The Most Successful Canadian Singles of 2016

A total of 32 songs involving domestic artists made the year-end Billboard Canadian Hot 100 in 2016. This sets a new record in the history of the Canadian charts, one that had remained unbroken for 20 years since RPM’s year-end for 1996 which held the record at 31. In 1996, Alanis Morissette had both the #1 and #2 songs of the year for “You Learn” and “Ironic” respectively. Justin Bieber repeats her accomplishment in 2016 with “Sorry” and “Love Yourself” at #1 and #2 of the year. Last year, 2015, saw only 21 Canadian artist singles in the year-end top 100.

The table immediately below shows all songs by domestic artists that made the year-end Billboard Canadian Hot 100 with their position on the chart. Because a number of these songs were cross-overs from 2015, we have included the positions for those in the year-end chart for 2015. Also, find the weekly chart peak position of these songs and the year it reached the peak (either 2015 or 2016). We have also included all Canadian artist tracks that peaked within the weekly Top 40 of the Hot 100 through 2016 but didn’t make the year-end Top 100. Note that a number of these, still on the weekly charts, will reach new peak positions in 2017.

We have also listed any current Gold/Platinum certification levels achieved by the songs (these may receive higher certifications in the future). Those that haven’t received certifications have either not reached the numbers or the artist’s team hasn’t submitted applications for them through the Music Canada program. Later in 2016, the program, in the new Single Award, began including streaming data into the qualifications at the rate of 150 streams equivalent to 1 unit sold. That is in addition to digital downloads or any CD single sales. Gold is 40,000 units; platinum 80,000; double platinum 160,000, triple platinum 240,000; etc.

Because Franco songs have a tough time reaching the chart as they do not receive broadcast-wide airplay, we have included any songs that made the Hot 100 (non-Top 40). This year, Céline Dion’s “Encore un soir” was the only song to achieve this, making it to #92. Below the first table is a second listing all French language Canadian artist songs that made the year-end Top 50 at radio network CKOI. The good folks over there have published year-end Top 50 charts since 1976. The chart includes both Anglo and Franco (and occasionally Allo) tracks and both foreign and domestic ones. You can click on the tables to enlarge them and see the text more clearly.

Alessia Cara’s Seventeen MV Gets a Little More Than 17 Views

A quarter million views in 2 days is a stirring feat for a music video from a 20-year-old R&B singer from Brampton, Ontario. But it was always in the bag considering that the Italian Canadian singer is global sensation Alessia Cara. This has been a big year for her after releasing debut album Know-It-All in November 2015. Three top 20 hits followed: “Here” and “Wild Things”, both triple platinum, and the more recent “Scars to Your Beautiful”, platinum. She won a JUNO, MMVA, Billboard, and SOCAN award and nominations from MTV, the People’s Choice Awards, the BBC Music Awards, and the American Music Awards. Moreover, she was asked to sing the song “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney film Moana. Alessia has released her latest music video for opening track “Seventeen” off her album. It shows her growing up while riding a trolley through the streets of Toronto on uncomfortable hard plastic seats.

Cara says of the MV, “It’s a personal song and video for me (starring my family and friends, as usual) and I’m excited it’s finally out for u guys to see. Hope it’ll remind u to enjoy all the little moments in life, especially this time of year. Thank u for making mine that much more special. Happy holidays & enjoy the video.”

Andie Duquette Speaks Out on Missing Children

Canadian rocker Andie Duquette, whose debut album last year Ton problème was very well received, has teamed up with The Missing Children’s Network to share the faces of people unaccounted for over the years with her album’s track “Pour oublier” as soundtrack. She says she would be grateful if the result of this endeavour was to find even one of the many children and youth who have gone missing over the years. The music video opens with the statement that every day 18 children are reported missing in the province of Quebec alone. With info in both official languages, the website of the Missing Children’s Network is here.  iTunes

Grimes Releases 4 Art Angels MVs in One Day

Vancouver’s Claire Boucher, a.k.a. Grimes, whose 2015 album Art Angels appeared on many best albums of the year lists and was shortlisted for 2016’s Polaris Prize, has been busy. Today, she released four music videos for tracks from the album. As well, she launched three videos she worked on with her friend and fellow recording artist Hana from the U.S. The Art Angels MVs are for tracks “Butterfly”, “Scream”, “Belly of the Beat”, and “World Princess Part II”. We have embedded the latter two below. Each MV gained 5-digit views within the first day of release. The videos were shot in various locations around Europe over the summer while she was on tour and show some visually pleasing landscapes and architecture.

