Tag Archives: Carly Rae Jepsen
Two Canadians Have Topped iTunes Year-End Songs Charts Worldwide
In celebration of its 10th anniversary, iTunes has released a timeline of its milestones along the way as well as Top 10 lists of its worldwide best-selling songs and albums each year from 2003. Some Canadian artists have made these lists. In fact, in both 2006 and 2012, the best-selling iTunes songs worldwide were from Canadian artists, both from British Columbia.
In 2003, iTunes first year, their 2nd best-selling song was Sarah McLachlan’s “Fallen”. The following year, no Canadian songs made the Top 10; however, Avril Lavigne’s Under My Skin was the 9th best-selling album worldwide. Nickelback’s “Photograph” was 7th of 2005. In 2006, the most purchased tune was Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day”. Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” also made the list at #4. Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” was 5th of 2007. The next three years saw a dry spell.
Canadians returned to form in 2011 with two albums (no singles) making the Top 10. Michael Bublé’s Christmas was 4th of the year and Drake’s Take Care was 10th. The second #1 year-end Canadian single came in 2012 being of course Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”.
Carly Rae Jepsen Scores a Hat Trick at the 2013 JUNOs
The week leading up to the JUNO Awards’ main gala on Sunday April 21, 2013, saw a few events make the news. In the United Kingdom, fierce debates ensued over the question of Scottish separation. Never underestimate the power of the kilt? In the United States, they were occupied with their Boston Marathon bombing and aftermath, the avaricious press making a fortune off of the story (though nowhere near as much as they have made off stories about Canadian pop stars). In Ottawa, future rehab attendees were busy attempting to remodel Parliament Hill after Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. But while all these shenanigans were going on, in Regina, they were throwing the finest party of the year, a two-hour celebration of the past year of Canadian music, hosted by multi-platinum, Burnaby-raised crooner Michael Bublé.
Most of the awards had been presented the night before with seven given out at the main gala, a night filled with skits, humour, and live performances.
The show opened with a pre-recorded sketch of Bublé wheeling his luggage down a London hotel corridor and running into comedian Russell Peters who offered his suggestion that the JUNOs be hosted by a real man’s man with a chiselled jaw like Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy. Next, Bublé appeared in New York with American chat show hostess Kelly Ripa who said she loved Canadian music and expressed her desire to sing Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” hand-in-hand with Michael. He then appeared in a Hollywood piano bar where Scottish actor Gerard Butler, surrounded by a bevy of beauties, patronizingly tossed some coins into a glass bowl atop the piano and commanded Bublé to play but “whatever you do, don’t sing”, to which the girls giggled. Bublé finally appeared laying on a chesterfield getting his woes off his chest to therapist Dr. Phil who told him to man up, get out there and host. When Michael departed, Phil commented, “They should have got Jim Cuddy.”
To a cheering crowd, a Miami Vice bearded Michael Bublé entered the stage in black trousers, white collared shirt, black bowtie, and burgundy jacket with peaked lapel. The camera zoomed in on a grinning Jim Cuddy seated among the packed arena’s audience. “Ah, Regina, the city that rhymes with fun,” our host exclaimed. Capping off his opening remarks, Bublé linked his hat-tip to the Riders with the first performer, Serena Ryder, who performed her Top 10 hit, “Stompa”.
Singer-songwriter Adam Cohen (Leonard Cohen’s son), rapper JD Era, and country artist Dean Brody took the stage to present the first award of the night—Songwriter of the Year. The JUNO went to Leonard Cohen (his 6th JUNO win). Leonard was absent from the JUNOs this year. His son delivered a speech and accepted the award on his behalf, joking, “I feel so used.”
What followed was a performance by Sasakatoon’s retro boogie rockers, The Sheepdogs and then Bahamas and Kathleen Edwards (the latter singing the Jeopardy theme song) presented the award to Breakthrough Group of the Year. The JUNO went to Monster Truck. This was their 1st JUNO win. They poked fun at the madness of being a little over the hill for the category, “Breakthrough group of the year when you’re 30 years old is nothing to scoff at.”
Michael Bublé returned appearing very nervous and lost for words, mimicking the laugh and lingo of a teenage girl obsessed with British boy band One Direction. The band appeared from Manchester via satellite, “How are you Canada?” A jittery Bublé asked, “So, do you guys like … stuff?” “We love stuff,” they answered. Bublé bashfully replied, “Me too. Stuff’s awesome. So cool.” One Direction introduced the next act, “People of Canada, this is Carly Rae Jepsen.” Carly, surrounded by a squadron of female dancers, performed “Call Me Maybe” and “Tonight I’m Getting Over You” in medley format.
West coast rapper Madchild and electropoppers Dragonette presented the award for Group of the Year. The award went to Marianas Trench, the best-selling of the nominated bunch last year. Believe it or not, this was the popular band’s first JUNO win.
Bublé who had changed into a white jacket with shawl lapel commented on the beauty of Canadian female singers like Serena Ryder, Metric’s Emily Haines, and Carly Rae Jepsen. “I don’t know if you just saw Carly Rae,” he quipped, “But she was so hot. Like, did you see those little shorts? They looked good on her, but they’d look better crumpled up on my bedroom floor, if you know what I mean.” He gazed out toward the crowd, “Oh, and it’s my pregnant wife.” The camera panned over to Michael’s wife sitting in the stands giving him a stern look. She pointed at him and then ran her finger across her neck in a throat slitting gesture.
The Tenors performed “Forever Young” and talked about the musical education work of MusicCounts, which was elaborated on by Shania Twain from Las Vegas. Marianas Trench performed next. Canada’s godfather of rap Maestro Fresh Wes and Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy presented the award for Single of the Year. The JUNO was awarded to Carly Rae Jepsen for “Call Me Maybe”, the all-time best-selling single in Canada by a Canadian artist. Incidentally, it was the best-selling song on iTunes worldwide in 2012. The host Michael Bublé performed his latest single “It’s a Beautiful Day”.
