This song debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 on 8 June 2012 at #69, its peak position. It spent a total of 6 weeks on the chart. Although not awarded with any certifications, it helped the album Dead Silence achieve gold status in 2013. “Viking Death March” did not chart internationally; however, its sister single “Surprise Surprise” saw some success in Germany. Billy Talent is a punk band from Mississauga. They have thus far won seven JUNO awards. Great lyrics on this: “Stop, punch in the clock / Punch it with all of your rage. Put the men in office / For a minimum wage / Rats fighting for scraps / Siphon the gas from your tank / Left your pockets empty / As they laughed to the bank”.
At 7x platinum, “Call Me Maybe” is the most successful Canadian single of all time domestically. It began its chart run on 14 October 2011 debuting at #97 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song reached #1 on 3 February 2012 spending four weeks at top spot. It finished its chart run on 6 March 2013 giving it a total of 74 weeks on the chart. Internationally, it reached #1 in some 20 countries. It entered the British charts at #1 and spent nine weeks on top of the U.S. charts. It was the second biggest hit overall of 2012 in Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom. It was the biggest hit of the year in Australia and New Zealand. Carly Rae Jepsen is from Mission, BC. Outside of the success of “Call Me Maybe”, to date, she has scored three gold singles and one gold album. She was a finalist on Canadian Idol and in 2012 was signed by American heavyweight manager Scooter Braun.
This was the second most successful single of 2012 after “Call Me Maybe”. It entered the charts at #35 on 1 June 2012 and peaked at #2 on August 15. The song spent a total of 41 weeks on the Hot 100. “Kiss You Inside Out” was certified a triple platinum single, making it the band’s most successful. A bilingual version was recorded with Star Academie finalist Andrée-Anne Leclerc. The song was not a hit internationally and was the 19th biggest song of the year domestically. Hedley is from Vancouver. Jacob Hoggard, the band’s lead singer was a finalist on Canadian Idol. They have won two JUNO awards to date.
This is the only song among the batch that is still on the charts. It debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 on October 17, 2012, at #87. It reached its peak position of #8 on January 30, 2013, and has thus far spent 21 weeks on the charts. “Stompa” has gone gold as has the album on which it appears (Harmony). Serena Ryder is from Millbrook, Ontario which is near Peterborough. She has won three JUNO awards to date. ”Stompa” cannot be considered an international hit. Her “All for Love”, though, saw some success south of the border a few years ago.
This song spent a total of 16 weeks on the Hot 100, from July 25 to November 7, 2012. It peaked at #59 on September 12. Though not achieving any certifications, the album on which it appears went gold in 2013. The Sheepdogs are a four-member rock band from Saskatoon who play a kind of early 1970s style “boogie rock”. Their winning a contest led to a deal with Atlantic Records. The band won three JUNO awards last year including one in this very category. The music video for “The Way It Is” (not to be confused with Bruce Hornsby’s number) showcases a baseball game. It did not chart internationally, though their current single is gaining ground in the U.S.| TITLE | WKS ON CHART |
PEAK POS |
YR-END | MV VIEWS | CERT |
| Viking Death March | 6 | 69 | - | 1.9 million | - |
| Call Me Maybe | 74 | 1 | 2 | 437.1 million | 7x Platinum |
| Kiss You Inside Out | 41 | 2 | 19 | 3.5 million** | 3x Platinum |
| Stompa | 21+ | 8 | N/A* | 548,000 | Gold |
| The Way It Is | 16 | 59 | - | 251,000 | - |
* “Stompa” will likely appear on the year-end Top 100 of 2013.
** Includes views of bilingual version.
| ARTIST | JUNO AWARDS TO DATE | HIGHEST CERTIFICATION ON A RECORD |
| Billy Talent | 7 | 3x Platinum |
| Carly Rae Jepsen | 0 | 7x Platinum |
| Hedley | 2 | 3x Platinum |
| Serena Ryder | 3 | Gold |
| The Sheepdogs | 3 | Platinum |
Predicting the winner in this category is extremely difficult. Carly Rae Jepsen’s song was the most successful by far, both domestically and internationally, and given she has not yet won a JUNO, they will want to give her one this year (she’s up for five). Billy Talent are a favourite of the JUNOs, however, having won the most of the five artists here. The Sheepdogs are on a roll, having won this category last year. The JUNOs are being held in their province this year and are wanting to encourage the province in developing more musical talent. Serena’s song is still hot, on the charts, and fresh in the minds of the judges. It’s style offers a nice bridge between pop and rock realms. As for Hedley, their album Storms won Pop Album last year and is up for Album of the Year this year. This is their best-selling single and they took the time to release a true Canadian bilingual version.