Ruth B Finds a Lost Boy MV

Edmonton’s Ruth B has done well for a new singer. Her song “Lost Boy” has peaked at #53 in Canada and at #41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. And with that, she treats us to an official music video for the song which fits right into works from fellow Canucks like Victoria Duffield (“Paper Planes”). And, like Shawn Hook, she keeps the piano keys nice and warm. She also shares popularity generated through Vine with Shawn Mendes, and note the vines on her piano. Ruth B’s debut EP The Intro came out in November 2015. Check out the “Lost Boy” MV below.

The Pharaoh Wants to Come Home from The Underside

Abbotsford, BC’s You Say Party has released an official music video for “Underside” off its self-titled album that came out in early 2016. Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s classic movie Princess Mononoke, we watch a little one journeying through vast terrain, 4,000 km around Japan to be precise. This is pretty amazing.  iTunes

Lucas DiPasquale, originally from Markham, ON, has received some radio spins for music off his EP Post-Secondary. He is a very talented young chap who likes to bring some reggae vibes into pop music. Below is the MV for track “Come Home” with some nice summery urban shots.  iTunes

We are keeping our fingers crossed for a new album from Cranbrook, BC’s Louise Burns in a little while. She did drop … not names, not bombs, but a new 2-song single in March. The Bangles taught us how to walk like an Egyptian. Chris Tucker taught us how to fight like an Egyptian. But it is Louise Burns who shows us how to rock … like a pharaoh.  iTunes

By the Way, Calgary’s Lindsay Ell’s Burnin’ Up the U.S. Country Charts

Billboard Canadian Hot 100 charting artist Lindsay Ell from Calgary is doing something few Canadian artists are able to do these days: burn up the country charts in the United States. Of course, being signed to an American record label helps, but even then there are no guarantees … especially for a female Canadian. This gal is amazing: singer, songwriter, and highly skilled guitarist. She has received praises from Rolling Stone magazine, Billboard, and Guitar World. Canadian legend Randy Bachman, who discovered her when she was 15, says Lindsay is “the most talented and multi-faceted artist I’ve come across in many years”. Her singles to date have peaked just outside the Top 40 in the States, but her new smash, already a Top 40 country hit in Canada, is threatening to become her first. The song is called “By the Way” and is a total blast. We have embedded the MV below. Lindsay now has over 50,000 followers on Twitter and is set to slay the country fields on both sides of the 49th.  iTunes

Hooked by a Romantic Relapse

British Columbia’s Shawn Hook has released his third single off sophomore album Analog Love, “Relapse”, and it’s moving up the radio charts. The MV, embedded below, has him pulled away from a parking lot piano by a romantic relapse behind motel room door 106. Hook’s platinum single “Sound of Your Heart” is gaining traction at U.S. radio and up to #36 on their all stations rolling BDS chart.  iTunes

Chantal Kreviazuk’s New Song Heralds 6th Studio Album

She’s a multiple JUNO winner, multiplatinum artist, and scored eight Top 40 hits (three of them reaching the Top 10) between the years of 1997 and 2006. Her most successful song on the charts was “Before You” (#2) from what we consider to be one of the finest albums ever released, Colour, Moving, and Still, filled with beautiful music from the singer, songwriter, and pianist. We had the privilege of seeing Chantal at Calgary’s Jack Singer Hall at the turn of the millennium. She had a bad cold but delivered an outstanding performance despite it. The Winnipeg songstress has been in and out of the scene over the past several years to concentrate on family life. In October 2015, she released new single “Into Me” and garnished it with a music video on January 15, 2016. We have embedded it below. The MV stars Heather Ogden and her husband Guillaume Côté from the National Ballet of Canada. “Into Me” heralds the release of Chantal’s sixth studio album due out in the spring, one that we are so looking forward to.  iTunes

BAAM! 4 Freshies For a New Year’s Eve Party!