Canadian icon, winner of 24 JUNO awards, Anne Murray, introduced the latest inductee into the Music Hall of Fame, k.d. lang. “She went on to prove that a great voice can sing just about anything it wants,” Anne said of k.d. A brief biographical video was shown including tributes to the Albertan from Tony Bennett, Jian Ghomeshi, Leonard Cohen, and Shania Twain. Before the backdrop of a standing-o, a tearful and grateful k.d. lang mounted the stage to accept her award and delivered a powerhouse speech.
“I think the fact that I’m standing here receiving this award actually says more about Canada than it says about me, because only in Canada could there be such a freak as k.d. lang receiving this award. Only in Canada could there be people like Stompin’ Tom Connors and Rita MacNeil. So I am here to tell you my friends and my countrymen, it is okay to be you. It is okay to let your freak flags fly and embrace the quirkmeister that’s inside of all of us.”
Billy Talent rocked the stage with Serna Ryder before Bublé on skates and hockey gear at the rink got boarded by two Vancouver Canucks. He then appeared backstage in a Riders’ shirt where The Sheepdogs were engaged in a discussion about tuna sandwiches. They questioned the Riders’ shirt given that he is from BC. He brushed them off and congratulated their making the cover of the United States’ Rolling Stone magazine saying that he had been on the cover too. They questioned him again, “I don’t remember you being on the cover.” Bublé pulled out a magazine with a photo cut out of his face pasted on the cover.
Atlantic Canadians Classified and David Myles performed their Top 5 hit “Inner Ninja” before presenting the JUNO Fan Choice award which went to Justin Bieber, his third consecutive win in the category and 4th JUNO award. He was not able to attend. Both Bieber and Leonard Cohen were fulfilling their busy touring schedules set out for them by their respective employers. The next performance was by Hannah Georgas.
Victoria Duffield, Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, and Regina-born actress Tatiana Maslany presented the award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year. The Canadian Music Blog is not sure what the term “adult alternative” music means, but it does not sound G-rated. The award went to Serena Ryder for her album Harmony. Metric followed, performing “Synthetica”.
Tom Cochrane and Regina’s Colin James presented the final and biggest award of the night, Album of the Year. They commented that they remembered when vinyl was used to make albums … and pants. The JUNO was awarded to Kiss by Carly Rae Jepsen. She was congratulated by Hedley’s Jacob Hoggard on her way to the platform. Obviously surprised at the win, she was speechless and nearly in tears. Carly had scored a hat trick at the JUNOs: Pop Album of the Year and the two biggest awards, Single of the Year and Album of the Year.
The newest inductee into the Music Hall of Fame, k.d. lang, performed next. Michael Bublé closed the show by singing his song “Home” with a little help from the crowd. Aside from the lack of a much-needed Francophone performance, this was a fabulous show and serves as a true standard for how the Grammy and BRIT Awards ought to conduct themselves. Canadian music is the best in the world and will continue to get even better, so, as k.d. lang so Canadianly put it, “Go, team, go!”
To view a list of all JUNO nominees and winners this year, click HERE.
To view the entire broadcast of the main gala, click HERE.
To view pictures from the gala, click HERE.
Ice Conduit to the 2013 JUNOs: ALBUM OF THE YEAR Nominees
Normally, the JUNOs honour democracy by giving this award to the best-selling album. Last year, Michael Bublé’s Christmas took the award. It was the second best-selling album in the world, outsold only by Adele’s 21. The best-selling Canadian album in the world last year was Justin Bieber’s Believe, while domestically, it was Céline Dion’s Sans Attendre. It would certainly be fabulous to see either the work of a youth or a Francophone album nab the award. Hedley’s Storms which continued to sell well last year won the Pop Album award last year. New to the international scene, Carly Rae Jepsen is up for the award for her second LP Kiss as is Marianas Trench for Ever After. Below are some tidbits about the artists and the albums.
Carly Rae Jepsen, Kiss
Mission, BC’s pop princess is up for five JUNO awards this year, adding to her two nominations from 2010. Kiss is her second full-length album, the first being Tug of War. In-between the two, she released her EP Curiosity. Kiss was named by Allmusic.com as 2012′s tenth best album in the world and has achieved gold certification in Canada. It contains the best-selling Canadian single of all-time domestically, “Call Me Maybe” (7x platinum), a re-mix of her Top 20 gold hit “Curiosity”, #1 hit “Good Time” with Owl City, Top 40 collaboration with Justin Bieber, “Beautiful”, Top 30 hit “This Kiss”, and her current charting single “Tonight I’m Getting Over You”.
Céline Dion, Sans Attendre
The Charlemagne, Québec native is the best-selling Canadian recording artist of all-time worldwide. Currently, having sold 114 million records, she ranks 11th in the world. The album title, literally meaning “without waiting”, was the only triple platinum Canadian release in 2012. Sans Attendre contains three duets with prominent singers: legendary Canadian Jean-Pierre Ferland, Johnny Hallyday (best-selling French recording artist of all-time), and Caribbean singer Henri Salvador. As the latter is no longer with us, this is a virtual duet. The first single from the album “Parler à mon père” peaked at #53 on the Canadian Hot 100, a respectable feat for a Francophone tune. It was the year’s 77th biggest song in France. “Les Petits Pieds de Lea” made it to #80 on the Canadian Hot 100. Dion has won 20 JUNO awards.
Hedley, Storms
The BC band’s 4th studio album won the JUNO for Pop Album of the Year last year. It has since attained platinum certification. The album spawned hit single “Invincible”, a Top 10 hit, and “One Life”, a Top 20 hit. Both songs made the year-end charts. Hedley released “Kiss You Inside Out” as a separate single later on. It became the band’s best-selling single, peaking at #2 and finishing 2012 as the 2nd biggest Canadian song of the year. Due to its success, Hedley re-released Storms to include the single. The band has so far won two JUNO awards.
