encouraging. Is Canada going to take on a leadership role in the western world in this regard?
Canadians of West Asian descent who enjoyed hits this year included Kristina Maria. Her “Let’s Play” was the 64th biggest song of the year. Karl Wolf is another name. This year he teamed up with Kardinal Offishall in the song “Ghetto Love” which was 67th.
A Canadian of South Asian heritage was Anjulie whose parents immigrated from Guyana, South America. “Brand New Chick” was a platinum single and the 52nd most popular song of the year. Raghav’s “Fire” went gold and was 94th.
Another positive element of 2011 was a burgeoning of Canadian dance music, a genre the output of which has seen Canada historically lag behind other countries. We are becoming masters of the genre, and artists like Dragonette, Deadmau5, Kristina Maria, Mia Martina, and Alfa Rococo are spinning some delicious tunes that make sitting still impossible.
Interestingly, the biggest albums of the year were Christmas albums: Michael Bublé’s jazzy Christmas (7x Platinum) and Justin Bieber’s R&B-ish Under the Mistletoe (3x Platinum). This was true both domestically and internationally. Besides those two, the other best-selling Canadian albums globally were rapper Drake’s Take Care, Avril Lavigne’s pop-oriented Goodbye Lullaby, 
Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never: the Remixes, and Nickelback’s heavy metal release Here and Now.
The most successful Canadian artist internationally in terms of a hit single was Avril Lavigne whose “What the Hell” was the highest-charting Canadian single. This includes the world’s three largest markets for music: the United States, Japan (where it was 10th of the year), and Britain. In the world’s most populous nation, China, it was 11th. It was also the most successful Canadian single in Australia. Domestically, there was much more going on in terms of hit singles.
International Success of Avril Lavigne’s “What the Hell” in 2011:
| Year-End Chart | Weekly Chart Peak | Rank Among Canadian Singles | |
| Canada | 63 | 6 | |
| U.K. | n/a | 16 | 1 |
| U.S. | 62 | 1 | |
| Japan | 10 | 1 | |
| China | 11 | 1 | |
| Australia | 48 | 1 |
Top Singles of the Year
The highest charting song entirely by a Canadian artist was the aforementioned ”What the Hell” by Avril Lavigne, which peaked at #8 on the weekly singles chart and was the 63rd biggest song of 2011. “Hello”, a collaborative effort by Toronto synth-pop group Dragonette and Martin Solveig of Paris, France, enjoyed the highest position partially by a Canadian artist on the Top 100 singles of 2011 (#11) and was the most successful in terms of sales, achieving double-platinum digital download status.
The biggest song of 2011 entirely by a Canadian artist was “Alone
Again” by Alyssa Reid (#24). This was a reworking of Heart’s song “Alone”. In terms of an original song entirely by a Canadian performer, honours would go to Fefe Dobson for her “Stutterin’” which was the 45th biggest song of the year.
Simple Plan’s “Jet Lag”, which featured U.K. singer Natasha Bedingfield, was 37th and was certified platinum. They also recorded a French version of the song which featured Québec’s Marie-Mai. Romanian Edward Maya’s song “Stereo Love”, which featured New Brunswick’s Mia Martina, was 34th. And Barbados’ Rihanna was at #32 with “What’s My Name” a song that featured Drake.
Other platinum digital downloads besides those mentioned above were “Brand New Chick” by Guyanese-Canadian Anjulie, “Electric” by Portuguese-Canadian Shawn Desman, Hedley’s “Invincible”, Nickelback’s “When We Stand Together”, and Marianas Trench’s “Haven’t Had Enough”.
Only 2 songs involving Canadian artists made the Top 10 on the British weekly charts this year, both being collaborations between Drake and Rihanna: “What’s My Name” (#1) and “Take Care” (#9). The most successful song entirely by a Canadian artist in the U.K. was “What the Hell” by Avril Lavigne (#16).
Things were similar south of the border. “What’s My Name” was the 20th biggest song of the year in the United States. Avril Lavigne’s “What the Hell” was the most successful song there that was not a collaboration between a Canadian and an international artist. It was 62nd of the year.
The biggest Canadian song in Japan – the world’s 2nd largest market for music after the U.S. – was Avril Lavigne’s “What the Hell” which was the 10th most popular song of the year there.