The year is nearly over, and to beef up your New Year’s Eve party playlist are these four awesome tracks from our hard-working Canadian recording artists. Want to hear your attendees say, “Hey, that song’s really good. Who is that?” We recommend all four of these! The artist initials spell out BAAM. Let’s take a look at each of them.

Turn It Around by Bayla

The ‘B’ stands for Bayla. She is a female pop soloist from Montreal. You may have heard her song “Turn It Around” on the radio, as it has been moving up the Nielsen BDS charts. She is not completely new at the game recording under the name Brittany Kwasnik since the age of 14 seven years ago. Let’s have a look at the music video below.  iTunes

Never Enough by Allie X

Hopefully you have heard of Toronto’s Allie X. She is a Billboard Hot 100 charting artist thanks to 2014’s “Catch”. She has released a deluxe version of her mini album Collxtion I with new track “Never Enough” which is a shimmering synth pop charmer. Enjoy the audio-only video below.  iTunes

Dancing Kizomba by Alx Veliz

The second ‘A’ stands for Toronto’s Alx Veliz. He’s creating quite a bit of buzz with single “Dancing Kizomba”, dance-pop with a Spanish flavour. He’s even released a Spanish language version of it. This is a great party track, and we hope you dig it.  iTunes

Tidal Wave by Made Them Lions

The ‘M’ stands for Made Them Lions. This is not a new track. It appeared on the pop-rock band’s excellent album MTL from 2014. However, the band has launched a new MV with scenes from a live performance. The group’s style reminds us a little of Down With Webster (minus the rapping), but they also do a little reggae on some of their songs. “Tidal Wave” is pure pop-rock, though. And here’s the MV…  iTunes

P.S. Don’t forget to check out Marie-Mai’s new single and MV in our previous blog post. It’s really awesome!

And no party playlist would be complete without a tune or two from this gal:

Getting the rock and snowball rolling for fans of Canadian recording artists.

Welcome Back Marie-Mai!

Canadian rock and pop singer Marie-Mai is back with a sumptuous new single, “Je Reviens” and is putting on a series of shows over the next few weeks. Her accomplishments to date are plentiful: two platinum albums, several Felix Awards, a SOCAN award, and a performer at the Olympics in Vancouver! Marie-Mai’s last studio album, gold-certified M, was her fifth. We hope the new single means a sixth album out in 2016! “Je Reviens” is a supercharged rock juggernaut with electronic pulses, and a cool oriental vibe. Marie-Mai’s music videos have harnessed very high production standards, and the MV for the new single is another feast for the eyes. This is so good!  iTunes

Canadian Music Blog’s Top 30 Song Faves of 2015

After listening to roughly 10,000 songs released in 2015 whether as singles, on EPs, or LPs, we have settled on our 30 favourites. To create a fairer and tidier list, we allowed only one entry per artist. Regardless of genre, language, and relative popularity of the artist, here are our 30 favourite songs of 2015. Note that #18 was released in 2014 but gained its airplay and chart success this year. #7 may not qualify for CanCon but with a Canadian member of the group as well as a Canadian co-writer we included it.

