Country newcomer Sam Hunt was in Toronto last week for an opening slot on multi-Platinum superstars Lady Antebellum’s summer tour with Hunter Hayes at the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre. During his visit, Universal Music Canada presented Hunt with a custom Gold plaque commemorating the sales achievements of his debut album Montevallo and single “Leave The Night On”. His latest single “Take Your Time” was also included on the plaque for it’s recent Platinum certification.
Photo Credit: Marcia Leeder Photography
Canadian fans of UK folk-rock outfit Mumford & Sons have welcomed the band’s new electric sound with open arms, as their latest album Wilder Mind has officially been certified Platinum in Canada. After a brief hiatus since their 5X Platinum selling album Babel, Mumford & Sons returned to Canada on June 15 for a stopover on their Gentlemen Of The Road tour at The Commons in Niagara-On-The-Lake. During their visit, the band was presented with custom Platinum award plaques for Wilder Mind by Universal Music Canada and Glassnote label manager Ryan Shepard (pictured centre).
Wilder Mind’s lead single “Believe” can be listened to below, which was also certified Gold in Canada.
Canada’s Walk Of Fame has announced the return of the successful Emerging Artist Music Mentorship Program, supported by RBC, as part of Canada’s Walk Of Fame Emerging Artists Programs and Scholarships. Now in its third year, the program calls for submissions from aspiring Canadian musicians (ages 10-35) for a chance at the Grand Prize consisting of private recording studio time, industry mentorship opportunities and a $25,000 cash prize. Six additional winners will also be chosen for a smaller cash prize and performance opportunities of Canada’s Walk Of Fame Events.
All winners will also be invited to participate in a private Music Industry Career Development Information Session with Q&A. The approximate value of the prizing in total is more than $100,000.00 CDN.
“Canada’s Walk of Fame is a celebration of everything that makes our nation great, and the mentorship program ensures that the next generation of artists achieve this greatness,“ said Randy Lennox, President/CEO of Universal Music Canada. “Universal is honoured to be attached to such a wonderful mentorship program with RBC, and we look forward helping the next bumper crop of talented Canadians reach their goals both at home and abroad. As we have seen with last year’s winner NEFE, who signed with Universal Music for the world, the campaign is helping Canadian artists grow into the stars of the future.”
The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2015.
For more information, see the program’s tool kit on the Canada’s Walk of Fame website.
UK singer-songwriter Ben Howard was presented with Canadian Gold album award plaques in Toronto, ON last week for his 2011 Mercury Prize nominated LP Every Kingdom, which was officially certified earlier this year.
Howard (pictured right) along with with his manager Owain Davies (pictured left) were presented with the awards by Universal Music Canada publicist Mima Agozzino prior to his 2 sold-out shows at Toronto’s Massey Hall on February 1 &2, 2015. Howard is currently on a North American tour in support of his 2014 album I Forget Where We Were, which also featured Canadian stops in Montreal, QC and Vancouver, BC.
The video for “The Wolves” can be viewed below:
Moments before taking the stage for a sold-out show Tuesday night at Toronto, ON’s Air Canada Centre, UK singer and 2014 breakthrough artist Sam Smith was presented with a Multi-Platinum award plaque by Universal Music Canada. The custom award plaque commemorates the recent Double Platinum certification of his debut album In The Lonely Hour as well as it’s accompanying singles “Stay With Me” (4X Platinum) and “I’m Not The Only One” (Double Platinum).
Prior to his concert in Toronto, Smith’s tour stopped in Montreal for a sold-out show at the Bell Centre. Smith expressed his gratitude for his enthusiastic Canadian fans in the Instagram photo below:
Sam Smith’s video for “Stay With Me” can be viewed below:
Following her headlining concert at Toronto, ON’s Phoenix Concert Theatre, Universal Music Canada recording artist Tove Lo was presented with a Canadian Platinum award plaque for her track “Habits (Stay High)” off her 2014 debut album Queen Of The Clouds. The Swedish singer took her to Instagram to thank the crowd for an amazing show and break the news of the Platinum certification.
Watch the video for “Habits” below:
Congratulations to the 2014 Canadian Country Music Association Award nominees, which were announced today by the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA).
Flat Lake, Alberta’s Brett Kissel leads the nominations with eight, including Single of the Year, Album of the Year, and Male Artist of the Year. Dean Brody and Gord Bamford also received several nominations, with six and five nominations each, respectively, while Tim Hicks and Deric Ruttan follow closely behind with four nominations each. The full list of nominees is now available on the CCMA website.
CCMA and broadcast partners CBC and CMT also announced that Juno-Award winner singer-songwriter Jann Arden and CBC-TV’s Gemini-Award winning host and comedian, Rick Mercer, will host the 2014 CCMA Awards Show. The show will be broadcast on Sunday, September 7 on CBC-TV at 8:00 p.m. local time (8:30 NT) with an encore airing on CMT (Canada) at 10:00 p.m.
Music Canada is proud to sponsor the CCMA Record Company of the Year Award. Nominees in that category include:
In total, 41 CCMA Awards will be given out over four award ceremonies during Country Music Week in Edmonton, Alberta, September 4 – 7. Eight awards will be given out on the 2014 CCMA Awards Show, taking place at Edmonton’s Rexall Place on September 7th.
Music Canada