According to Montreal’s CKOI FM 96.9, the five most popular Francophone songs of the year were as follows:
1. Vincent Vallières’ “On va s’aimer encore” (#4)
2. Marie-Mai’s “Comme avant” (#15)
3. William Deslauriers’ “Je lève mon verre” (#35)
4. Clément Jacques’ “Ariane” (#37)
5. David Jalbert’s “P’tit homme” (#43)
Ten songs were nominated for single of the year at the Félix gala held in October. These are listed below with the winner being Vincent Vallières’ “On va s’aimer encore”.
10 Felix-Nominated Songs
“Météore”, Alfa Rococo
“Fruits défendus”, Brigitte Boisjoli
“J’taime pas, j’t’adore”, Nicola Ciccone
“Près de toi”, Martin Deschamps
“Jusqu’au bout”, Éric Lapointe
“Elle s’appelait Serge”, Les Trois Accords
“Comme avant”, Marie-Mai
“Toujours de nous”, Mario Pelchat
“Je repars”, David Usher, Marie-Mai
“On va s’aimer encore”, Vincent Vallières
The biggest song of the year in Canada this year was from Britain’s Adele—”Rolling in the Deep”.
It will be interesting to see what the JUNO awards in April next year will award in terms of singles, given that there are so many collaborations with foreign artists, covers, and partial covers.
Below is a table of the most successful singles in 2011, all having at least one of the following characteristics:
a) Was on the Billboard Canadian Top 100 singles of 2011 chart
b) Peaked in the Top 20 on the weekly Billboard Canadian Hot 100 singles chart during 2011
c) Was awarded gold / platinum certification (singles on the Top 100 of 2010 or that peaked on the weekly charts of 2010 receiving certification this year are not included)
Note: Most of the Top 20 songs that did not make the Top 100 of 2011 appeared late in the year and will most likely appear on the Top 100 of 2012 chart next year. Foreign artists (with whom Canadians collaborated) are in blue.
2011 Singles Comprehensive Chart
| Song | Artist | 2011 | WP | C |
| Hello | Martin Solveig, Dragonette | 11 | 8 | 2xP |
| Alone Again | Alyssa Reid | 24 | 11 | G |
| What’s My Name? | Rihanna, Drake | 32 | 5 | |
| Stereo Love | Edward Maya, Mia Martina | 34 | ||
| Jet Lag | Simple Plan | 37 | 11 | P |
| Stutterin’ | Fefe Dobson | 45 | 10 | P |
| Brand New Chick | Anjulie | 52 | 16 | P |
| Electric | Shawn Desman | 59 | P | |
| What the Hell | Avril Lavigne | 63 | 8 | |
| Let’s Play | Kristina Maria | 64 | 19 | G |
| Ghetto Love | Karl Wolf, Kardinall Offishall | 67 | 20 | G |
| Invincible | Hedley | 69 | 9 | 2xP |
| Latin Moon | Mia Martina | 74 | G | |
| Can’t Breathe | Fefe Dobson | 76 | 19 | G |
| Like Magic | JRDN | 80 | G | |
| Haven’t Had Enough | Marianas Trench | 81 | 9 | P |
| About Us | Neverest | 89 | G | |
| Moment 4 Life | Nicki Minaj, Drake | 92 | ||
| Fire | Raghav | 94 | G | |
| I Wanna Dance w/ Somebody | These Kids Wear Crowns | 95 | G | |
| She’s Dope | Down with Webster | 100 | 18 | P |
| Mistletoe | Justin Bieber | 9 | G | |
| When We Stand Together | Nickelback | 10 | P | |
| Shut Up and Dance | Victoria Duffield | 12 | P | |
| Today is Your Day | Shania Twain | 14 | ||
| One Life | Hedley | 16 | P | |
| She Will | Lil Wayne, Drake | 16 | ||
| Headlines | Drake | 18 | P | |
| Pray (For LJ) | Pardon My Striptease | 20 | ||
| Hit Me Up | Danny Fernandes ft. Josh Ramsay and Belly | 22 | P | |
| Famous | Audio Playground | G | ||
| Co-Pilot | Kristina Maria | G | ||
| 123 | Craig Smart | G | ||
| Lullaby | Nickelback | G | ||
| Whatta Night | Ricky J. | G |
Top Albums of the Year
There were an astounding number of albums released this year. With a sharp decline in record sales over the past few years, it is a huge honour just to score a gold album these days, something that was pretty much guaranteed for an album with a radio hit in years past. By the end of the year, 8 albums released in 2011 received gold certifications, 2 platinum, and 3 multi-platinum.