Justin Bieber, Believe
Stratford, Ontario’s 19-year-old Justin Bieber has won 3 JUNOs thus far including one for Pop Album of the Year in 2011 (for My World 2.0). Believe was the world’s best-selling album from a Canadian artist in 2012 and a double-platinum release at home. It debuted at #1 in 30 countries and sold 57,000 copies domestically in its first week of release. Bieber has sold a million records in Canada so far. Believe spawned five Top 20 hit singles: “Boyfriend” (#1), “Die in Your Arms” (#14), “All Around the World” (#10), “As Long as You Love Me” (#9), and “Beauty and a Beat” (#4). It title track also made the Canadian Hot 100.
Marianas Trench, Ever After
The Trench have yet to win a JUNO award. Prior to this year, they had received two nominations. This year they are up for three. Ever After is the Vancouver band’s 3rd album and has been certified platinum. The album has spawned four hit singles: “Haven’t Had Enough” (#9), “Fallout” (#26), “Desperate Measures” (#20), and “Stutter” (#28). The first three all made the year-end Top 100, and the fourth is their current hit. Ever After is a concept album the songs of which are like chapters of a continuous fairy tale type story. There are no pauses between the individual tracks.
Comparing the Albums
| TITLE | CERTIFICATION | LP CHRONOLOGY | HIT SINGLES* |
| KISS | Gold | 2nd | 6 |
| SANS ATTENDRE | 3x Platinum | 25th | 2 |
| STORMS | Platinum | 4th | 3 |
| BELIEVE | 2x Platinum | 3rd | 6 |
| EVER AFTER | Platinum | 3rd | 4 |
* Tracks from the album that have to date made the Canadian Hot 100.
Comparing the Artists
| ARTIST | JUNO AWARDS TO DATE | HIGHEST CERTIFICATION ON A RECORD |
| Carly Rae Jepsen | 0 | 7x Platinum |
| Céline Dion | 20 | Diamond |
| Hedley | 2 | 3x Platinum |
| Justin Bieber | 3 | 3x Platinum |
| Marianas Trench | 0 | 2x Platinum |
Ice Conduit to the 2013 JUNOs: SINGLE OF THE YEAR Nominees
Unlike Album of the Year, The JUNOs do not necessarily grant the Single of the Year award to the most successful recording, as last year the award went to “I Don’t Know” by the Sheepdogs. The five nominees this year range from a #69 hit to a #1 hit. In the spotlight are a romantic car crash in Vancouver, a steamy carwash in Mission with a plot-twist finale, a baseball game in NHL-snubbed Saskatoon, handclaps and boot stomps in Millbrook, and a death march rant of corporate greed in Canada’s manufacturing capital.
Billy Talent, “Viking Death March”
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”.
Music Video
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
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.
Music Video
Hedley, “Kiss You Inside Out”
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.
Music Video
Serena Ryder, “Stompa”
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.
Music Video
The Sheepdogs, “The Way It Is”
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.
Music Video
Comparing the Singles
| 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.
Comparing the Artists
| 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
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.
Which song do you think will win the JUNO for Single of the Year?
Ice Conduit to the 2013 JUNOs: POP ALBUM Nominees
Kiss by Carly Rae Jepsen
Mission, BC’s pop princess is up for five JUNO awards this year, adding to her two nominations from 2010. Kiss is her second full-length album, the first being Tug of War. In-between the two, she released her EP Curiosity. Kiss was named by Allmusic.com as 2012′s tenth best album in the world and has achieved gold certification in Canada. It contains the best-selling Canadian single of all-time domestically, “Call Me Maybe” (7x platinum), a re-mix of her Top 20 gold hit “Curiosity”, Top 40 collaboration with Justin Bieber, “Beautiful”, Top 30 hit “This Kiss”, and her current charting single “Tonight I’m Getting Over You”.
Kiss on iTunes Carly Rae Jepsen’s Website
Believe by Justin Bieber
Stratford, Ontario’s Justin Bieber has won 3 JUNOs thus far including one for Pop Album of the Year in 2011 (for My World 2.0). Believe was the world’s best-selling album from a Canadian artist in 2012 and a double-platinum release at home. It debuted at #1 in 30 countries and sold 57,000 copies domestically in its first week of release. Bieber has sold a million records in Canada so far. Believe spawned five Top 20 hit singles: “Boyfriend” (#1), “Die in Your Arms” (#14), “All Around the World” (#10), “As Long as You Love Me” (#9), and ”Beauty and a Beat” (#4).
Believe on iTunes Justin Bieber’s Website
Tell the World by Kristina Maria
Ottawa’s, Kristina Maria so impressed Céline Dion’s producer Vito Luprano, he came out of retirement to help her launch her career. She was featured on CBC’s The National and released her debut album last year co-writing songs with big names around the world. Tell the World contains three gold singles: “Let’s Play”, “Our Song Comes On”, and “Co-Pilot” as well as her current smash, “Karma”. This is Kristina’s first JUNO nomination, and she has also received Canadian Radio Music Award nominations including SOCAN Song of the Year for her hit single “Let’s Play”.
Tell the World on iTunes Kristina Maria’s Website
The Spirit Indestructible by Nelly Furtado
This was one of the most anticipated releases of the year, as Victoria, BC’s multi-platinum songstress Nelly Furtado has already snatched up 10 JUNO awards. As well, she was the only Canadian artist through the first decade of the new millennium to win a BRIT award. She has also won Grammy awards (U.S.) and has a star on our Walk of Fame. The Spirit Indestructible, her 5th studio album, continues her legacy of creating culturally rich fusion pop and spawned her Top 30 hit “Big Hoops” after her internationally successful collaboration with K’Naan (“Is Anybody Out There”).
