Tate McRae was nominated for something like five Junos this year. In fact, she's nominated for EXACTLY five. That's a lot, for those of you who don't know the Junos so well.
Well, last year was kind of a fever dream for her.
Well, her new album was released on February 21st, and it took all sorts of restraint to not post about her that day and start MLM a week early.
This song isn't from her new album, So Close To What, or even her last one, Think Later. This is from her first full length album, I Used To Think I Could Fly. Co-written by McRae, this song went through a lot of mixes and iterations to get to this final form.
This is probably the song that made McRae a pop star. It was sad - adressing real-life feelings of envy and jeolousy that she was experiencing - but also upbeat and punky.
I'm not gonna lie - I love that the audience knows the words THIS well.
Today's feature was an outtake from her 2015 album Emotion. It got cut from the album for its cinematic over-the-top feeling, but was slated for a follow-up EP.
Then came the French animated movie Ballerina, which was called Leap in the US. Jepsen was actually a voice actress in that movie, and also contributed the heart of the movie with this song.
Like the movie, it ended up being a pretty solid hit song for her.
And yes. The "Lucky Star" sample was intentional.
She did make a real adult video for the song, too.
You know we love the live versions.
But this one is different.
It's from a Carnival Cruise.
And it's perfect.
I think we all know that she's a singer-songwriter, and that means, she can actually SING her songs, in a stripped down setting, and they still slap.
Anyway, the breakout stars of late 2023 - who won a couple of Junos last year - teamed up with multiple-Juno winner Lights (who we are guessing is going to be nominated for a Juno this year as of this writing, but as of the time we are writing this, which is mid-2024, we don't know that yet) (Edit: she wasn't) for this song, which the band co-wrote with her.
It's a bop. Check it out.
Oh yes, Lights did show up at a Beaches show and yes, they did it live.
And yes, the crowd went bezerk. Rightfully so. Hell, I would have!
This is probably the most exposure Les Cowboys Fringants have gotten outside of Quebec, but they deserve a wider reach from their néo-trad musical style that draws on folk and rock influences.
The reigning champions of the Juno Awards Francophone category, the group released new music in 2024 to accompany a musical, Pub Royal, that featured their music. That album is absolutely a 2025 nominee, by the way.
This was the last album to feature Karl Tremblay, the band's lead vocalist. He passed away from prostate cancer in 2023. The song does feature vocals by Tremblay, and was written by blacground vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jean-François Pauzé.
I hope it's clear by the title that this was probably the last thing Tremblay recorded. It is a POWERFUL performance.
Did I choose March because it starts with the same letter as "Maple Leaf"? Maybe. More likely I started it because the Junos take place in March - for now. It seems to be slowly moving to April.
Which makes it even weirder that I started the month with never-nominated Sophie Powers, a Toronto native who has made great music tailor-made for the TikTok generation. Co-written by the artist (no, Powers is not her real last name and the credits tell me that), the song is very much a declaration of independence by an musician who is making bold, different music from a nation who refuses to be annexed by the United States.
THAT'S as political as I will ever get here.
She has performed a stripped-down version of the song live, which shows me that she's both not manufactured (a little cringe, in fact) and is a uniquely talented performer.
I at first discounted this song. It's a little more country than my tastes skew - no knock on country. Modern country just doesn't bring me much pleasure. So, after about thirty seconds, I turned the song off.
In the leadup to the Grammys a couple of weeks ago, where Boone was nominated for a couple of awards, snippets of the song led with the chorus - and that's what hooked me. It's a country-rock hybrid that ended up being a huge worldwide hit, and it took a couple of nominations to get my attention.
It's not surprising that it changes tone so dramatically. It began life as two separate songs, with co-author Jack LaFrantz recommended combining.
For some reason, I find that Grammys performance even more dramatic. I don't know if it's the tearaway suit or the flip off the piano....
Where does a song cross the line into being a cover?
Well, this song started off life in 2017, as a fun studio exercise built off an Eiffel 65 sample but never intended for release.