The most successful albums of the year by Canadian artists were Christmas albums. Michael Bublé’s Christmas was certified 7x platinum and Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe 3x platinum. Nickelback’s Here and Now was a double-platinum release. The best-selling Francophone album was Maxime Landry’s L’avenir entre nous (platinum). At the October Félix gala, most popular album accolades went to Ginette Reno for La musique en moi. Hedley’s Storms was certified platinum at the end of the year.
All albums mentioned above (with the exception of L’avenir entre nous) made it to #1 on the weekly albums chart. Additionally were City and Colour’s Little Hell, Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never: the Remixes, and Drake’s Take Care.
The biggest album of the year in Canada was 21 by Britain’s Adele which was certified diamond, the first studio album to do so since Céline Dion’s These Are Special Times 4 years ago.
Below is a table of all albums released in 2011 with at least one of the following characteristics:
a) Was awarded gold / platinum certification
b) Was on the Billboard Canadian Top 50 albums of 2011 chart
c) Peaked in the Top 5 on the Billboard Canadian weekly albums chart during 2011
We will continue updating new levels of certification for these 2011 albums through 2012.
2011 Albums Comprehensive Chart
| Album | Artist | C | 2011 | WP |
| Christmas | Michael Buble | 8xP | 16 | 1 |
| Under the Mistletoe | Justin Bieber | 3xP | 36 | 1 |
| Here and Now | Nickelback | 2xP | 1 | |
| Little Hell | City and Colour | P | 40 | 1 |
| Storms | Hedley | P | 2 | |
| Metals | Feist | P | 2 | |
| L’avenir entre nous | Maxime Landry | P | ||
| Mixmania2 | (Various Artists) | G | 46 | 4 |
| L’existoire | Richard Desjardins | G | 49 | 2 |
| Better Be Home Soon | George Canyon | G | ||
| Undercover Me 2 | Jann Arden | G | ||
| Dans le silence de la nuit | André Gagnon | G | ||
| Ever After | Marianas Trench | P | ||
| Noel | Nadja | G | ||
| The Truth Is… | Theory of a Deadman | G | ||
| C’est un monde | Fred Pellerin | G | ||
| A Napoli | Marc Hervieux | G | ||
| La vie a deux | Jean-Francois Breau & Marie-Eve Janvier | G | ||
| Les grands espaces | Isabelle Boulay | G | ||
| La musique en moi | Ginette Reno | P | 26 | 1 |
| Never Say Never: The Remixes | Justin Bieber | 33 | 1 | |
| Americana II | Roch Voisine | 44 | 3 | |
| Take Care | Drake | 2xP | 1 | |
| Seul au piano | Pierre La Pointe | 2 | ||
| Goodbye Lullaby | Avril Lavigne | 2 | ||
| Get Your Heart On | Simple Plan | 2 | ||
| The Truth Is… | Theory of a Deadman | 2 | ||
| Siberia | Lights | G | 3 | |
| Collider | Sam Roberts Band | 3 | ||
| Michigan Left | Arkells | 5 | ||
| Blonde | Coeur de Pirate | 5 | ||
| Que Du Vent | Les Cowboys Fringants | 5 | ||
| Je Suis | Marie-Elaine Thibert | 5 | ||
| Lights of Endangered | Matthew Good | 5 | ||
| Everything’s Going My Way | Nadja | 5 |
New Artists in 2011
Though a song by Toronto’s Neverest barely scraped into the Top 30 on the weekly charts, its long stay, helped by a popular music video, pushed it into the year-end Top 100; “About Us” was 89th of the year. JRDN is Ralph Jordan Croucher who grew up in both Halifax and Toronto. His “Like Magic” was the 80th biggest song of the year. Like The Stereos, Chilliwack, BC’s These Kids Wear Crowns were discovered on MuchMusic’s “disBand” program. Their cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” was 95th of the year.
Another Chilliwack rock band, Pardon My Striptease, made it to #20 with their song “Pray (For LJ)” about lead singer Andrew Putt’s one-year-old daughter who was in the hospital battling brain cancer. The band challenged Nickelback to match donations to the Children’s Hospital if their song surpassed Nickelback’s “When We Stand Together” on the iTunes chart. Nickelback announced it would honour the challenge and would donate $50,000 to the hospital.
What follows are mini-profiles on the biggest newcomers of 2011.
Anjulie
We have completed a major profile on Anjulie which is HERE.