This band, led by the genius of Toronto’s Ian Thornley who pulled a 180 after a run at a solo career, has released its first album in over a decade. Their 1997 debut effort, In Loving Memory of, mined its way into double-platinum certification. This, their third, has secured for the crew its first JUNO nomination. The music is like a diesel-powered snowblower ploughing through the snow and transforms at times into a melodic ice-dancing Zamboni. Albatross peaked at #5 on the Billboard Albums chart, won two CASBY awards, and spawned two hit singles, the title track and “Wolves”. It gets your heart pumping, adrenaline flowing, and energizes you enough to clear snow from a football field in Quebec City in the time it takes it to dissolve on a Vancouver street corner.
This Mississauga band has already brought dead silence to critics with seven JUNO awards, three multi-platinum albums, and over a million thumbs up on Facebook, tucked under their punkabilly belts. Though internet trolls may beg to differ, in the Great White North, Billy is not the name of a goat, at least not since 2003 when the band’s success burgeoned. Two cuts off the disc, “Viking Death March” and “Surprise Surprise” did just what they were intended to do: march up the Canadian Hot 100. But those of us who recognize talent, were not surprised at all. This was their first album not to be graced by a roman numeral, and they seemed to hit their stride on this release, creating a perfect blend of super potent espresso that moshes into the pit of the heart and gets you pumped up ready to tackle every sociopolitical problem the world dishes out.
The trio from Toronto has been inducted into the Music Hall of Fame, five of their songs have made the Songwriters Hall of Fame, they’ve won eight JUNOs of 43 nominations, and, last year, they released their 19th studio album. This concept album is about a man struggling to follow his dreams in a world of anarchists, pirates, and his arch nemesis Watchmaker. The rock is more progressive than the band’s last release though not as much as their quadruple platinum album Moving Pictures. While their sound has bounced around with different styles over the years, the centerpiece of Rush’s music has always been Neil Peart’s dazzlingly complex rock drumming. The music, as a whole, on Clockwork Angels is highly detailed and dynamic which makes it one of their most exciting works in a while.
This band from Saskatoon that plays early 1970s style won three JUNO awards last year, and this is their 4th studio album. It has been certified gold. The Sheepdogs’ style has been dubbed “boogie rock”, the kind of stuff that got played off dashboard mounted 8-track tape decks by dudes in pickup trucks wearing jean jackets, metal rimmed glasses, hair below the ear lobes, and mood rings. There is an organic and wholesome quality to the music giving it a more universal appeal. The band is not attempting to formulate a statement; they are letting it happen. As the first track suggests, this is an album to play when in laid back mode as if making some moves at the roller arena or pinball arcade.
This Kingston, Ontario band has a pair of diamond-certified albums, something that none of these other nominated groups can boast. They have also won the most JUNOs of the bunch, with 13. They have a star on the Walk of Fame and have been inducted into the Music Hall of Fame. Now For Plan A, The Tragically Hip’s 13th album, was certified gold, proving the band is still … hip, and spawned the hit single “In Transformation”. A touch of psychedelics underscores their characteristic grunge sound and Gord Sinclair’s usual twangy vocals, making us feel we have hitched a ride within a rock band’s garage hitting the streets in an ultraviolet repo-man Chevy Malibu with something mysterious in the trunk.Besides Carly Rae Jepsen’s highly anticipated release on September 18, a number of other high-profile artists will be serving new treats for us that month and beyond. Included are a progressive rock group, a punk band, a world-renowned jazz artist, and a house muscian.
Style: Progressive
City: Montréal
JUNO Awards: 2 nominations
Certifications: 1 gold album
Twitter Followers: 12,800+
Facebook Likes: 197,000+
Official Website: http://www.youarestars.com/
One of the most prolific bands in the nation, Montreal-based Stars are launching perhaps their best work to date. Sounding like a scintillating blending of New Order, Foster the People, and Metric, their 6th studio album, The North will be hitting stores soon. With 2 JUNO-nominated albums and nearly 200,000 Facebook likes, the creative, electronic-twinkling ensemble consists of Torquil Campbell, Chris Seligman, Evan Cranley, Amy Millan, and Pat McGee. Lead single is a song with a title long enough to span across the CPR: “Hold on When You Get Love and Let Go When you Give It”. You can give it a listen HERE.