The Spirit Indestructible on iTunes Nelly Furtado’s Website
Shut Up and Dance by Victoria Duffield
The Canadian Music Blog chose this as 2012′s Album of the Year and is the teen star’s first full-length album. She is from Abbotsford, BC. Besides a successful recording artist, Victoria is also a superb dancer and actress. She appeared on YTV’s The Next Star, was signed to Warner Music, teamed up with hit-maker Ryan Stewart, and released platinum single “Shut Up and Dance”. She topped the Billboard Year-End Emerging Canadian Artists Chart for 2012. “Feel” and “Break My Heart” were Top 40 hits, and the album contains her collaboration with Cody Simpson, “They Don’t Know About Us”. This is Victoria’s first JUNO nomination. She is also up for three Canadian Radio Music Awards.
Shut Up and Dance on iTunes Victoria Duffield’s Website
“Tonight I’m Getting Over You” is Carly’s 8th Charting Single
Carly Rae Jepsen has released the latest single off her gold-certified 2nd LP Kiss. Her debut album, Tug of War spawned two hit singles: the title track which peaked at #36 on the Canadian Hot 100 and “Bucket” which made it to #32. Both singles were certified gold in Canada. After this, she released her Curiosity EP. It’s title track reached #18 on the Hot 100, was certified gold, and was the 55th biggest song of the year 2012. “Call Me Maybe”, at 7x platinum, is the best-selling Canadian single in history domestically. It peaked at #1 and finished 2012 as the 2nd biggest song. Her collaboration with Owl City, “Good Time” was also a #1 single and appeared at #30 on the 2012 year-end chart. After releasing the Kiss album, single “This Kiss” reached a chart peak of #23, and her collaboration with Justin Bieber, “Beautiful”, climbed to #37. Last week, her latest single “Tonight I’m Getting Over You” entered the Hot 100 becoming her 8th single to achieve such a distinction. It is already a Top 20 single in Belgium.
Carly has released the music video for the new song which we have embedded below. It has, in two weeks, garnered nearly 8 million YouTube views. Carly Rae Jepsen has been nominated for 5 JUNO awards this year.
“Tonight I’m Getting Over You” on iTunes
Carly Rae Jepsen’s Official Website
Canadian Music Blog’s Song of the Year, 2012
One of the elements that makes Carly Rae Jepsen’s songs so enjoyable is that she is able to write a killer bridge. Many artists, unable to do this, opt for the rap segment route. In the case of Jepsen, however, oftentimes, the bridge “steals the show”. Frequently overlooked, a delicious bridge is what sets apart the great songwriters from the good.
In 2007, Mission, BC’s Carly Rae Jepsen finished 3rd on the fifth season of Canadian Idol, a series that ran for six seasons. This finish was good enough to secure a record deal and she released her debut LP Tug of War in 2008, with the production talents of Canadian hit-maker Ryan Stewart, which spawned 2 GOLD, Top 40 hit singles, the title track and “Bucket”. Her success led to 2 JUNO nominations in 2010 for New Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
She was later signed by Vancouver-based record label 604 Records, a pet project of Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger. During this time, she began writing some new songs with the assistance of her guitarist Tavish Crowe. Under her direction, label-mate Josh Ramsay, lead singer of band Marianas Trench, helped convert her folk-pop style into a more fresh sounding dance pop style. In lieu of her second album, the team decided one of the songs was good enough and ready to be released as a single. The song’s name was “Call Me Maybe”.
The new song was released on September 20, 2011. After some time, local radio stations like Virgin 953 decided to add it to their playlists. “Call Me Maybe” debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 on October 14 at the humble position of #97. While new songs by Daughtry and Taio Cruz debuted on the same chart inside the Top 40, and Maroon 5′s unbeatable “Moves like Jagger” was king of the charts, the future of the song did not seem promising. The following week, however, “Call Me Maybe” leaped forward to #81. The third week was the most exciting as the song enjoyed its biggest climb, lunging ahead 24 places to #57.
From there (October 28), “Call Me Maybe” began a slow and steady climb. When it was just outside the Top 40 at #43, Carly launched a mini-tour of western Canada to promote the song. After the shows, on November 25, the song hit #35 but the following week slipped down to #37. It looked like Carly was not going to improve on the chart success of her previous 2 hits, that it was all over. But Carly and her team were not willing to back down their efforts, setting their sights higher and working on creating a catchy music video.
The music video for “Call Me Maybe” was released on December 9, and the song did a 180 turn and began to climb again, albeit slowly: #32, #28, #24, and #22 on December 30. And on this very day something very unexpected happened.
Carly’s sister very excitedly told her that international superstar Justin Bieber, who had more followers on Twitter than anyone else in the world, had made mention of the song. Carly’s first response was that, as many of Bieber’s fans name their Twitter account “Justin Bieber”, the tweet was probably from one of them or one of his fan sites. Her sister insisted that it was from the Biebs himself, so Carly checked it out. What she saw, to use her own word, “floored” her:
“Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen is perhaps the catchiest song I’ve ever heard.”
—Justin Bieber
Carly tweeted back to Bieber, “Justin Bieber, you are the sweetest!”
Bieber’s girlfriend, recording artist Selena Gomez, launched a tweet as well saying that the two of them had not stopped listening to her song. Bieber then uploaded a video on YouTube in which he and friends dance to the song.
After the Bieber tweet, “Call Me Maybe” rose only 1 position—to #21. But the following week, January 13, 2012, it broke into the Top 10, was the 9th biggest in the country, then #4, #3, and on February 3, it hit #1. It was the fourth song by a Canadian artist to top the Canadian Hot 100 since Billboard began publishing the chart in 2007.
As fate would have it, Carly was signed by Bieber’s management team, and the song was released internationally. It straight away topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, and in April it debuted on the UK charts at #1 and reached the top in a number of European countries. In the United States, as in Canada, it climbed the charts slowly, but when it hit #1, it stayed there for 9 straight weeks. The song topped the charts in the world’s 2nd largest market for music, Japan, in the fall.
Amidst the whirlwind, on June 21, 2012, Music Canada announced via multi-platinum certifications, that “Call Me Maybe” had domestically outsold every other Canadian single in history. To date, it has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, is certified 7x Platinum at home, and was the 2nd biggest song of the year in Canada and the United States.