Fast forward to 2022, when TikTok was a thing and the snippet leaked. Guetta and Rexha very quickly finished their song and, well, instant hit. It ended up being her biggest hit everywhere in the world EXCEPT for the United States, where it was a huge hit but she's had bigger that we'll probably never mention here again.
Anyway, the song clearly takes the beat from "Blue (Da Ba Bee)" but these are, for the most part, brand new lyrics. And yeah, the song is a LOT of fun.
The video above was largely compiled from a live appearance Rexha and Guetta made together, where they seemed to be having a LOT of fun. Here is that live performance.
Not that she needs David Guetta to have a good time.
Even with a slowed-down version and a full orchestra, she seems to still be having fun. Also, the pipes! You can hear the helper tracks on the other performances, but not here. She's singing the hell out of this.
I don't know why, but I have been in a Kim Petras mood lately. As a child, she wanted to be a fashion designer. It's kind of interesting where she ended up.
This was her first single on a major label, in 2021, and was a hit in US clubs and, weirdly, in Japan.
Of course she performs it live. Here's the first time she did that, from Lollapalooza 2021.
I can't say when I went from absolutely despising this song to liking it, but it happened in the last few months. And it's the chorus that gets me - absolutely gives me chills. Adele has always had a huge voice, and when she hits the chorus, it just hits for me.
Critics love the song, too. It was the 2017 Song and Record of the Year winner at the Grammys.
But what I think got it for me was the version she did with Jimmy Fallon, the Roots, and classroom instruments.
Spotify now has an AI DJ, who they call X. Usually, X nails my musical tastes pretty closely. but sometimes, he goes off the reservation.
This song started off like that. I like Megan Thee Stallion, but I wouldn't say she's a go to.
But X kept serving this song up a lot.
Over and over.
And it grew on me.
A clear diss track that does not name its target, who is, in my opinion, clearly Nicki Minaj, this song very quickly hit #1 on the US pop charts - the first time she's been there as a solo artist and her third trip overall - and was a worldwide hit.
And before anyone starts with me. Yes, I see the video is billed to Megan Thee Stallion and Tina Snow. I hope it's clear they are the same person.
By the way, those rhymes that she's spittin' so fast?
This song from a movie soundtrack was BY FAR Dan Hartman's biggest solo hit. BY FAR. It reached #6 on the US charts and was a big hit elsewhere.
Written by Hartman and co-produced by him alongside Jimmy Iovine, the song in this version did not actually appear in the movie.It was a stipulation in Hartman's contract that his version be released as a single if any single was released. That worked out well for him.
Notice how I have not mentioned the movie? That's because it's hardly worth mentioning. It was not a great movie. It was a HUGE flop at the box office. History has forgotten what this movie was about.
Two videos were made for this song. In this one, Hartman is hitting on actress Joyce Hyser.
In this one, the fictional band from the movie is "performing" with Hartman's vocal.
Streets of Fire. Are you happy? Do you even remember this was a movie?
Gee, Happy Valentine's Day. Why are we featuring such a bummer-titled song?
Because this song - the one you see below - is a cover of a song that came in 4th in the 1967 Eurovision competition. This cover by Paul Mauriat - an orchestral easy-listening version of a song that no one in the United States really knew - ended up topping the US Pop Charts for two weeks.
This remains the most popular Eurovision song to ever appear on the US Pop Charts.
I kind of love how the kids try to dance to this on American Bandstand. It's really not a song that fits that show, but it was a huge, HUGE hit.
The original was performed by an artist named Vicky (Leandros) at the 1967 Eurovision competition. This Greek singer - 17 at the time - represented Luxenbourg. How that works is beyond me - but I don't make the Eurovision rules.
Anyway, the song came in 4th.
She would go on to record the song in several languages, including English. In my opinion, not as good as the French, it is still a beautiful song.
She also recorded it in Dutch.
Luxembourg still loves her song, by the way. Here she is performing a multilingual version on their annual song competition in 2024!
