The Voice/La Voix has crowned Josiane Comeau of Dieppe, New Brunswick as victor of its 8th season. The Montreal-based show broadcast the grand finale Sunday on the TVA network. Coached by Cœur de pirate, the 19-year-old snatched the crown with her interpretation of Noah Cyrus’ “Lonely” which attracted a commanding 59% of votes from the public. Josiane was awarded an album deal with Musicor and a $50,000 scholarship. Her fellow finalists, Suzie Villeneuve (Team Garou), Michaela Cahill (Team Marc Dupré) and Flora Stein (Team Pierre Lapointe) received 19%, 17%, and 5% of the votes, respectively. The evening included performances from a star-studded lineup including Tyler Shaw, Half Moon Run, Paul Piché, 2Frères, and Ariane Moffatt. In closing, the announcement was made that TVA will, after nine years, be welcoming the return of Star Académie next winter, the show that launched the careers of Marie-Mai, Maxime Landry, and Andee, among many others. Past winners of La Voix are Valérie Carpentier, Yoan, Kevin Bazinet, Stéphanie St-Jean, Ludovick Bourgeois, Yama Laurent, and Geneviève Jodoin, from 2013-2019 respectively. Congratulations, Josiane!
As we look at the latest in music news, we praise those who use fame and song to express good will towards other nations and the people therein. As the saying goes, why look at the mote in your brother’s eye while failing to consider the beam in your own? (or words to that effect). The same principle applies to nations. It makes no sense for the people of a country with a history of residential schools to criticize and make allegations towards those in other lands. The world is not in a competition with itself, and we are no better than anyone else.
A few bright accomplishments in Canadian music have occurred over the past few weeks. Here are some highlights.
80 Canadian Artists Collaborate on JPF Classic
In tune with hope, solidarity, and recognition for those who are fighting against the current pandemic, a televised event coinciding with Mother’s Day extended the microphone to more than 80 artists in a cover version of classic song “Une chance qu’on s’a” from Jean-Pierre Ferland. Seasoned singers and newbies joined forces on the project including 2Frères, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Joe Bocan, Charlotte Cardin, Marie Carmen, Louis-Jean Cormier, Céline Dion, Marc Dupré, Lara Fabian, Jean-Pierre Ferland himself, Marc Hervieux, Elisapie, Ariane Moffatt, Alex Nevsky, Passe-Partout, Marie Denise Pelletier, Ginette Reno, Guylaine Tanguay, and Annie Villeneuve. Watch the video below.
Johnny Reid Salutes People Like You
Celebrated singer Johnny Reid, one of our lucky imports from the UK, has released new song “People Like You” stemming from his grievance over the April 2020 vile mass murder spree in Nova Scotia where a gunman and arsonist took 22 lives. Since release, the song has been a success at iTunes managing a constant Top 5 placement.
Kaitlyn Bristowe Takes a Venti
New single “If I’m Being Honest” by Canada’s Kaitlyn Bristowe has toppled “Stuck with U” by Justin Bieber & Ariane Grande to take top spot at iTunes. Kaitlyn has served as a television personality, which followed stints in television’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. She grew up in Leduc, Alberta and began her career in Vancouver as an exercise instructor. Her song would fall into the country-pop genre. “Stuck with U”, slipping to #2, has been a big hit at digital, though the singers seem to have forgotten that the word with contains a TH.
RIP Renée Claude
Canadian interpretative singer and actress Renée Claude passed away from COVID-19 on May 12 at the ripe old age of 80. She had been suffering from Alzheimer disease. Renée began her career with a television appearance in 1960 launching her debut album three years later, and rocketed to superstardom even making an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She performed at Expo 67 in Montreal and enjoyed a string of hit singles mainly in the 60s and 70s.
These Days, MacKenzie Porter Is Gold
Speaking of Albertans, country music slayer MacKenzie Porter of Medicine Hat has gone gold with 2019 single “These Days”, and the track is now flying up the country radio charts in … The United States! “These Days” and its predecessor “About You” both reached #1 at Canadian country radio. “These Days” is MacKenzie Porter’s first gold single.
The Sunday evening broadcast of Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble attracted an audience of over 11.5 million making it the most watched non-sporting event in Canadian history. It has raised over $6 million for Food Banks Canada.
In a mixture of musical performances, comedy, and pep talks, a legion of all-Canadian all-stars – recording artists, actors, comedians, athletes, and more – expressed gratitude towards health care workers, sorrow over the Nova Scotia killings, and hope in getting through the COVID-19 crisis. The 90-minute mishmash segment was aired commercial free allowing multiple broadcasters to air the program without competition over advertising revenue.