The Canadian Music Blog is pleased to recognize this fabulous achievement by declaring Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” 2012′s Song of the Year.
Canadian Music Blog’s Top 20 Song Faves of 2012, Part 2: #10 to #1
(See Part 1 - Songs #20 to #11 - which also includes eligibility rules and our selection process HERE.)
#10. “Gonna Take Some Time” by Len
Gold-selling, JUNO-nominated Toronto band Len released an album in 2012 which was our 6th favourite of the year, It’s Easy If You Try. “It’s My Neighbourhood” was released as the album’s first single. All tracks on the album are jam-packed with sun blasts of pop splendour. We felt that the grooviest of the lot was “Gonna Take Some Time”. Len’s core members are siblings Marc and Sharon Costanzo who are great at combining clever lyrics and rhymes with impressive hooks and unexpected sounds all in a rolled up wheel of spinning summertime fun like a scooter ride through a colourful urban jungle. This song has plunky guitars, a sax solo, and some cool choppy beats.
#9. “Mon Corps” by Ariane Moffatt
Heralding her 2012 album MA, which reached #2 on the weekly Billboard album chart, this mouth-watering electronic rock number, was released at the end of 2011 peaking on the charts this year. It rivals Marianne Faithful’s “Broken English” in style and the greatest hits of Mylène Farmer in substance. Ariane Moffatt is a JUNO-winning, platinum-selling recording artist whose creative genius flows at the rate of water over Niagara Falls. The synthesizer grunts and whirrs glisten over beats as original as the concoctions of Utada Hikaru. “Mon Corps” is both ominous and playful as her vocal delivery is both matter-of-fact and teasing. Brilliant song.
#8. “I Am a Bee” by Lily C.
To prove that mainstream popular music is not all that delighted us this year is this sweet adult contemporary number by emerging artist and Torontonian Lily C. This is delicate “happy pop” in the vein of Jewel, Darrelle London, and Liz Coyles. Off album Reaching for Sunlight, “I Am a Bee” is absolutely beautiful. Verse, chorus, and bridge are all perfect examples of song writing perfection and wing through the 4 minutes in their uniqueness and unity like, well, a bee, butterfly, and bird. Rubbery keyboard blips, driving guitar strums, solid bass, bubbly bells, and free-spirited percussion animate this ode to flight and freedom.
#7. “Riptide” by Marie-Mai
Strange that of all songs on Star Academie finalist, 6-time Félix winner, and Vancouver Olympics performer Marie-Mai’s gold-certified 4th studio album Miroir, we would choose one of the two English tracks, but this song is so good, we couldn’t resist. Marie-Mai has become so popular that two of the four Francophone hits that made the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012 were hers. Fabulous were Félix popular song of the year winner “Sans cri ni haine” (a French language cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend”) and album opener “C.O.B.R.A.”. Marie-Mai co-wrote most songs on the album with the likes of Fred St- Gelais and celebrated Canadian songwriter Rob Wells. “Riptide” is the pulsating album closer which caps off a brilliant work.
#6. “Burning” (French Version) by Mia Martina
New Brunswick’s JUNO-nominated Acadian singer Mia Martina sounds stunning in English but her French versions simply floor us. Kaleidoscopic “Burning”, a hot high-society style number with a sensual saxophone, made it to #25 on the Hot 100, was certified gold, and finished as the year’s 64th biggest hit. Enjoying tremendous mileage from her 2010 album Devotion, “Burning” was the third single launched of five. The album contained an English version only, the French version being released as a separate single. “Burning” was the second most successful song from the album, 2010′s “Stereo Love” with Edward Maya being the biggest hit. Straight from Mia’s classy opening vocal, the whole song shines with glory.
#5. “Put Me On” by Diamond Rings
Yes, we do love our independent artists too. And how could you not adore a song that begins with the lyric, “Beneath the sliver of the autumn moon, between the pigeons and the northern loons”? Diamond Rings, the stage name of Toronto’s JUNO-nominated John O’Regan, released his sizzling second studio album Free Dimensional this year. It was our second favourite LP of 2012 bringing back that fabulous new wave 80s synth rock vibe with a modern spin. In “Put Me On”, edgy electric guitars (and even a mid-song solo) combine with cheeky synths and John’s baritone voice to deliver a classy contribution to the magnificent genre created by Kraftwerk and popularized by Gary Numan.
#4. “Body Work” featuring Tegan & Sara
Ah, house music, especially while doing the laundry, never sounded so good. JUNO-nominated Calgarian twins Tegan & Sara co-wrote this killer tune with American EDM master Morgan Page and vocalized the entire track. “Body Work” wrestled its way up to #32 on the weekly Hot 100, while in Morgan’s home country, the charts were not so welcoming. With a beat that could set off an earthquake, shimmering synths that get a sloth jiving, and twin stereo voices that could turn grapefruit into honey, this piece of wizardry attracted mainstream attention to the hitherto underground duo set to release a new album in early 2013.
#3. “Break My Heart” by Victoria Duffield
We named Shut Up and Dance, debut LP from Abbotsford, BC dance pop star Victoria Duffield as album of the year. She topped the Billboard Emerging Artists chart with the album’s title track, a platinum single and 49th biggest of the year. The irresistible “Break My Heart” was the third single released from the album and scaled up the Hot 100 to #35 on the weekly Hot 100. The album is filled with gems, and this dazzling dance tune of flashy Ryan Stewart tweaks, keyboard toots, and unbreakable pop hooks was our favourite. The song is enjoyed best with its suburban neighbourhood dance invasion music video and is so energizing, it’ll have grandpa doing cartwheels.
#2. “Clone” by Metric
Not an uncommon feature in motion pictures, the last time we remember a song about clones was back in the 1980s care of Alice Cooper. JUNO-winning new wave band Metric of Toronto whose members consist of three Js and an E released their fifth album this year, Synthetica, which made it to #2 on the Billboard Albums chart in June and was named by CBC’s Q as the 10th best album of the year. The song deals with the idea of making decisions based on society’s expectations (becoming a clone) or taking the road less taken. In any case, “it’s too late in the day” to change the course one set off on in the past. An extremely catchy song, with a swaggering groove, this one just compels you to keep hitting that replay button.