Riding the wave of "Love Is Blue" fever, A/C superstar, Franco-American singer, wife of Andy Williams, and later convicted killer Claudine Longet (it was negligent homicide) recorded a version that did, indeed, hit the US Pop Charts. It would be her highest charting pop hit in the United States.
It's a pretty version.
The song hit the charts a couple of additional times. In 1968, Manny Kellem, His Orchestra and Chorus, brought it all the way to #96 on the US Pop Charts, although it was a huge adult contemporary radio hit.
Again, it's pretty. Again, it was Manny's only Hot 100 appearance.
Al Martino's version hit #57 in 1968.
It was by no means his biggest hit on the Hot 100, but it was a hit, and despite its different feel than the others, included the classic harpsichord riff.
Weirdly, so did Jeff Beck's version, which was more guitar-driven but didn't forget the most famous harpichord riff in music history.
This was not a US hit, but it was a hit in the UK and Ireland.
This version by Kim Kwang Suk is definitely a first for this blog.
First North Korean version.
Seriously. NORTH Korean. And French.
But we come back to that big hit - the one that made it a worldwide sensation.... the second biggest instrumental hit song of all time ("Theme From 'A Summer Place'" to answer your inevitable question).
It is a work of absolute art. Paul Mauriat took a great song and made it so much better.
Yeah, of all the surprises from 2024, this one might have blindsided me the most.
Punjabi rock.
And yet this Juno-nominated artist brings us just that.
And that fact that he brings it so excellently is why we're posting about him on a Tuesday and not on a Sunday.
Orignally from India, former Best Buy employee Dhillon now calls British Columbia his home base. His 2024 album, The Brownprint, was released to wide critical acclaim, and it was deserved. Not an exageration to call it one of my five favorite albums of 2024.
You don't have to understand Punjabi to understand this song and its fantastic accompanying video.
This falls firmly in the category of songs you have heard, but you didn't know the title of.... or the artist.
Edward Maya is Romanian, and he enlisted Moldovan-Romanian artist Vika Jigulina to provide the vocals for what ended up being a slow burn of a worldwide hit. The song was a huge hit worldwide starting with its release in 2009, culminating with its peak on the US pop charts (#16) in 2011.... so yes, it was a three year build.
But there's more. It's 2025, and this song is STILL on the Moldovan and Polish pop charts - and has remained a huge Eastern European hit.
It is also the rare hit to include significant accordion.
Oh, you know they've performed this song live, and you know there was a signficant amount of accordion involved.
Yes, this is the song that Kendrick used to close his Superb Owl halftime performance, and it was a brilliant choice.
You might notice that there's a significant tempo change at about the 1:55 mark of this song - and that's because the song was recorded at two different times... and that means a little Mustard on the beat was needed for the transition.
And no. This isn't an official video. C'mon, it's mostly footage from the "Not Like Us" video. I used it anyway.
It's rare that we get to post a song that came in EIGHTH in the Eurovision song competition.
Especially when it's a song by a non-European singer.
Gina G is very much from Australia.
But she did represent the UK, and it is there that this song hit #1. In the United States, it hit #12 on the pop charts in 1996, and would be the last Eurovision song to hit the US charts for more than 20 years. The upbeat song also garnered a Grammy nomination - the ONLY Eurovision song to ever get that.
So Mr. Worldwide and Xtina performed a song together that ended up being a big hit but has the biggest songwriting team I've ever seen on a song, and that's even before you include all the members of a-ha, whose big hit song was DEFINTELY lifted for this song.
Well, the song was special and a worldwide HUGE hit. You're gonna feel every one of those 136 beats per minutes. Seriously, we counted.
Despite being obviously not together in this video, they have performed this song together several times. My personal favorite was at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, where Morten Harket - who you might recognize from a-ha - took his song back at Mr. Worldwide's urging.
This song was written by Marianne Fathfull's boyfriend, Mick Jagger, along with Keith Richards, reportedly for her (she denied that). The Stones version came after hers, and yes, was better known, but her version - her debut single in 1964 - was also a hit in the US, UK and Canada.
Marianne Faithfull passed away on January 30th, aged 78. Her voice is one that will live on in music history.
