31 March 2022 - Lights - Salt and Vinegar

Is it cheating if we do an entire month dedicated to a country and make 1/4 of it about one artist?

Well, Canada should be proud of Lights.  This is a recent single and I couldn't not include it this month. The song is dark and cool and a clear potato chip reference (no indication that All Dressed was an alternate title).

So, anyway, I figured I'd end the month for real with one more Lights song.  

I'm leaving this placeholder for the later acoustic version of this song.  You know it's coming.

31 March 2022 - Alannah Myles - Black Velvet

I've already talked about how packed last March was.  Which is why I had to revisit it.  I just had TOO MUCH material to ignore this. 

I'm gonna have to do it next year, too.  You heard it here first.  We're way overbooked this year.  

I have to say, I originally intended the song I posted on last Valentine's Day to be posted as part of #MapleLeafMarch. However, this song is better known - having spent two weeks at #1 in the US - and considered to be more iconic.  The song won the 1991 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and the 1990 Juno Award for Single of the Year. 

The verses bring a sultry blues feeling, with a more rocking chorus.  The song itself being a tribute to Elvis Presley, it makes sense that it would straddle the line between blues and rock.  It has become a Canadian classic.

30 March 2022 - JESSIA - I'm Not Pretty

Meet Jessia (real name: Jessika Harling).  She's from British Columbia.  She's got a TikTok account, and on January 1, 2021, she posted a video.

@jessiamusic TikTok is too beautiful 😂 #Welcome2021 #RareAesthetic #belly #🍑 #pretty #fun #fyp #neverseentwoprettybestfriends #wtf #bop #trash #newyear #new ♬ original sound - JESSIA

It would change her life. Elijah Woods saw her TikTok and, in his words, "It's a bop."

@jessiamusic #duet with @elijahwoodsmusic TAG HIM!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!! #fyp #pretty #belly #🍑 #new #newyear #MyStyle #omg #viral #wut #yes #duetme #music #react ♬ original sound - elijah woods

They finished building out the song and wthin a week, this TikTok account holder had a single out.  

And, last year, during #MapleLeafMarch, this Canadian released a video for this song.  Nearly 9 million views later, she is nominated for four Juno awards in 2022, including one for this song.  

The song is clearly about body image and acceptance issues - and it's pretty chill and fresh.  The video features a lot of fresh peaches.  No idea why.  

For those coming back for a second round, here's the remix featuring Bebe Rexha.  It replaces the second verse with an even more positive one.   

29 March 2022 - Babygirl - You Were In My Dream Last Night

This song has been in moderate rotation for me for about three months at this point.

I was today years old when I found out, accidentally, that Babygirl was Canadian.  And by today years old, I mean a few weeks before you are seeing this - but IN MARCH.   \I was absolutely going to post this song someday - it is legitimately one of my favorites.  But I really had to do it this month when I found this out.

And, when I watched the video, I recognized a lot of places in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, a town that I can practically navigate blindfolded.  No joke.  Map in my head.  Especially the flying saucer restaurant. 

The song is a sweet ditty about missing someone who was, well, in my dream last night.  I discovered it while doing a random Spotify playlist search while on an airplane where Spotify streaming was free.  Why this song wasn't a bigger hit everywhere is a mystery to me. 

Babygirl is a two piece, and they perform this song beautifully in its acoustic form.

28 March 2022 - Charlotte Cardin - Anyone Who Loves Me

Not everyone from Quebec sings in exclusively French.

Take 2014 La Voix runner up and 2022 Juno nominee Charlotte Cardin. From Montreal, she has sung songs in both English and French - and had hits outside of francophone Canada.  This song, from her fabulous nominated debut album Phoenix, was one of those hits, and it crossed over to adult contemporary radio. 

I just hope they were able to dry off the piano they used in this video.

In this live version for Virgin Radio, the lyrics are a little cleaner.  It's also a little more stripped down, showcasing Cardin's huge voice.  

27 March 2022 - Brett Kissel - Make A Life, Not A Living

Canada isn't that much different from the United States.

You know, they have country music, too.

This song, released in March 2021 and nominated for the 2022 Juno Award for Single of the Year, was a #1 Canadian Country hit and a top 50 POP hit.  Lyrically, it's self-explanatory, but if you needed a sledgehammer, the video shows Kissel - from eastern Alberta, which is pretty much country - ditching an office job for life on the farm - and yes, that's his real family in the video.  

26 March 2022 - Jérôme 50 - 1, 2, 3, 4

American audiences are familiar with The Voice.  The singing competition is quite popular.

Well, there's a francophone version of it in Quebec, called La Voix, and it has yielded a fairly significant number of artists. Singer-songwriter Jérôme Couture came in third on the first season of the song - and the field was so deep, even HE got a record deal with Dare To Care Records.  

Born in L’Ancienne-Lorette and now residing in the greatest bastion of francophone Canada, Quebec City, he continues to make music as Jérôme 50.  This is not a Feist cover.  This is his song.