#1. “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen
Was there every any doubt? At one point, we were diggin’ “Curisoty” slightly more than the biggest international Canadian hit of the year, but our enjoyment of “Call Me Maybe” was longer lived. Before the endorsement of Justin Bieber on Twitter, before Carly Rae Jepsen was signed by Scooter Braun and company, before the song topped the charts all around the world, before it even entered the Hot 100 at home, we heard this amazing tune when it first came out on Vancouver Radio Station Virgin 953 and instantly fell in love. It was like a tiny, humble seed planted in soil with questionable fertility and did nothing but grow, albeit slowly, until shooting up into a fruit-bearing tree that spread its branches around the globe. This really was the best song released in 2012, fresh-sounding, catchy, expertly produced, and intelligently composed by an exceptionally talented singer songwriter named Carly Rae Jepsen.
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Canadian Music Blog’s Top 15 Album Faves of 2012
It is rare to find an honest year-end “best” album list. There are vested interests and kickbacks involved in those published by both online and print media. Individual people tend to be biased in favour of certain genres of music, musical instruments used, or types of artists (e.g. bands over solo artists) rendering their lists narrow. Blogs tend to discriminate against albums from popular artists because they use these lists to promote the obscure ones rather than simply state a true list of their favourites. In compiling our list, we did not care about the genre or style of music or the relative popularity of the artist. We simply listened to all 700 or so of the Canadian albums that were released in 2012. If the album held our attention throughout, and we found ourselves enjoying song after song, we shortlisted it. At the end of the year, we listened to the shortlisted albums several times and ranked them. Below is a list of the top 15 albums from the list, our 15 favourite Canadian albums of 2012.
What About EPs?
It is difficult to compare an EP to an LP as it contains only 3 to 6 songs. (An EP is considered a work that lasts a maximum length 25 minutes). We are thus not including EPs in this list. We would like to state, however, that of all Canadian EPs released in 2012, our favourite was Carly Rae Jepsen’s Curiosity.
#15. Albatross by Big Wreck
Like any genre of music, heavy metal can be enjoyable provided the front man can actually sing and the musical composition is inspired. Ian Thornley and Big Wreck deliver on both counts in the Canadian-American hybrid band’s first album in 11 years. This album 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. 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 2 CASBY awards, and spawned two hit singles, the title track and “Wolves”. Just make sure that when you do your head-bangin’ you’ve got a toque on, eh.
#14. Two by Jesse Labelle
Packed chock-full of the passion and intensity that made Corey Hart and Zappacosta such a joy to listen to a generation ago, the second album from Toronto’s Jesse Labelle is a beautiful tribute to romance—both lyrically and musically—under the expert production of Thomas “Tawgs” Salter. The album opens gently with the gorgeous piano ballad “Won’t Let You Down” and then moves into hit single territory (“Heartbreak Coverup” had a run on the Hot 100). “One Last Night” pokes fun at the supposed end of days from the Mayan calendar. The exciting drum pounding in “Straight Lines” moved us, the captivating wall of sound on “Moment That We Stop” impressed us, feeling the music itself pleading in “Tell the World” inspired us, and the playful swagger of “Something to Feel” charmed us. Jesse lets loose on “Magic Words”, gets theatrical on “Kryptonite”, sweet on “Lifetimes”, and rocks out on album closer “Pause”. Simply put, there is not a weak track on Two.
#13. Red Magic by Beat Market
For those of you wondering whether Canada has more to offer in the realm of instrumental EDM (that’s electronic dance music) than deadmau5, look no further than this brand new duo from Montréal: Louis-Joseph Cliche and Maxime Bellavance who go by the name Beat Market. They released an EP earlier this year before launching their self-produced debut LP, Red Magic. Making ample use of analogue synthesizers, the album showcases a more complex and sophisticated sound than many of the other acts out there. And yes, this album just may make your foot start tapping annoying the sleepoholics in the apartment below you, and when you, yourself, hit the sack with these vibes in your head, dreams of hangin’ at a video game arcade in Tokyo with some bubble tea in hand may just happen. Red Magic is the perfect party album and no doubt one of the strongest releases of the year in any musical genre, a very impressive piece of work.
#12. Tell the World by Kristina Maria
Do tell the world that Kristina Maria is an exceptional singer, so much so in fact that she brought Sony Music Senior Vice President Vito Luprano, a key figure behind Celine Dion’s rise to superstardom, out of retirement. After CRMA nominations, SOCAN awards, a feature on CBC’s The National, and 3 gold hit singles (“Let’s Play” was the 64th biggest song of 2011), she released her debut LP, Tell the World, which has thus far spawned an additional 2 charting singles. This fantastic dance pop album from the Ottawa native is jam-packed with instant classics from the beautiful power ballad “It’s All Games” to the bright lights and fun of “Up and Up” and the ground-shaking, sky-scraping anthem, “We Belong Together”.
#11. Le Treizieme Etage by Louis-Jean Cormier
“And now for something completely different,” our 11th favourite Canadian album of 2012 is the first solo release from Louis-Jean Cormier, front man of Polaris Prize winning indie band from Montréal, Karkwa. Le treizieme etage is melancholy, reflective, introspective, and at times psychedelic, centered on acoustic guitar with some electric jolts and electronic ambiance to make the listener feel as if he is waddling through dust on the dark side of the moon. Of all artists, the album reminds us, believe it or not, of Radiohead, not in sound waveforms but in the mood it elicits. Cormier’s singing style of half-whispered determined calm is a perfect match for the soft strums of the guitar that seem to come at you as if from the no-zone space of the thirteenth floor. This is a stunning piece of work.