Style: Punk
City: Mississauga
JUNO Awards: 7 wins
Certifications: 3 multi-platinum albums
Twitter Followers: 44,000+
Facebook Likes: 1.1+ million
Official Website: http://www.billytalent.com/
In the Great White North, Billy is not the name of a goat (though internet trolls may beg to differ). Until their fame burgeoned after 2003, it was rare to see the terms “punk” and “talent” printed together in the press. With a trio of multi-platinum albums under their rockabilly belts, Ben, Ian, Jonathan, and Aaron are ready to take in their next. Two tracks have already moshed into the Billboard Canadian Hot 100: “Viking Death March” and “Surprise Surprise”. You can watch the former’s MV HERE.
Style: House
City: Toronto
JUNO Awards: 4 wins
Certifications: 1 platinum album and 1 gold single
Twitter Followers: 1.3+ million
Facebook Likes: 6.6+ million
Official Website: http://www.deadmau5.com/
Brush aside the mouse traps, Deadmau5 is a cool cat, and who would have ever thought that a house musician could become the 5th most popular Canadian artist on social media sites? His real name is Joel Zimmerman and was born in perhaps the niftiest place in the country—Niagara Falls. “The Veldt” (listen HEEEERE), his collaboration with Chris James, has already burrowed up the charts like a mouse through cheese, and now he is set to launch his 6th studio album.
Style: Vocal Jazz
City: Nanaimo
JUNO Awards: 8 wins
Certifications: 7 multi-platinum albums
Twitter Followers: 36,000+
Facebook Likes: 414,000+
Official Website: http://www.dianakrall.com/
Born in the city after which Nanaimo bars were named (they were actually invented in Ladysmith where Stef Lang is from), Diana Krall spent her youth and adult years in several cities around the globe. She eventually became the best-selling female jazz artist of all-time. Her resume is exceptionally impressive: 7 multi-platinum albums (The Look of Love is 7x Platinum) and 8 JUNO awards. The singer-pianist’s website says of the new music, “swinging, rocking and taboo collide with songs of longing, solace and regret”. The album features guitarist T Bone Burnett. You can listen to one of the album’s tracks HERE.
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.
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.
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.
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 TalentThis 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 DesmanShawn 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.
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.
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.
As mainstream pop and rock was being taken over by contestants of Canadian Idol and Star Academie, artists who signed with record labels directly began to produce music that was on the fringes—either ultra-soft or ultra-hard. This resulted in a polarization of music. On the soft side was David Foster-produced jazz-singing virtuoso Michael Bublé, the biggest new star to arise in the middle of the decade. Folky Ariane Moffatt, Mes Aïeux, and Gregory Charles were other stars on the mellow side of the spectrum. On the hard side were grungy Nickelback copycat bands like Simple Plan, Billy Talent, and Three Days Grace. Heavily-tattooed Canadian Idol contestant, Jacob Hoggard, who finished 3rd in the second season, became the lead singer of grunge outfit Hedley. The only prominent artist, outside of the talent shows, to stand in the comfortable middle was Ontario’s Fefe Dobson.
Across the river from Quebec City, pianist-guitarist, singer-songwriter, Juno and Felix award winner Ariane Moffatt hit the airwaves. Her 2002 debut release, Aquanaute, was certified platinum due in large part to the hits “Pointe de Mire” and “Poussière d’ange”. Five of her singles were to be nominated for the Felix Song of the Year award, “Je veux tout” winning such a prize at the 2008 gala. The album on which the song appeared, Tous les Sans won the Juno for Francophone Album of the Year. Another female voice emerged this year, coming from Toronto’s former suburb of Scarborough. She was a beautiful model of mixed English, French, Aboriginal, and Jamaican ancestry. The singer-songwriter scored her first of three Top 10 hits, “Bye Bye Boyfriend”, her debut , self-titled, album attaining platinum sales. Her name was Fefe Dobson. Andrée Watters, from the northeastern Quebec City borough of Charlesbourg, released her first of three Felix song of the year 
nominees, “Si exceptionnel”. She won the Felix for best rock album of the year. Sadly, her brother Patrick was killed in a 2007 helicopter crash near Fort McMurray, AB, while combatting a forest fire.
The most significant male artist to debut this year was a multi-talented Vaughan, ON native with Portuguese roots named Shawn Desman. His “Shook” made it to #3 on the charts. His 2005 album Back for More won the Juno for best R&B release. Besides singing, he plays the piano, produces, dances, and does choreography.
From Mississauga, ON, high school band Pezz transformed itself into Billy Talent, signing with Warner Music. Sales of their first (self-titled) heavy metal release under the major label, reached triple platinum status and won the Juno for album of the year. Their song “Try Honesty” was nominated for a song of the year Juno.