The musical performances began with Sam Roberts “We’re All in This Together”; Michael Bublé + Barenaked Ladies + Sofia Reyes “Gotta Be Patient”; Bryan Adams “Shine a Light”; Tom Cochrane “Life Is a Highway”; and a highly praised rendition of “Blackbird” from Sarah McLachlan.
A choir of Canadian female physicians called Voices Rock Medicine performed “We Rise Again”; Shania Twain sang a parody of her own “Up”; City and Colour, with “Nova Scotia” in a heart appearing on the wall, delivered a tear-jerking performance of “We Found Each Other in the Dark”; Charlotte Cardin helped to ensure the program had some vital FrancoCon with “Faufile”; and Randy Bachman, with some lyric changes on the crisis, strummed out “Takin’ Care of Business”.
The wonderful William Prince performed “The Spark”; Jann Arden “Sleepless”; Alessia Cara an interpretation of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”; soprano Measha Brueggergosman “You’ll Never Walk Alone”; and David Foster, after humbly admitting his wife Katharine McPhee’s vocal skills were better than his own, showed off not his Juno but his Grammy trophies on piano, delivering “St. Elmo’s Fire”.
Closing out the roster of musical spots, Marie-Mai sang “Ton Histoire”; Burton Cummings the Guess Who classic “Share the Land”; and Arkells “Years in the Making”.
Other recording artists participated opting to offer words of wisdom rather than sing (though some appeared in “Lean on Me” – see below). These included Céline Dion, Anne Murray, Rush’s Geddy Lee, Robbie Robertson, Justine Bieber (with wife Hailey Baldwin), Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Drake. Some questioned the latter’s pecking order placement at the very end of the show after the climactic “Lean on Me” music video and shorter address from the Prime Minister, leader of the land.
Athletes delivering pep talks were Hayley Wickenheiser (hockey), Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam (basketball, Toronto Raptors), Penny Oleksiak (swimmer, Olympic champion), Tessa Virtue (ice dancer, Olympic champion), Bianca Andreescu (tennis player, Canadian and US Open champion), Christine Sinclair (soccer), Connor McDavid (hockey, Edmonton Oilers), Rick Hansen (Paralympian), Andre de Grasse (sprinter), Georges St. Pierre (martial arts), and Morgan Rielly (hockey, Toronto Maple Leafs).
The actors included cast members of Schitt’s Creek, Jason Priestly, Kiefer Sutherland (speaking of his grandfather Tommy Douglas’ success in launching universal healthcare in Canada), Eric McCormack, Ryan Reynolds, Hamza Haq, Will Arnett + Amy Poehler, and Mike Myers (who concealed his “knife and fork” haircut beneath a Mountie hat).
Other screen personalities included Rick Mercer (comedian), Lily Singh (comedian), Russel Peters (comedian), David Suzuki (environmentalist), Howie Mandel (comedian who is self-isolating under the bed), Scott McGillivray (TV host), and Drew Scott + Linda Phan (TV hosts).
Also making appearances were Perry Bellegarde (National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations), Chris Hadfield (astronaut), Julie Payette (Governor General and former astronaut), The Atherton Family (Cirque du Soleil), Margaret Atwood (author), several centenarians, Abdulwahab Jalab (Syrian refugee and food delivery volunteer), and Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister).
Mulling over the number of high-profile Canadians that did not appear in the program serves only to underscore how much talent the country has spawned.
Lean on Me
To capture the spirit of the times in the memory of the late, great Bill Withers, recording artists Tyler Shaw and Fefe Dobson spearheaded a project to bring the voices of 25 acts together in a cover version of “Lean on Me” complete with a music video. Proceeds go to the Canadian Red Cross. The song has topped iTunes. Singers are Tyler Shaw, Fefe Dobson, Johnny Orlando, Michael Bublé, Justin Bieber, Sarah McLachlan, The Tenors, Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams, Command Sisters, Serena Ryder, Geddy Lee, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jann Arden, Marie-Mai, Dan Kanter, Desiire, Donovan Woods, Josh Ramsay, Olivia Lunny, Scott Helman, Ryland James, Shawn Hook, TIKA, and Bad Child. Perhaps the biggest surprise is how good Bieber’s and Adams’ voices sound when harmonizing together. Watch the official music video below.
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