#10. Voyageur by Kathleen Edwards
Five JUNO nominations for this Ottawan and counting. Like Ron Sexsmith, singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards likes to combine musical genres that do not fit into any of the radio formats of the current time. The album is a voyage to a world where folk, country, and rock collide and combine. The result is a sound that has a universal appeal. Although the album did not contribute any hit singles, it is a joy to listen to from the percolating opener “Empty Threat”, to “Change the Sheets”, which she performed on American chat show Late Night with David Letterman, to the concluding haunts of “Middle of the Road”. The album itself, her fourth, made it to #2 on the Billboard Album chart, her highest chart peak to date.
#9. Self by Stef Lang
After an EP earlier this year (Fighting Mirrors) that contained radio hit “Paper Doll”, Stef Lang, who comes from the town that invented nanaimo bars (Ladysmith, BC), reflected on what was to be her next move besides being featured in two tracks off Delerium’s album Music Box Opera. She decided not to opt for a mainstream radio style preferring to craft the kind of music that met with her own taste. The result was Self, her second LP. Talk about a true independent trooper, Stef wrote, played, recorded, engineered and produced the album all by herself. If commercial tunes are like slices of bread, Self is like a gourmet sandwich. She has taken the basic elements and created something even more wholesome and savoury. The album opens with Stef on her signature blood-stained acoustic guitar in “Brick Wall” and the music grows into a graceful current of subtle, melancholy R&B accented with some perky funk and urban rhythms, particularly in such beautiful tracks as “Castle in the Cloud”, “For a Minute There”, and “DNA”.
#8. Travelling Love by Elisapie
Hailing from the remote town of Salluit in northern Quebec, JUNO-award winning, trilingual Elisapie released her sophomore work this year, Travelling Love, a folky pop/rock effort. It opens with a tour de force pulsating electro-pop ice-breaker, “The Beat”, followed by fabulous “The Love You Gave”. The disc includes “It’s All Your Fault”, a tribute to Leonard Cohen of whom Elisapie is a huge admirer. Elisapie delivers a hauntingly gorgeous ballad about her hometown that makes you yearn to fly up there. And if the album closer fails to rouse your spirits, then you ought to get them checked by your local soul doctor. Of its many strengths, one of the biggest reasons why this is such a stunning album is that, on all levels, the music on Travelling Love is unpredictable. You anticipate things will go one way, and they take an unexpected turn to something more exciting, all carried by a sweet voice and a perfectly balanced wall of sound.
#7. MA by Ariane Moffatt
Every album that Ariane Moffatt has released has nabbed the Felix for pop/rock album of the year, moreover one of them won a JUNO award. With several gold and platinum certifications under her belt, she decided to release a bilingual album, MA. Being a fan of Metric, she went for an electronic rock sound on this one with such sweeping electronic landscapes combined with the original beats of the likes of Utada Hikaru. But all in all it showcases the unique, creative genius of Ariane Moffatt. MA shot up to #2 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart after lead single “Mon Corps” smoked up the charts in Quebec. CBC’s Q Radio named this as one of the 20 best albums in the world of 2012. We heartily agree.
#6. It’s Easy If You Try by Len
Toronto’s Len (siblings Marc and Sharon Costanzo) is best known for its international hit “Steal My Sunshine” back in 1999 and have been called one-hit wonders. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that; Pink Floyd were one-hit wonders … well, almost (I think “Money” made the Top 40). Len received 3 JUNO nominations, one of them being for Best Alternative Album. In 2012, they released brand new album It’s Easy If You Try. This is an incredibly good pop album that is full of summertime fun; in fact, we think track “Gonna Take Some Time” easily rivals their big hit as an instant classic. This is definitely the kind of album you’d find playing at Austin Powers’ pad in swinging London. With more surprises and pop hooks than imaginable, this album is simply a blast.
#5. Bells & Whistles by Steph MacPherson
Steph is a Canadian whose roots lie in the land of the kiwi. Her style could perhaps be described as an added touch of Loreena McKennitt to Kathleen Edwards. This year she released her debut LP Bells & Whistles under Cordova Bay Records capturing the essence of her beautiful, crisp, clear voice over gorgeous piano and guitar melodies of both rousing joy and soothing reflection. The album commences with the title track that warns us there are such potholes along life’s journey that we could see all the way to China through the asphalt. If you finally make it past that song after hitting the replay button multiple times, you will find little gems along the way to the album concluder, “Open Book”, a breathtaking piano ballad that will leave you mesmerized.
#4. 20/20 by Saga
Progressive rock is still going strong in the Great White North, yet it is really the veterans of the genre who can’t be beat. JUNO-winning, platinum-selling Saga has continued to make records for 35 years! The sophisticated sound of classics “Wind Him Up” and “On the Loose” of yesteryear won devoted followers all the way over in Germany; in fact, 2012′s 20/20, one of the best albums the band has ever recorded, entered the charts at #13 in that country. Saga is the greatest contribution to Canadian culture that Oakville, Ontario has ever made. Ten glorious tracks of brilliant song writing, pulsating keyboards, mid-pitched reverberating electric guitars, base quakes, and theatrical vocals are everything we could ask for.
#3. TRST by Trust
Toronto band Austra’s Maya Postepski met Robert Alfons in 2009, and they experienced musical chemistry. They began writing songs and formed the band Trust the following year. EP Candy Walls was released in 2011 and generated enough excitement to draw the interest of Arts & Crafts Records who released the band’s debut LP in February 2012, a work entitled TRST. Their sound is dark and atmospheric, dreamy and hypnotic, sombre and intense, with sparkles of space dust from some eerie planet on a collision course with Earth. This is gothic electronic rock at its very best with synth grunts, blips, and pulses, and melodies taking on unexpected twists and turns on a joy ride to the edge of the unknown. It is the sort of record you would hear playing at a trendy clothing shop on Robson Street in Vancouver where customers with spiked hair sift through a rack of rayon shirts with metal clasps. Listening to it gives the feeling of entering a castle complete with torches and neon lights, a dungeon containing a flying saucer, and a secret chamber occupied by ghosts and a stargate.