#30. Pivotal by Kayd
#29. Pull It Over Me by Grounders
#28. Couleurs by Alexe Gaudreault
#27. Oh Nostalgia by Fitness Club Fiasco
#26. Still Alive by Elliot Maginot
#25. Idea by Language Arts
#24. You by For Esmé
#23. White Picket Funeral by Yardlets
#22. Willie by Jean Leloup
#21. I’m an Open Road by Paul Brandt ft. Jess Moskaluke
#20. Wildfire by Marianas Trench
#19. It’s Gonna Rain by The Souljazz Orchestra
#18. Big and Loud by Rachel Woznow
#17. Black and White Heart by Andee
#16. What Do You Mean by Justin Bieber
#15. Aime/Pardonne by Tremblay
#14. Ma Chanson by Navert
#13. Pleasantries by Etiquette
#12. Septembre by Lily K.O.
#11. Airwaves by Brett Kissel
#10. Gravity by Savvie
#9. Nowhere by Tamia
#8. Fake It Past Goodbye by Livy Jeanne
#7. Lighthouse by G.R.L.
#6. Anchor by Kelly Ann Wison
#5. Warm Blood by Carly Rae Jepsen
#4. Antidote by Lexi Strate
#3. Sound of Your Heart by Shawn Hook
#2. Manquer de toi by Rosa

Canadian Music Blog’s 2015 Song of the Year

It may not have been a big hit, but this heart-gripping explosion of possessive dance music should have been. We kept track of the average number of plays it took before we grew tired of each of the 30 songs above. For songs 2-5, it was 60-70 plays. Our song of the year took a stunning 141 plays! The song was done by a new Vancouver-based project in conjunction with Canada’s godfather of dance pop, producer Ryan Stewart. It features the gorgeous vocals of Ontario band Crystalyne’s lead singer. The Canadian Music Blog declares “Spotlight” by Every Last Chance featuring Marissa Dattoli 2015’s song of the year!

Ring Around Moon City

Three Canadian artists have released new music videos recently which all deserve a feature. They all released albums earlier this year and have been scouting locations, dreaming up concepts, and securing funding to put out some wonderful music videos for our enjoyment. What is great about them is that the setting for each video perfectly complements the style of music. Find them below.

Heartsigh, Purity Ring

Canada’s Chvrches hails from Edmonton. The electronic duo known as Purity Ring released second album Another Eternity in March 2015. The MV for “Heartsigh” was launched today, and in keeping with the musical style, features a performance inside a futuristic structure complete with streamlined dancers, glittering lights and geometric sculptures.

I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On, Half Moon Run

Sun Leads Me On, released in October, is the followup to the Montreal-based band’s sleeper hit, gold-certified, debut album, Dark Eyes. This time, the performance takes place inside a house. But there is a catch. The musicians split up into different rooms. Have fun following the camera to see what each room contains. There are a few surprises.

Lover Come Back, City and Colour

This is yet another beautiful song from St. Catharines’ Dallas Green a.k.a. City and Colour. Filmed in a dusty, dilapidated rural setting, the video expresses the emptiness and broken spirit of pining for lost love. The song is from Billboard #1 album If I Should Go Before You which came out in October.

Canadian Music Blog’s Top 10 Music Video Faves of 2015

We are counting down our favourite music videos of 2015. A good music video is one that keeps your attention even with the sound turned off. With high standards, we prefer MVs that are low on violence, raunchiness, expletives, self-mutilation, and do not display the use of habit-forming substances. We select videos that are beautiful to look at, cinematic, adventurous, fun, sentimental, clever, creative, artistic, original, having great wardrobe choices, some breathtaking cinematography, or a stellar message. Below is a list of our 10 favourite Canadian MVs released in 2015. As YouTube often changes the addresses of videos, we have not embedded the MVs here but have provided links to them for your convenience. (Do note that they may become invalid in the future).

#10. Debout, Ariane Moffatt

It has been said that people have a natural attraction to bright colours, and we certainly get some of those plus some gettin’ jiggy wid it in the MV for Ariane Moffatt’s “Debout”, the most successful track off her award winning album, 22h22. Link

#9. Si tu reviens, Louis-Jean Cormier

This is very artistic, literally. Watch the hands create something cool as the music plays. Both this and “Debout” were nominated for the ADISQ Felix Award for MV of the Year in the fall. Louis-Jean is enjoying a successful solo career. He has dazzled us with indie band Karkwa as well. Link

 #8. Sunday Funday, MAGIC!