Look, I've been clear about how very cool I think The Cardigans were and are.
This song is yet another log on that fire.
A cool, slower song than was their norm, it followed "My Favourite Game" as a single and, like that song, was a big hit all over Europe and not so much in the States. That whole Gran Turismo album is a classic and more people should listen to it.
As was their style at this point, there are multiple versions of this video. In this one, the walls close in to the point of almost crushing the band, but then a door opens. It's better than a beheading, right?
This version of the video intersperses scenes from the movie The Thirteenth Floor, which featured this song prominently.
The band is still getting crushed, though.
Yes, there's a version where the band clearly gets crushed. No one wants to see that one, though, right?
I feel like a recurring theme here is songs that I could not freaking stand when they were out, and songs I actually like in hindsight.
THIS song is absolutely and firmly in that category. God, I hated this song. I thought it was drivel.
Now, I appreciate the pop pleaure of the rapid-fire lyrics and what sounds like a Fine Young Cannibals sample running throughout the whole song. (As far as I can tell, it isn't, and I hope I didn't just spark a lawsuit).
This was their debut single, and not nearly their biggest hit (although it was top 5 around the world), but it's possibly their most enduring.
This band was, of course, a bigger hit in their home country of Australia than elsewhere - and this song was a hit there first. Since this was their debut song, their original video was a little lower budget...
So, a lot of the appeal of this song is that it's a duo and the song is immaculately produced. It sounds polished.
So how would a song with that production and that energy play live?
Surprisingly and exceptionally well. If you didn't like this song already, you likely will after this performance.
I remember HATING this song when it came out. I don't know why I did. It's a great song.
It was their first single in the United States, and it made it to #1 on the Billboard pop charts. In the UK, it was the FOURTH single off their SECOND album. Annie Lennox and David Stewart - the band and songwriters - recorded the song in their attic with Stewart producing - which, for a pop hit at the time, was unheard of.
But here's something you didn't know: the song almost didn't get a US release because RCA did not like that the song didn't have a chorus. Did you even notice the lack of a chorus? No, because people don't care. They just like interesting, catchy music.
And this song is interesting and catchy.
When performing the song live, the band, and later Annie Lennox solo, performed the song in a higher key and with a lot less monotone.
When inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, they were back to the original key, but still with a lot of emotion and inflection.
So, we're tempted to let AI write this classic post about a classic song that wasn't really a hit other than a short stint in MTV heavy rotation.
We're resisting.
The song refers to the phenomenom of the border blaster - a radio station in one country with a signal targeted towards another country but sitting where it is to subvert broadcast rules. Yes, there are a lot of Mexican border radio stations targeting the United States. Famed disc jockey Wolfman Jack built his career at a couple of border blaster stations.
Mexican radio stations have to play the Mexican national anthem twice daily and include some Spanish-language content, but for the most part, these border radio stations target the United States.
The song, written by the band, is fun but was probably a hit because of the bizarre video, which featured Stan Ridgway emerging from a bowl of beans. This song and its success allowed Ridgway to pursue a solo career soon after this single's run.
When I was a kid, I associated Simply Red with boring, overblown ballads.
But really, they made great dance music, too. Take this song from 2003 - which was something of a comeback for them in the UK and pretty much everywhere in the world that's not the US - where they had not had a hit since the late 1980 (and this song wasn't either).
The song was written by Mick Hucknall - who is the only original member of Simply Red (it's not just him, but it might as well be) and, shockingly, Sara Allen, Darryl Hall and John Oates, the writers of "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)". Paul Carrack does NOT get a credit for the obvious borrowing from "How Long"(presumably because he doesn't say "How long" in the song?). Sarah Brown provides additional vocals.
The song owes a large debt to this video, filmed near Rio de Janeiro, for its success.
Anyway, the song is fun and hot and not at all a boring, overblown ballad.
You all know by now I love including a live performance, and I chose their show in Cuba for this one. I don't think I've ever featured a Cuban performance. Well, anyway, it's a gooder.