Outside the country, the biggest Canadian hits this year were Avril Lavigne’s gorgeous power ballad “I’m with You”, Shania Twain’s soothing “Forever and For Always”, and Nickelback’s grungy “Someday”. Within the country, Celine Dion revamped Cyndi Lauper’s “I Drove All Night” (originally written for Roy Orbison) and topped the charts. Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm’s “Something More” was also a #1 hit. Despite being a French song, “Meme Les Anges” made it to #2 on the charts due to Audrey De Montigny’s high-profile exposure on Canadian Idol. Celine Dion’s “Tout l’or des hommes” was as successful. Nicola Ciccone’s beautiful “J’t'aime tout court” was song of the year in French Canada and Nelly Furtado’s fusion piece “Powerless” in English Canada.
There were three albums released this year that sold half a million copies: Sarah McLachlan’s Afterglow, Nickelback’s The Long Road, and the compilation Star Academie (featuring songs sung by the various contestants of the show).
First and foremost this year was Vancouver’s Michael Bublé. He debuted last year with his self-titled album, and, thanks to the blockbuster film Spider-Man, he scored his first big hit in 2004. Buble was discovered by David Foster while singing at the wedding of Caroline Mulroney, daughter of the former Prime Minister. Initially Foster was reluctant to sign him because he was unsure how the market would react to Michael’s brand of music—traditional pop and big band jazz. With the support of Paul Anka, David eventually agreed. It turned out to be a wise decision because Buble’s albums have sold 35 million copies worldwide.
In Britain, a Canadian artist scored three Top 10 hits. But in his own country, he was not as noticed. The Canadian music industry, in the interests of commercialism, has tagged along with its southern neighbours and become a blacks-and-
whites only club, largely closing its doors to recording artists of Asian descent, who represent a much greater population in the country than those with African roots. Because of this racialism, artists of any and every visible minority, in order to flourish, have, rather than creating a style of rock music they can call their own, reverted to adopting African American styles of R&B and rap. This was true of Indian-Albertan Raghav. (He did sneak in some Indian-style rhythms).
Rap-R&B singer Jérôme Philippe scored a Felix-nominated song, “Pour le ghetto”. Kevin Brereton, known as k-os, grew up in Toronto and delivered the beautifully-arranged Juno song of the year, “Crabbuckit”, somewhat of an alternative reggae piece. He has managed two platinum albums and a couple of Top 20 hits.
Several new bands hit the airwaves this year, most of them dabbling in various combinations of grunge, punk, and metal. The most successful of all of them was 8-time Juno nominee, Montreal quintet Simple Plan. Recording since 2002, they enjoyed their first big hit this year, “Perfect” (not to be confused with Hedley’s song of the same name). Oddly, the lead singer Pierre Bouvier has chosen to sing with an American rather than Canadian accent. The band’s second album, Still Not Getting Any, went 4x Platinum, making it the third most successful Canadian album released this year (after Shania Twain’s Greatest Hits and Avriil Lavigne’s Under My Skin).
Drummondville, Quebec’s Les Trois Accords paid homage to Saskatchewan in their Felix-nominated song. After releasing a platinum album, they scored a couple more hits through the decade. Finger Eleven, from Burlington, ON, gave the world the international acoustic guitar hit “One Thing”. Besides Avril Lavigne, the band was the only Canadian act to appear on the U.S. Billboard year-end chart. The Scott Anderson-led group scored an even bigger hit in 2007—the grungy “Paralyzer”.
Toronto’s independent punk label Underground Operations signed Closet Monster and Hostage Life who churned out the hits “We Re-Built This City” and “Sing for the Enemy” respectively. The Trews, originally from Antigonish, NS, enjoyed a Juno-nominated song, “Not Ready to Go”. Winnipeg’s The Waking Eyes had the Top 10 hit, “Watch Your Money”.
Uruguayan-Swiss Quebecer, Carole Facal, after dabbling with snowboarding in B.C., teamed up with Dorianne Fabreg to form the duo DobaCaracol, complete with dreadlocks. Later, as a soloist, Facal, under the stage name, Caracol, scored the hit “Le Mépris”. Montréal’s Marie-Chantal Toupin came out with the power-ballad “Naître” and enjoyed two platinum albums in the decade.
Three bands broke up in the new millennium and members formed a new outfit in St. Catharines called Alexisonfire. A platinum album released this year helped them garner the Juno for New Group of the Year in 2005. At the end of the decade, member Dallas Green announced his departure. He went solo under the name City and Colour.