MAGIC! treated us to an update on the rude over-protective father of Nasri’s love interest. We learn that the trade-off for getting his permission to marry his daughter was that Nasri had to engage in a little slave labour by joining his father-in-law’s firm … along with the other members of the band. They’d much rather enjoy a poolside barbecue than count paper clips at the office … on Sunday. This one is lots of fun. Link

#7. The Gates, Young Empires

Some breathtaking shots in this one from the Torontonian alternative rock band. It’s still hard to believe the group just released its debut album. Beautiful cinematography. Link

#6. Avalanche, Kalle Mattson

This is one of the cleverest concept videos we have seen in a while. Kalle recreates a slew of classic album covers seemingly all in one take. He rushes around the photo studio, changes outfits and poses properly against the backdrops. The song is a good one too! Link

#5. Black to Gold, Dear Rouge

Electronic rock duo Dear Rouge dropped its debut album in 2015 and released a few really good MVs. This one is a futuristic feast for the eyes. Link

 #4. What Do You Mean, Justin Bieber

After a hiatus that was painful for many of his beliebers, Justin launched a ripper of a new song with a very cinematic MV: pink lights,  colourful graffiti, and skateboarding fun. The Biebs pays off a mystery man to arrange for a test to determine whether his girl trusts him. Link

#3. I’m An Open Road, Paul Brandt / Jess Moskaluke

We have such beautfiul land in Canada, yet it seems few take advantage of it. Bonus points to Paul Brandt for displaying some gorgeous forests and lakes in this which features Jess Moskaluke. We also love the shot of stacked logs; we can almost smell the wood. Link

#2. Same Sea, LIGHTS

From her JUNO Award winning album Little Machines, LIGHTS returns to her love for sci-fi. She warps into the year 5057, as The Observer, dressed in a suit with connected tubules reminding us of the replicant eye engineer from Blade Runner. In the year 2040, she hits the karaoke bar with her female pals. In the year 3030, LIGHTS is a cyborg with parts unknown, and has a number of cloned models. Finally, she settles for contemporary jazz dance class in 2011. The big question is: which version of LIGHTS do you like best? Link

CMB’s 2015 Music Video of the Year

Pure fun. The song was the sixth biggest of the year in Japan. It peaked at #3 on the weekly British charts. Here at home it went gold. The album was named by a host of critics as one of the best of the year. From humble roots in Mission, BC, this multiplatinum recording artist filmed the MV in New York City. She stayed low key in it and allowed Hollywood actor Tom Hanks to attempt some lip-syncing while stopping for autographs. Finally in the end, everyone comes together dancing in the streets: Tom Hanks, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Justin Bieber too. The whole thing was a blast, and we name the Vevo-certified “I Really Like You” by Carly Rae Jepsen 2015’s music video of the year. Link

Multiplatinum Singles Released in 2015

To date, we count a total of 12 singles released in 2015 that have achieved multiplatinum certification in Canada. Triple platinum (240,000 digital downloads) is the highest thus far, accounting for three of the dozen. Note that some of these songs released in 2015 as singles have been available since 2014 or 2013 via the albums containing them. Of the nine up to double platinum (160,000 digital downloads), four involve Canadian artists. We included The Weeknd’s “Earned It” released at the end of 2014. The list gives an indication of some of the most popular songs of the year.

Triple Platinum

“Bad Blood”, Taylor Swift
“Love Me Like You Do”, Ellie Goulding
“See You Again”, Wiz Khalifa

Double Platinum

“What Do You Mean?”, Justin Bieber
“Where Are U Now”, Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber
“The Hills”, The Weeknd
“Fight Song”, Rachel Platten
“Photograph”, Ed Sheeran
“Lean On”, Major Lazer
“Style”, Taylor Swift
“Hey Mama”, David Guetta
“Earned It”, The Weeknd