Brigitte Boisjoli
Beautiful Brigitte is from Drummondville, QC and, in 2009, she finished 3rd in reality television series Star Académie, the same year that Maxime Landry won the singing competition. She led a very athletic life, participating, among other sports, in bungee jumping, parachuting, and kickboxing. As a teen, she participated in musicals. After her success in Star Academy, she released her debut album in 2011, Fruits defendus. Her work was recognized by the Felix awards as she was nominated in several categories. She ended up winning Best New Artist of the Year.
Victoria Duffield
This diligent and multi-talented singer from Abbotsford, BC was a finalist on the third season of talent search YTV program The Next Star. By the age of seven, she was singing and dancing in local competitions. She began an acting career appearing in such shows as Cold Squad, Smallville, and Supernatural. After her success in The Next Star, Ryan Stewart (who has worked with Carly Rae Jepsen and Suzie McNeil) co-wrote the song “Shut Up and Dance” with her. It was picked up by radio stations across the country at the end of 2011 and climbed up to #12 on the weekly singles chart going platinum. A version with an added French part featuring Lukay was released in Quebec. Victoria released her debut album in 2012 named after her Platinum single. Tracks “Feel” and “Break My Heart” both made the Top 40 on the Canadian Hot 100.
Kristina Maria
We have completed a major profile on Kristina Maria which is HERE.
Mia Martina
From a small village of 500 people—Saint Ignace, NB—arose one Mia Martina who, after relocating to Ottawa for university, was discovered and asked to sing backup for Danny Fernandes and Belly. She released a dance remix of Edward Maya’s “Stereo Love”, featuring her vocal, a Top 10 hit in Canada at the end of 2010. It finished as the 34th biggest song of 2011. Her own song, “Latin Moon” which was released in both official languages finished the year in 74th place. “Burning” peaked at #25 on the Hot 100 and was the 64th biggest song of 2012. Her debut album was entitled Devotion.
Alyssa Reid
The 24th biggest song of 2011 was brought to us by Alyssa Reid. Born in Edmonton and now living in Brampton, Ontario, she was a finalist on the first season of talent search YTV program The Next Star just as the aforementioned Victoria Duffield. Her “Alone Again” was a reworking of Heart’s song “Alone” (which has also been covered by Céline Dion) with added lyrics and a rap segment by P. Reign, a Guyanese-Canadian from the Toronto area. “Alone Again” peaked at #11 on the weekly singles chart and was certified gold. Her debut album, released in June, is entitled The Game. “Alone Again” made it to #2 on the British charts in 2012.
JUNO Awards
The JUNO Awards for 2011 music were held in Ottawa on the weekend of March 31, 2012. Blue Rodeo was inducted into the Music Hall of Fame. Album of the Year was awarded to Michael Buble and Single of the Year to The Sheepdogs. For a full list of nominees, click on the following links: JUNOs Part 1 JUNOs Part 2.
Related Posts
Canadian Music Blog’s Album of the Year 2011
Canadian Music Blog’s Song of the Year 2011
Mini-Profiles on Artists Whose Popularity Intensified in 2011
(Includes Vincent Vallières, Fred Pellerin, Nadja, Carly Rae Jepsen, Dragonette, Richard Desjardins, Coeur de Pirate, City and Colour, and George Canyon)
Felix Awards: Nominees Winners Part 1 Winners Part 2
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
Gold Rush for Canadian Recording Artists of Asian Descent
Over 12% of Canada’s population is made up of Canadians of Asian descent. They have enriched our multi-cultural country tremendously. However, the Canadian music industry has, for the most part, failed to tap into these valuable resources. Chinese-Canadians have been intimidated into seeking entertainment careers on the western side of the Pacific rather than at home. Recent signs indicate that we are game for a noble change.
They say that a prophet knows no honour in his own country. This seems to hold true for even the big name artists like Avril Lavigne which we will address later. In the beginning, Asian-Canadian recording artist Raghav scored three Top 10 hits in the United Kingdom while being largely ignored in his own country. But a few days ago, his single “Fire” was certified GOLD in Canada. Canucks can look forward to the forthcoming release of Raghav’s third studio album called The Phoenix.
Joining Raghav on the gold medal platform is Anjulie, a Canadian of Indian descent via her parents’ South American country of Guyana. Her single “Brand New Chick” has just been certified GOLD.
The Canadian Music Blog sends its congratulations to both artists and is trumpeting for the rise of other Canadians of Asian descent to enrich our nation with beautiful music. Well done!
