19 March 2026 - Beyries - Soldier

 Remember when I said that Beyries discovered music while she was being treated for breast cancer?

Furthermore, remember when I said she was someone who sang both in English and French?

This song is the first one she wrote and performed, while she was undergoing cancer treatment.  It also appears on her 2017 debut album Landing. 

The thing about this song is, it's one that requires the artist and a piano..... and it's much easier to see just how personal this song is to her in a live setting, especially an intimate one. 

19 March 2026 - Beyries - Du temps

Part of me really feels terrible pulling out more francophone content when most of my audience is English-speaking.

Part of me knows that 2 of my top three posts of all time are by artists from Quebec (yes, doing anglophone songs, but stay with me).  Francophone content does very well here. 

And, since Beyries's latest album Reprises made my Wicked 25, and remains one of the few artists I have not otherwise discussed, let's talk about her. 

Amélie Beyries was a public relations professional until age 28... when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment (she's twenty years past that, guys), she discovered songwriting and began making music as a career.  

This song, with music written by the artist, is from her 2024 album Du feu dans les lilas, which is an excellent francophone set from an artist who seamlessly glides back and forth between English and French.  It's absolutely beautiful - so I hope you enjoy it. 

18 March 2026 - Carly Rae Jepsen - Tug Of War

You thought you were getting away with no Carly Rae Jepsen this March?

Nope.  

But we went OLD.  We went to her debut album, from the pre-"Call Me Maybe" times. This was the title song and main single off that album - written by Jepsen and her producer, Ryan Stewart. It was her first Canadian hit - and second single overall - peaking at #36 on the Canadian Top 100 and doing better on adult contemporary radio.

This album and single were released in 2008, a year after her third place Canadian Idol finish.  Bonus points if you can name the top 2. 

It's a song about her begging a guy to stay in with her tonight.  

I love these "before they were really famous" performances, because you can see her excitement, even back then.

17 March 2026 - The Tragically Hip - At The Hundredth Meridian

 I find myself coming back to the Hip more the older I get.   

And why wouldn't I?  They're clear Canadian music royalty. And this song - from their 1993 album Fully Completely - is quintessentially Canadian - named for the line that separates the East from the prairies, running somewhere between Winnipeg and Regina, really close to the western shores of Lake Winnipeg. 

Yep.  I looked it up. 

But it was more than that.  It was a song about being at the edge - the brink - and pressing forward. 

Written by the band, it was a top 20 hit in Canada and a top 40 hit at US rock radio - further cementing their legendary status. 

I think my Canadian fans know and by now my worldwide fans know as well that lead vocalist Gord Downie passed away in 2017, and the 2016 tour was their farewell.  Their last shows, in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, were nationally televised and watched by 1/3 of the Canadian population. 

Of course they played a spirited performance of this song. Note the faster tempo and extended jam break.

Also, we really miss Gord Downie and we're not afraid to say it. 

16 March 2026 - Daniel Caesar - Japanese Denim

Daniel Caesar is a great up-and-coming R&B singer who happens to be from Toronto.  

And by "up-and-coming", I mean multiple Grammy-nominated and Grammy-and-Juno-winning, #1-hit-singing singer/songwriter.

He's a big deal, who has had some big collaborations with other hitmakers like Justin Bieber, Kali Uchis, and H.E.R.

This song - a non-album single that was the b-side to his mega hit "Get You" - ended up being his first charting hit, reaching high on the Adult R&B charts in the US and running up some pretty impressive streaming numbers. 

So, when he first appeared on the NPR Tiny Desk in 2018, it makes sense that he'd lead off with this song.  

His band - Canadian musicians (he's known to work with a lot of Toronto locals) - also received a lot of acclaim. You've met that bassist recently as a fingerpicking guitarist with her own Tiny Desk Concert.

But we're here to talk about Daniel Caesar.  And his voice and style are a true throwback to 90's slow jams.  

Also, stick around, because H.E.R. shows up. 

15 March 2026 - Sophie Powers - Lonely Army

Well, here we go.  It's everyone's favorite Canadian cringecore queen, Sophie Powers. 

What else do you want me to say here? 

That she's releasing music slowly but virally and it seems to be working?

That she's got an alter ego for her goofy stuff (yeah, I'm pretty sure now) and her main stage name (because Powers is not her real last name) is getting more serious?

That this song is an early, old single, released in 2021, and it's really strong? And leans serious?

That she designs her own outfits?

That her mom is proud of her?

It's nice to see a mom so proud. 

That she's clearly Canadian? And that I'm pretty sure this video was filmed in Toronto because the CN Tower makes an appearance?

OK, I guess we can say all that.  

But can we say we have a strong live performance of the song?

Yep, we can.

OK, but a cringecore artist like this can't duplicate that, right?

Sure she can.

14 March 2026 - Emmanuelle Querry - TANDEM

Emmanuelle Querry's website says the following about her:

"Emmanuelle Querry est une autrice-compositrice-interprète émergente de la scène francophone, qui se distingue par une pop assumée et sensible, nourrie d’influences R&B et électroniques."

I don't know.  I don't speak French.

I'm kidding.  It calls her confident yet sensitive, and infused with electronic and R&B influences.

Her debut album, Au 10ᵉ étage, was released in early February, and I encourage you to give it a listen.  It's really good. 

Did I mention she was from Quebec?  Yeah.  She's big in the Montreal club scene.