Big hits this year from previously profiled artists included two top fives from Avril Lavigne: the rock masterpiece “My Happy Ending” and her first Top 5 hit at home: “Don’t Tell Me”. “A prophet knows no honour in her own country?” Although her singles did better elsewhere, her albums sold better at home than abroad. Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter had the #1 “Awake in a Dream” which became the best-selling single of all time in Canada (8x Platinum). Star Academie’s Marie Elanie Thibert had the second best-selling single of all-time, “Toi L’inoubliable”. Shania Twain’s “Party for Two” fittingly made it to #2. The Felix song of the year was “Les Étoiles filantes” by Les Cowboys Fringants.
One of the biggest international hits of the decade came out this year from a Vernon, BC lad named Daniel Powter. He was bullied as a child for studying the violin (since when is there something wrong with the violin?). He switched to piano but struggled with dyslexia. “Bad Day” was released first in the U.K. where it made it to #2. At home, it was a Top 10 hit. But in 2006 the song not only made it to #1, it was the biggest song of the year in the United States. “Voyager vers toi” was a hit in Quebec for Marc Dupré. Hamilton’s Tomi Swick scored a radio hit called “A Night Like This” which helped him win the Juno for New Artist of the Year in 2006.
Third-place finalist of Canadian Idol, Jacob Hoggard, formed the successful Abbotsford, BC rock band Hedley who enjoyed six Top 10 hits through the decade, two double-platinum albums, and, until now, 15 Juno nominations. From the same city as Les Trois Accords, folk band Kaïn scored subsequent hits “Embarque ma belle” and “Mexico”. Ska band Bedouin Soundclash won the Juno for best new group and “When the Night Feels My Song” was nominated for best song. In 2007, they scored the Top 10 hit “Walls Fall Down”.
Brandon, Manitoba’s country singer Amanda Stott crossed over onto the pop charts with the #1 hit song, “Paper Rain”.
There were not too many hit songs this year from Canadian artists. The only other big hit, besides those mentioned above, was chart-topping “Alive” from Canadian Idol winner Melissa O’Neil who incidentally (and refreshingly) is half Chinese. Star Academie contestant Annie Blanchard won the Felix song of the year award with “Évangéline” and Michael Buble’s “Home” won the equivalent Juno award.
Hit albums this year were Nickelback’s All the Right Reasons (7x Platinum), Michael Bublé’s album of the year Juno winner It’s Time, and Céline Dion’s On ne change pas.
Nickelback’s lead singer Chad Kroeger started his own record label called 604 Records. It signed the Vancouver band Marianas Trench whose song “Say Anything” was a #3 hit. The Adam Gontier-fronted outfit Three Days Grace from Norwood, ON recorded the double-platinum Juno-nominated album One-X but did not manage any big hit singles. Speaking of double-platinum albums, Mes Aïeux achieved one and also won the Felix song of the year for folk hit “Dégénérations”. They have been named Group of the Year three times at the Felix galas. Combining male-female lead vocals, pop group Alfa Rococo enjoyed a few big hits in Québec, including “Les Jours de pluie” this year. Stabilo, a rock band from Maple Ridge, BC, scored the raio hit “Flawed Design”. Montreal’s alternative rock band Mobile won a Juno for New Group of the Year in 2007 thanks to their debut album released this year, Tomorrow Starts Today.
Sherbrooke, Quebec’s Vincent Vallières had been around since 1999 but began scoring some hits, like “Je pars à pied”. Retired hockey player Étienne Drapeau turned to singing and enjoyed the hit “Je l’ai jamais dit à personne”. Montreal’s Gregory Charles, of Trinidadian origin, had a very popular debut album, the triple-platinum I Think of You. Dumas’ “Au gré des saisons” was popular this year.
Exotic Indian-Irish-Italian beauty Cindy Daniel had a very big hit, “Sous une pluie d’étoiles” and Egypt-born Chantal Chamandy had the platinum-selling hit single “Feels Like Love”.
Nelly Furtado scored three Top 10 international hits this year and two more next year with her 5x Platinum album Loose which won the album of the year Juno. Her song “Promiscuous” was named song of the year. Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila topped the charts performing in American R&B style for her song “Meant to Fly”. Nickelback scored three big hits this year.
Coming up are mini-profiles on semi-major artists Billy Talent, Gregory Charles, Fefe Dobson, Marie-Élaine Thibert, Finger Eleven, Shawn Desman, Mes Aïeux, and Marianas Trench. Following that will be features on major artists Michael Bublé, Hedley, Simple Plan, Raghav, and Ariane Moffatt.
Copyright 2011 by the Canadian Music Blog