#2. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
Diamond Rings is a solo artist from Toronto named John O’Regan. His debut album earned him a JUNO nomination for New Artist of the Year and enabled him to open for Robyn. For his second album, he recruited producer Damian Taylor who has worked with Bjork and The Killers. For those of you who grew up in the early 80s and are pining for some new music that echoes those new wave synths of Blancmange, Simple Minds, and The Spoons, look no further than Free Dimensional. “I’m Just Me” is the first single, the music video showcasing his glittery space cadet wardrobe, square, diamond-themed shades, Bowie haircut, dry ice, green laser beams, and black lights. But his flashy stage persona and signature baritone voice is not all that is to be admired. The music on this album is a big move forward from his last work; in fact, it is so good, we found only one Canadian album released in 2012 that we liked better. Oh, yes, and we’re hoping he’ll do “Put Me On” as a duet with LIGHTS on keytar.
#1. Shut Up and Dance by Victoria Duffield
Abbotsford, British Columbia’s Victoria Duffield, A+ student, actor, professional dancer, singer, and composer has more talent in her 17-year-old frame than most people accumulate in a lifetime. Single “Shut Up and Dance”, 49th biggest song of the year and platinum certified, heralded an album bearing the same name spawning an additional two Top 40 singles (so far) and includes a collaboration with Australian heartthrob Cody Simpson. The album is short: eight tracks with a run time of 28 minutes, most being co-written with hit-maker Ryan Stewart (Carly Rae Jepsen, Suzie McNeil). All tracks on this gem succeed to levels rivalling anything Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, or The Pet Shop Boys have concocted in their respective terms of reign over the airwaves. It has taken a long time for Canadian music to branch out into the dance genre, and this has finally been perfected on such a brilliant work as this. Moreover, big on melody and sophistication, it remains purified from the watering down urban, repetitive, and oversimplified styles that have saturated the market south of the border, coming at them and the rest of the world like a breath of fresh air. We are not surprised at all that Victoria Duffield topped the Billboard Year-End Emerging Canadian Artists Chart.
As 2012 was the year that saw malicious contempt towards the young, we are pleased that our choice happens to counter this. The Canadian Music Blog is proud to declare Victoria Duffield’s Shut Up and Dance as 2012′s Album of the Year.
Canadians Nominated for United States’ Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are the U.S. equivalent of the JUNOs. They differ though in that JUNO awards, unless in the international categories, are given to Canadian artists. Grammy awards are given out to anyone in the world, provided their music was popular within the borders of the United States. In scrolling through the list of nominees to find Canadian artists, we found some amusing category titles. First off, given that the definition of a song is “a piece of music that is sung”, the title “Best Rap Song” is a contradiction in terms. We can at least give them credit for not using the often misplaced term “hip hop” which refers to the dance that goes with rap music rather than rap music itself. Another peculiar one is that the U.S. uses the term “Latin” to refer not to music that is performed in the Latin language but in Spanish. Latin is much closer to Italian than to Spanish. Did it not come from Italy? Let’s get the terminology right, guys, lest the rigatoni masters squirt you with pasta sauce and the sombrero dudes demand Texas is returned to Mexico.
The other bizarre thing about the Grammy Awards, and I suppose the same is true of the JUNOs, is that there are songs and albums nominated that were big prior to 2012 (i.e. old).
Congratulations to our hard-working Canadian artists on the nominations, eh.
SONG OF THE YEAR
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call My Maybe”
BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call My Maybe”
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONICA ALBUM
Deadmau5, > Album Title Goes Here <
BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
Michael Bublé, Christmas
BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA
Howard Shore, Hugo
BEST SONG WRITTEN FOR VISUAL MEDIA
Arcade Fire, “Abraham’s Daughter” for The Hunger Games
BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE
Melanie Fiona, “Wrong Side of a Love Song”
BEST R&B SONG
Tamia, “Beautiful Surprise”
BEST R&B ALBUM
Tamia, Beautiful Surprise
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE
Drake, “HYFR”
BEST RAP SONG
Drake, “The Motto”
BEST RAP ALBUM
Drake, Take Care
BEST NEW AGE ALBUM
Loreena McKennitt, Troubadours on the Rhine
BEST LONG FORM MUSIC VIDEO
Tegan and Sara, Get Along
First Canadian Album Released in 2012 to Be Certified Triple Platinum
Some new certifications were awarded in the past few days which are very encouraging for Canadian artists. First off, Ever After, last year’s exquisite album from Vancouver group Marianas Trench, has been declared Platinum. As far as this year’s albums go, a trio of Gold awards have been given to Diana Krall for Glad Rag Doll, The (Canadian) Tenors for Lead with Your Heart, and Carly Rae Jepsen for Kiss. Billboard has just handed Carly the Rising Star Award of 2012.
Canadians are showing heartwarming support for Francophone artists, as the contestants of Star Academie have, just 17 days after its release, received a Platinum award for their Christmas album, Noel. Their previous disc earlier this year became a double-platinum release. That disc, along with Justin Bieber’s Believe, were the best-selling albums of 2012 until today when it was announced that a Canadian album had gone Triple Platinum, another French language release. Can you guess whose? Below is a table of the recent certifications.
The Big Jingle 2012
Jingle Balls have been popular in the United States. These are concerts held in various cities during the holiday season hosted by radio stations with performances by lineups of major stars. This year, MuchMusic is hosting one in Toronto called The Big Jingle. The concert will take place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on December 2 and will be broadcast on the network on December 12. The concert will include performances by the following artists:
Quebec’s Simple Plan
British Columbia’s Carly Rae Jepsen
Ontario’s Shawn Desman
The United States’ Austin Mahone
The United States’ Bridgit Mendler
The United States’ Sky Blu (of LMFAO)
Australia’s Cody Simpson
The United Kingdom’s The Wanted
More info on the concert can be found at MuchMusic’s WEBSITE.
